# buying house with tenants



## madmum54 (Apr 24, 2016)

best house we have viewed is currently rented as despite price being lowered by 50000 euro it hadnt sold. wasnt easy getting to view it as tenant had to agree & when we did he told agent it was a 1 off & not willing to be disturbed again.
at the time thought this was a good thing as not in a position to put in offer till august so not likely to be sold.


But now thinking what if we buy & he refuses to move out?? agent says no problem as altho has a 1 year agreement it can be terminated at any time. what happens if we complete and he is still there


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

madmum54 said:


> best house we have viewed is currently rented as despite price being lowered by 50000 euro it hadnt sold. wasnt easy getting to view it as tenant had to agree & when we did he told agent it was a 1 off & not willing to be disturbed again.
> at the time thought this was a good thing as not in a position to put in offer till august so not likely to be sold.
> 
> 
> But now thinking what if we buy & he refuses to move out?? agent says no problem as altho has a 1 year agreement it can be terminated at any time. what happens if we complete and he is still there


Get your solicitor to put a clause in the contract that you will only pay in full once the property is empty and ready for occupation. In the meantime only pay a holding deposit which should be refundable if the tenant dosn't vacate within an agreed time.


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## madmum54 (Apr 24, 2016)

Veronica said:


> Get your solicitor to put a clause in the contract that you will only pay in full once the property is empty and ready for occupation. In the meantime only pay a holding deposit which should be refundable if the tenant dosn't vacate within an agreed time.




yes will do that. bit confusing as sold furnished or at least part furnished but tenant has moved his stuff in. did say what was his. said house furniture was all put in a room which strangely was locked so didnt see.
agent did query this & said if we have it will sort out with owner what is included.

this man making it hard for property to sell, was told before she got there she hoped he had tidied up a bit. well he hadnt was bags of stuff all over the place, a complete mess. but didnt put me off.
also asking agent what price was now, but she says as sold a 8 bedroom house if was interested would have bought already. makes sense as he said "you know its a very old house its 10 years old". well to us thats pretty new but apparently cypriots prefer new houses & think like cars they are worth less when older


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## madmum54 (Apr 24, 2016)

is it right that people dont usually get a house surveyed when its a cash sale?? only if required when buying with mortgage. 
seems a bit stupid & surely you should do. didnt with apartment as only cost 55000 euro but think should do if its 350000 euro or hopefully 300


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

madmum54 said:


> is it right that people dont usually get a house surveyed when its a cash sale?? only if required when buying with mortgage.
> seems a bit stupid & surely you should do. didnt with apartment as only cost 55000 euro but think should do if its 350000 euro or hopefully 300


It is always a good idea to have a survey to make sure there are no structural issues. Even relatively new properties cannot be guaranteed to be problem free.
If the house is 10 years old it was built at a time when there was a huge amount of corruption including building permits being issued for land which is not stable because brown envelopes changed hands.
Corruption in the Paphos district was rife but a very respected Nicosia solicitor told me that the Larnaca district is far worse so don't just take the word of the seller or their agent that everything is Ok.


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## madmum54 (Apr 24, 2016)

before we went into things never thought of buying without survey. so will definitely get it done


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## david ferns (Mar 6, 2016)

madmum54 said:


> best house we have viewed is currently rented as despite price being lowered by 50000 euro it hadnt sold. wasnt easy getting to view it as tenant had to agree & when we did he told agent it was a 1 off & not willing to be disturbed again.
> at the time thought this was a good thing as not in a position to put in offer till august so not likely to be sold.
> 
> 
> But now thinking what if we buy & he refuses to move out?? agent says no problem as altho has a 1 year agreement it can be terminated at any time. what happens if we complete and he is still there


What concerns me about this situation is the fact that "although the sitting tenant has a 12 month agreement, it can be terminated at any time". As so many forum members strongly advise renting over buying, and this will certainly be the case when we move over, I am a bit worried that we could be asked to leave mid contract if the owner of the property sells. Does anyone know of similar cases where this has been the case?


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

david ferns said:


> What concerns me about this situation is the fact that "although the sitting tenant has a 12 month agreement, it can be terminated at any time". As so many forum members strongly advise renting over buying, and this will certainly be the case when we move over, I am a bit worried that we could be asked to leave mid contract if the owner of the property sells. Does anyone know of similar cases where this has been the case?



It is a risk you take if you rent a property that is also for sale. However you should make sure that you get a clause in your rental contract that you will be compensated if the owner sells before your contract expires. Otherwise make sure the property you are renting is not also for sale.


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## Baywatch (Mar 30, 2014)

Veronica said:


> It is always a good idea to have a survey to make sure there are no structural issues. Even relatively new properties cannot be guaranteed to be problem free.
> If the house is 10 years old it was built at a time when there was a huge amount of corruption including building permits being issued for land which is not stable because brown envelopes changed hands.
> Corruption in the Paphos district was rife but a very respected Nicosia solicitor told me that the Larnaca district is far worse so don't just take the word of the seller or their agent that everything is Ok.


Just see in Pissouri where 50 properties risk sliding down in the valley. All permits were there, but how the developer got them is kept in the dark. Locals said from the beginning is was stupid to build there. The area is called Limnes, lake in Greek


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

Baywatch said:


> Just see in Pissouri where 50 properties risk sliding down in the valley. All permits were there, but how the developer got them is kept in the dark. Locals said from the beginning is was stupid to build there. The area is called Limnes, lake in Greek


There are some projects in the Paphos area that are in the same condition and as you say how on earth did they get permission to build on unstable land?
The only way that happens is when corrupt government employees take bribes. The previous mayor of Paphos was so corrupt he ended up in jail.


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## madmum54 (Apr 24, 2016)

Veronica said:


> It is a risk you take if you rent a property that is also for sale. However you should make sure that you get a clause in your rental contract that you will be compensated if the owner sells before your contract expires. Otherwise make sure the property you are renting is not also for sale.


I think its awful that you can sign a 1 year rental agreement then be kicked out 6 months later. was surprised when after agent told us couldnt view she rang a week later saying tenant had agreed to viewing but only at a certain time & day. 

the agent said they hate sellers also renting propertys, makes their job so difficult but nothing they can do about it.

surely there must be a minimum amount of notice they must be given. hoping not too long as once house sold will want to pay deposit & complete ASAP


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## Baywatch (Mar 30, 2014)

madmum54 said:


> I think its awful that you can sign a 1 year rental agreement then be kicked out 6 months later. was surprised when after agent told us couldn't view she rang a week later saying tenant had agreed to viewing but only at a certain time & day.
> 
> the agent said they hate sellers also renting propertys, makes their job so difficult but nothing they can do about it.
> 
> surely there must be a minimum amount of notice they must be given. hoping not too long as once house sold will want to pay deposit & complete ASAP


There are strict rules but no one bothers because taking someone to court is very expensive and take years even if most cases according to news are thrown out.

But it works the same way in the reverse situation. A tenant sign for 12 months but move after 6. The only result is that he lose the deposit


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

Rental agreements will have a clause stating how much notice must be given to tenants.
A tenant can't just be thrown out and if the house is sold the tenant usually gets a month rent free as compensation.
As Anders says most agents hate properties that are being rented out and we try to avoid taking such properties on our books. Unfortunately many owners decide to rent if they are struggling to sell but often won't inform the agents they are listed with which can make things very awkward at times.


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