Lease renewal advice now that my landlord wants to sell "my" townhouse.

Given that the alternative for the landlord (finding someone for a guaranteed 1-yr-only lease) may result in a lower-than-market rent, especially for a larger apartment that I presume the marketplace of renters tends to want to rent for longer periods, you may be able to negotiate a decent discount.

You could ask, but don't expect him to give a concession.

Everything, of course, is negotiable.

of course, if your landlord is not planning to be realistic about pricing, odds are that he/she won't sell for quite some time. don't understand your remark re: 90 day notice. is landlord not willing to give you a year lease?

hey matt, isn't that merely a detail? not one worthy of you from your lofty vice presidential perch?

cc:It would be a one-year lease "unless" the building was sold at which point the new owner would have the right to ask me to leave in 90 days. BTW, I would also have the option of leaving with 90-days notice.

well-that is not a one year lease. so, he needs to find a tenant who would be willing to agree to this. its one thing if you're already there and moved in, etc but unless you're getting a fantastic deal already, it would seem that he would have a tough time finding someone else willing to go through the hassle of moving under these circumstances. the fairest idea that occurs to me is a kill fee that he pays in the event that you need to move before the year is out. but, frankly, given the difficulty he is going to have in selling, from your point of view a major rent reduction might be worth a lot more to you over the long run.

I'm w/ CC.... tell him you'd pay $3K a month and will move out with 2 months notice.... in this market he'd love the flex and you'd have the apt for $3K for at least a year... that's a w67 guarantee :)

You can currently get a floor through in a great area in the WV in an 1850s townhouse building, good condition, for around $3500.

are we talking 12 feet wide or 20?

lol, I know my buildings.

Thanks, everyone!

BTW, I'm 15 feet wide.

w67th has a good suggestion - ask for a large discount in exchange for your willingness to be flexible. In fact, if you offer to "stage" your place for each viewing, you'll be making them money. If you're offering to be part of the solution, rather than the problem, they might bite.

One thing to consider is the extent to which your normal daily life can be disrupted by having to make your home available for showing with only 24 hours notice, which is standard. You may want to stipulate that your apartment is off-limits with the exception of open houses, or buyers on their 2nd viewings. As a broker, we try to make this as pleasant as possible for the tenants, but it's no fun having strangers traipsing through your place. If you're getting a discount, it's certainly more bearable. But if you cringe at the thought of having only two months notice, or at compromising your privacy, you may want to take advantage of the good deals currently available on the rental market.

Tina
(Brooklyn broker)

go with w 67th....see what happens.

concur with cc and w67, use the win:win drum beat.

w67th is giving you a guarantee so if it doesn't work out you can move to west67

Good idea. Thanks!

funny story... a year into my 2yr lease, my landlord asked me for some coffee and wanted to talk shop.... he asks why is a doctor and a successful businessman renting :) and wouldn't I want to buy my rental unit (at the $ I said it would cost me 3x to carry vs. rent... so no) and could I let people come in for open houses etc....

Without missing a beat, I said fine... cut my rent by 25% to do the showings and give me 1 yr rent for me to move out within 2 months notice... .when he balked.... I said, if you are willing to pay a broker $120K what's an additional approx $60K to get out b/f the market really tanks?

My wife sometimes tells me to take it easy on the guy.. he's old and this was his retirement etc..... blah blah blah.... he reeks of fish and he's got fins.... me thinkz he's a flipper if I've ever seen one :)

topper don't forget.... in this mkt, the LL is taking a huge risk in re-marketing the unit and my lose 3 months easy... so you should actually say you WILL move knowing the uncertainty with the sale unless you get a huge discount to $2K... I say depending on your relationship and his desperation.... you've got a 50% chance .... if you get it.. you owe me a lunch and I ain't talking the $20.09 price fixe crap.... although some of it is not bad :)

Thanks, w67th.

