Hi all! I have a tenant who is telling others she has bought a house and hopes to be in it by the holidays. I've not been informed at all....nothing...nada. No prior discussions on the topic either. Her signed years lease expires the end of May 2021.

We are in a college town and this is the WORST time of year to try to find quality renters.The best time is in May. My places are some of the best in town as well. Its a 2 br 2 bath House with a fenced in yard. Rents for $805 a month.

I guess I will probably get a payment history document from the potential lender which I will disclose the lease info to.

You can't make them stay if they want to move.

But you can pursue damages, including lost rent.

I wish the tennant well but do not want to lose $, Al courts recognizes starting active military duty and landlord harasses or violates privacy rights as valid reasons to break a lease. I am happy to release her IF I have a new, acceptable tennant. Just a horrible time of year to do so.

No hostages, just need to not have a property set empty with a valid lease. Just bad timing of this.

Gail,

Your lease is there to protect YOUR income. I'm happy for them

BUT

You are about to lose money.

Not sure why LLs go limp when someone says "buying a house". Buying a house is NOT a reason to skip out on a lease. I have a business to run and they signed a legal contract. They know that.

I HOPE you have taken my advice and included an Early Lease Termination Fee to cover your loss and extra work which THEY created.

If not, send them a letter STANDARD POLICY right now and spell out the ELT clause.

My lease is clear: 60 day notice.

Do it now before they sign for their loan.

No, the bank will not be calling you about their rent payments.

BRAD

PS We rent homes every day of the year. Don't be fooled that this is a bad time. We just rented in the past 3 weeks. If you are not renting to students just rent to regular people.

Stay strong!

Leases mean nothing to tenants OR lenders. This person may or may not leave. What you have is a case of rumors so far so relax. Vigilance is needed since you have an inkling something may happen. This person did qualify for a mortgage per your post--- so let them leave. You can't stop them.

You can start ruining your Nov and Dec holiday season running every scenario. Rentals are THINGS and getting too involved mentally with tenants you can't control will drive you out of this business.

Remember the tv ad. PAY ME NOW OR PAY ME LATER?

You have a rental contract. When they move you can either file for none pay with the court or take the keys and move forward. Moving forward doesn't mean don't go after the debt-- Your civil suit will be for all the months until the lease end date May 2021. Plus 25% collection fee plus 15% interest on the debt.

Gail,

In re-reading your post I realize that saying to friends 'We're buying a house" can mean lots of things - starting shopping, looking at open houses, approached by a realtor who says "you guys should buy a house", "we watched HGTV and decided to do that"...

And the closing process is easily 45 days if they get an approved Purchase Agreement today.

Tidbit: every flip we have sold wants to close at the end of the month, NEVER earlier in the month. This reduces their interest and pushes their first payment out 30-60 days.

So a Purchase Agreement signed Oct 12 will not closed until Nov 31 or Dec 31.