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Should I wait for tennents to vacate before putting house on market?

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triton123

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We want to sell a home in a family oriented neighborhood, where people are most likely to want to close before school starts. Current tennents will be in the process of moving so house may not show as well if we list now. Waiting until they are out may miss a window as house may not be ready until 2nd week of August. What to do?  They keep it in pretty good condition but they will be in the midst of packing Thanks
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June 26 - Seattle
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barbara mcmahon, "NVST in homes"

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 Having been a landlord for over 20 years, it depends on the tenants. You might want to offer them an incentive to move early, offer to pay to have the house cleaned. If they are in charge of landscaping, I would imagine the yard may need to be cleaned up.  A good buyer will recognize a well priced home, even in the midst of packing.
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July 07
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Brett Meade, "Brett Meade"

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I agree with getting them out ASAP (with financial incentives, etc.) and to wait until they are out to put it on the market. Vacant listings get shown the most, and sell faster.  Listings with tenants can't be shown at a moments notice (24 hour minimum) and are typically not in showing condition (as you stated will be the case).

However, I don't agree that August is a bad month to put the house on the market. This year we'll probably have a bit of a rush in August and September of buyers looking to close before the $8,000 tax credit expires. This will be most beneficial to you if your home is in the typical FTHB price range, but it will also benefit higher end homes as it will free up the move-up buyers. 

Wait until it's vacant, clean it up, price it right, and it will move quickly.

Brett
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June 27
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Brent Lumley, "LumleyTeam"

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Yes get them out as soon as you can. It is so much easier to show and sale a home that does not have tenants in it. That first impression is so important. Its better to take a little time and make sure it is completely ready to hit the market. If the home will be priced under $500,000 it should sale fairly quick.


Brent
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June 27
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jkonstant

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I would try to work with the tenant. You state the lease expires July 9. Let them stay through July 31 rent free on the condition they make the home available for showings. In fairness to them, you can place realistic limitations on showing times. No showings after 7:00 PM, before noon on weekends or some other combination that allows them to live with some dignity and still allows plenty of time for showings. Responsible agents will work within the limits and can easily explain things to their clients. Most people will be very understanding.
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June 27
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Nancy Lee, "An OrderLee Home"

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How great is your potential profit?  Would it be worth it to offer to help them (financially) move to short term housing?  Do you, perhaps, own multiple houses?  Could you offer them a deal if they moved into one of them?  PMSoldier was really kind, keeping their rental clean and neat while it was being shown.  Many tenants are not going to be so generous.  The chaos and mess that usually happens while packing to move are not going to improve the your merchandising of your house. 
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June 27
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Michael Russell, "real estate mike"

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I would offer to refund some rent for the inconvenience. Money talks. Also as little clutter as possible. I have seen on these types of listings where all showings were on one day , like saturday. This seems to minimize the pain. Just an idea.
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June 26
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Geordy Rostad, "geordy"

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From a real estate agent's perspective, when buyers are shopping for houses, they typically want to view the homes that are easiest to see first.  This would be vacant homes.  Next tier is the owner occupied.  These aren't too bad, the buyer's agent has to make a phone call maybe an hour ahead of time.  Last properties to get shown are the tenant occupied generally speaking.  This is partially because the tenant's rights laws state that tenants need to be given 24 hours notice to enter the property.  Does it always happen that way?  Of course not but sometimes tenants are less than cooperative and this can add extra hassle.

It can be a bit unfair but I've seen it many times from both sides.  My listings with tenants are shown less and when I'm showing, buyers tend to want to see vacant listings first.

Yes, you are right to be wary of listing in August.  That is typically one of the slowest months for home sales but if you are priced to sell, you can sell your home any day of the year.  I listed a home on July 4th once not expecting anyone to interrupt my holiday; sure enough, someone brought me an offer later that afternoon.
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June 26
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triton123

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Thanks but they won't get out even though their lease expires July 9th as they are in the process of buying a house and won't close until the end of July.
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June 26
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PMSoldier

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I can speak from the tentant side (I was renting when the house we were in went on Sale, a short to boot),  ASSIST THEM TO GET OUT.  It was horrible on our side.  We had to keep the house in show ready (meaning that we couldn't really live there even though I was paying the rent).  I had three to five showing a day every day for over two weeks.  I was still getting calls two weeks after an offer had been accepted just so people could come in to see the house, just in case the first offer didn't go through.  Do a favor to tentants and assist them getting out of the house. It sucks on the tentant end.
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June 26
 

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