Would it be fair to say that it would be difficult to re-rent my unit at the same time you tell the prospective tenant that you're trying to sell the building and will want to be showing it? And who knows how long you can stay?

Seems to me you would, indeed, have to offer a decent rent concession.

I agree with 67th. Your landlord would do far better keeping you in the unit rather than have to find another tenant amenable to the possibility of a one-year limit.

Case in point--I recently agreed to cut my subtenants' rent (which was above market to begin with) by about 20% in their lease renewal. Why? Well, they're moving out of town, but wanted to keep the apartment as a pied-a-terre. So I agreed to a discount, bringing the rent closer in line with the current market rate for similar apartments.

As I'm only allowed to sublet for one more year per our board's 3-out-of-5 bylaw, I'd far rather keep a great tenant in place for the final year, albeit at a discount, than go through the hassle of trying to chase down and secure another tenant. My tenants are happy. I'm happy. A bird in hand is worth two in the bush...

As for you, dear Topper, negotiate hard!

One thing I think some of you guys are missing is that this isn't a Coop apartment, it's an investment property: real investors don't go and look at all the apartments in a building as the first part of the process like you would if you were buying a Coop. Mostly, it's the last thing the investor/buyer does. The marketing of small investment buildings is mostly done on paper and "drive by's, followed by an inspection of the common area of the building. only the really serious buyers (and often only after at least the start of bidding) will be needing to look inside of Topper's unit, so the idea of having to do a lot of showings, or having "staging" the unit mattering much.... well......

But in general I agree with much of the advice people are giving:
It will be very hard for him to find a NEW tenant on the terms he wants (who is going to go into a new apartment at anywhere near market under the possibility that they might have to move out after a couple of months? PLUS: the owner would almost certainly have to pay the entire broker's fee, since no one is going to pay a broker's fee and possibly have to amortize it over 2 or 3 months instead of X months (remembering that while people may pay a broker's fee for a 12 months lease, many know that in reality they will be renewing several times so the fee in reality gets amortized over 48, 60, 72, etc. months. Here, if a renter paid any fee, it could end up as added on like a 50% rent increase. PLUS all the moving expenses and headaches.

Your bigger issue is in not overreaching in terms of seeming unreasonable to the landlord: if you ask for something which is unreasonable in HIS eyes, even if it is true to the market realities, he may sour to a "good faith" bargaining if he thinks you are trying to hold him over a barrel. So be careful about piling too much on, because you may end up getting LESS in the end as a result.

"So be careful about piling too much on, because you may end up getting LESS in the end as a result."

Good point, 30yrs. If I were the L, I'd consider short term (3 mos, 6 mos) furnished rentals.

"cc:It would be a one-year lease "unless" the building was sold at which point the new owner would have the right to ask me to leave in 90 days. BTW, I would also have the option of leaving with 90-days notice"

If you're giving him the VERY valuable option, then he should pay for it. Suggest 50% rent, or suggest a payout if you have to move early.

Interesting point, 30yrs. I hadn't thought about the signficance of a broker's fee. That's a big deal.

30yrs - my Brooklyn bias is showing. Many of the properties we deal with are multifamilies, and yes, buyers want to see all the units. Sometimes we'll do an open house where the owner's unit is the only one available to show, but it's always disappointing for buyers - be they owner-occupants or investors.

A property with gorgeous turnkey apartments is going to be an easier sell than one with cranky tenants who leave rodent carcasses by the stairs (I've seen it happen). Unless the numbers themselves are sufficient to attract an investor. But what are the chances that's the case here? It's a small townhouse, not a big rental money maker.

Tina
(Brooklyn broker)

Sorry to be contrarian, but an L can rent the place direct & doesn't have to use a broker.

"It's a small townhouse, not a big rental money maker."
If L sells to a user, doesn't matter if it's a money maker. If L wants the right to cancel lease on 90 days notice in case of sale, sounds to me like L wants to sell to user, not investor. An investor probably wouldn't mind if there's a 1 yr lease in place.