Tenant won’t leave for inspection

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP did you try to schedule the inspector to accommodate the tenant's schedule?

Your agent should have also told you that many sellers wait until a lease is up, the tenant has moved out, and then they fix up the house for sale.

OP here: yes we did. We were told between 9am-12pm or 3pm-5pm Thursday or Friday so we chose 3pm Thursday. I just didn’t realize that meant she’d be staying, we just assumed those were times she could be out of the home.

Why does this bother you so much? What do you think the tenant will do? Sway the inspector? Protest what the inspector finds? The tenant is moving out and doesn't own the home and doesn't care what the inspector finds. In fact, the tenant will likely already know some of the problems the inspector points out.

This. She's probably just going to be working quietly in one room with her kid, and when you need to inspect that room she'll move to another one. Easy-peasy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would never leave my home with my personal property in it for a group of strangers to go looking in cabinets and wardrobes. Not only would I stay for the entire thing, I would actually follow them around and make sure they didn’t take anything.

Do you ever plan on selling a home?

I'm curious about the sales process in this context.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: Op here: Why? We were told the seller let them know their lease won’t be renewed and that our closing (as long as inspection goes well) will be December 15th and that we’d like them out by the 8th the absolute latest. If their lease isn’t renewed, how would they just stay?

Are you in DC?

"We were told"

What does the lease/paperwork stipulate? Are you relying on seller (bad) sellers agent (worse) non-binding statements?

"How would they just stay"

Depends on the state. If you are in DC, they just stay. Then you hire an attorney and spend 1 - 8 months evicting them depending on the specifics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is the tenant's home so it is fine for her to stay. Did your agent ask what time would work for the tenant? That would have been a thoughtful thing to do.

I would be worried about buying a home with a tenant in place. How much notice did the seller give to the tenant?

I don't know why people are being hard on OP about buying a home, happens all the time. As a renter if you don't want to have to move due to someone buying the property rent from a rental company/ building that is all rental, etc. Staying just to stay is a jerk move, especially if you have been given ample notice. Landlords did not get any mortgage freeze like renters got from the government on paying rent during Covid. (Not a landlord)

Well I am a landlord and would be pissed if a buyer tried to ask my tenant to leave her home for three hours for an inspection. What difference does it make if she is there? Is she going to stand on top of a water-damaged floor to hide it or something?

[Anonymous]

If they are working and you scheduled it during their work hours, that's unreasonable to demand they leave.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP did you try to schedule the inspector to accommodate the tenant's schedule?

Your agent should have also told you that many sellers wait until a lease is up, the tenant has moved out, and then they fix up the house for sale.

OP here: yes we did. We were told between 9am-12pm or 3pm-5pm Thursday or Friday so we chose 3pm Thursday. I just didn’t realize that meant she’d be staying, we just assumed those were times she could be out of the home.

You should have consulted her on when's good for her and offer to pay her for the missed work time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No. It's perfectly acceptable. They do not have to leave and they have legitimate reasons to be there. They aren't interfering with anything. You ATA.

OP here: I get they have a lease and can stay but it’s just odd to me and annoying and even my agent said she’d never once had a tenant stay during an inspection. I’m just worried about a toddler getting in the way during it.

The toddler is probably going to be napping which is why she doesn't want to leave. Could have asked them good times before scheduling the inspection.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would never leave my home with my personal property in it for a group of strangers to go looking in cabinets and wardrobes. Not only would I stay for the entire thing, I would actually follow them around and make sure they didn’t take anything.

Do you ever plan on selling a home?

I'm curious about the sales process in this context.

Yes I’ve sold homes. I get all my personal stuff out of it before I invite strangers through.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP did you try to schedule the inspector to accommodate the tenant's schedule?

Your agent should have also told you that many sellers wait until a lease is up, the tenant has moved out, and then they fix up the house for sale.

OP here: yes we did. We were told between 9am-12pm or 3pm-5pm Thursday or Friday so we chose 3pm Thursday. I just didn’t realize that meant she’d be staying, we just assumed those were times she could be out of the home.

NP here. Most likely her child takes a nap from 12pm-3pm and after 5pm they are dealing with dinner for her, partner (if she has one) and child and bedtime routines, etc. So, you were given times that would not impact her family schedule. They were not times that the house would be vacant.

There are many people who are hourly paid workers that are non-exempt (e.g. they only get paid for hours actually worked) that have to be at the keyboard and available during work hours or they have to take leave. Someone like a call center operator or remote customer service rep. I personally would never take leave or not work my normal work shifts if paid hourly, for a landlord to sell the house and have a buyer do an inspection. Sorry, but unless you want to pay her hourly rate for the time that you are in the house and want her out, she stays and works.

As long as she isn't disruptive (like the previous screaming tenant who tried to discourage the buyer from buying), then why is it a problem for the tenant to use the house while you are doing an inspection? Just go in, do the inspection and ignore her. In fact, if she is available, I can see either the buyer (OP) or inspector asking questions of the tenant about the state of the property. You may find details that an inspector currently can't see (like plumbing or electrical issues that are behind walls) or drainage issues of drains, etc that an inspection would ordinarily not reveal, but may be of interest to you as the buyer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No. It's perfectly acceptable. They do not have to leave and they have legitimate reasons to be there. They aren't interfering with anything. You ATA.

OP here: I get they have a lease and can stay but it’s just odd to me and annoying and even my agent said she’d never once had a tenant stay during an inspection. I’m just worried about a toddler getting in the way during it.

Good grief.

How old are you and what planet do you come from?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is the tenant's home so it is fine for her to stay. Did your agent ask what time would work for the tenant? That would have been a thoughtful thing to do.

I would be worried about buying a home with a tenant in place. How much notice did the seller give to the tenant?

I don't know why people are being hard on OP about buying a home, happens all the time. As a renter if you don't want to have to move due to someone buying the property rent from a rental company/ building that is all rental, etc. Staying just to stay is a jerk move, especially if you have been given ample notice. Landlords did not get any mortgage freeze like renters got from the government on paying rent during Covid. (Not a landlord)

Well I am a landlord and would be pissed if a buyer tried to ask my tenant to leave her home for three hours for an inspection. What difference does it make if she is there? Is she going to stand on top of a water-damaged floor to hide it or something?

If I were a landlord trying to sell a house and a buyer asked this of my tenant, I would tell them that they need to pay her hourly wages for the duration that she would need to be out of the house if they wanted to ask my tenant to vacate her house when she was working and had a young child at home. Otherwise, I would ask the tenant if there were any times when she was not scheduled to work when she could vacate the house to allow them in. If that means you have to pay a premium to get an inspector on a Saturday afternoon or a Sunday morning, so be it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would never leave my home with my personal property in it for a group of strangers to go looking in cabinets and wardrobes. Not only would I stay for the entire thing, I would actually follow them around and make sure they didn’t take anything.

Do you ever plan on selling a home?

I'm curious about the sales process in this context.

Yes I’ve sold homes. I get all my personal stuff out of it before I invite strangers through.

Well the tenant didn't have a choice in when the landlord listed it for sale.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No. It's perfectly acceptable. They do not have to leave and they have legitimate reasons to be there. They aren't interfering with anything. You ATA.

OP here: I get they have a lease and can stay but it’s just odd to me and annoying and even my agent said she’d never once had a tenant stay during an inspection. I’m just worried about a toddler getting in the way during it.

She had to work. Where should she go?

I work from home and I’d have to take leave to leave the house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is the tenant's home so it is fine for her to stay. Did your agent ask what time would work for the tenant? That would have been a thoughtful thing to do.

I would be worried about buying a home with a tenant in place. How much notice did the seller give to the tenant?

I don't know why people are being hard on OP about buying a home, happens all the time. As a renter if you don't want to have to move due to someone buying the property rent from a rental company/ building that is all rental, etc. Staying just to stay is a jerk move, especially if you have been given ample notice. Landlords did not get any mortgage freeze like renters got from the government on paying rent during Covid. (Not a landlord)

Well I am a landlord and would be pissed if a buyer tried to ask my tenant to leave her home for three hours for an inspection. What difference does it make if she is there? Is she going to stand on top of a water-damaged floor to hide it or something?

If I were a landlord trying to sell a house and a buyer asked this of my tenant, I would tell them that they need to pay her hourly wages for the duration that she would need to be out of the house if they wanted to ask my tenant to vacate her house when she was working and had a young child at home. Otherwise, I would ask the tenant if there were any times when she was not scheduled to work when she could vacate the house to allow them in. If that means you have to pay a premium to get an inspector on a Saturday afternoon or a Sunday morning, so be it.

Even if the tenant is not working, even is she is just sitting their reading a book or picking her nose, she is not obligated to vacate during the inspection! She might not trust someone she doesn't know, that she did not agree to ANY contract with, who will now be entering her home and opening cabinets and closets. Maybe she's worried OP or OP's inspector will break something, or steal something, or eat her food.

[Anonymous]

^ Ugh, sitting THERE reading a book...not their. I swear I know the difference.