Hi,

So the house we are renting currently has just suddenly gone up for sale and I am very curious how the process works here. The first visit is tomorrow and I wonder how many of a property's flaws get disclosed early in the process. And if not early, when does the buyer find out about them? For example, we know of pretty obvious problems that are hidden by our rugs and furniture - problems that were there when we moved in and were noted in the move-in inventory.

We also know about certain noise situations from a near-by business that will probably not be heard until after the new owners move in. Do they get told about these things ahead of time?

We recently sold a house in the US and had to fill out a very long checklist - maybe 10 pages - asking us to tell everything we knew about all sorts of possible types of problems the house might have. Our real estate agent told us to be totally honest, because there could be legal consequences if we knew about a problem and did not reveal it ahead of time.

Somehow I suspect the policy here is much more along the lines of buyer beware... Am I right? In that case, is it typical for potential buyers to have professional inspections before making an offer?

If you fail to disclose known problems, YOU are dishonest.

End of story.

Expect to be sued.

Tom

Even if you rent, thus not own the place?

Why hide anything if renting?

Something is very suspicious.

Tom

We are just the renters and I sure don't want to get involved in the sales process in any way. We still have to deal with the landlord's representatives when we move out, and I wish they wouldn't disturb us by showing the house to potential buyers.

Do you seriously think I have some legal requirement to speak up about problems I am aware of, that might not be obvious? If so, could you point me to where I can get more information about my responsibilities?

My advice is stay out of it. Keep it zipped and stay out of the way.

You are not selling the house so the new owners would have no come back against you. They have the opportunity to visit the house with a structural engineer or an architect to check it out. It is not up to you to warn them about anything.

And as you say, if you did pipe up it may well cause issues with your current landlord.

If the prospective buyers are so careless that they buy a place without checking it out from top to bottom then they are at fault not you. And don't expect to be sued, you won't be. ON what grounds could you be sued anyway????

i believe the phrase "no comment" may come in useful when asked

+1 to don't get involved.

Tell the agent you don't want to be in when they show people around. If you are stay out of it and politely tell anyone who asks "I'm just the tenant speak to the agent/owner".

Just don`t lie. If they ask about structural stuff just say I am not an engineer you should get a professional.

If they ask about noise assuming there is some just say we get some like anywhere but we`ve lived here x years.

You weren't looking to leave because of noise levels? So thats not a lie either

The buyer has to do due diligence while you must not get involved. I would stay away from it and let real estate agent deal with the whole matter. Silence is golden.

Even if the house changes hands, the problems on the inspection will still be your responsibility. If the buyer is clever, he may ask the owner to see the incoming inspection report. So you are not hiding anything.

As tenants you have rights regarding visits and proper notice. I certainly would not go out while there were visits but I know some people do.

But the buyer must prove that the seller was dishonest, which is very difficult to do.

Yeah, I'm starting to be concerned about the number of visits now. I gave the guy times that worked best and asked him to group the visits, and he comes back requesting three separate times on different days, and all outside of the hours I asked for. I'm heading to ASLOCA this afternoon to make an appointment for some advice on the whole situation.

I plan on being here for the visits, but do people in my position typically participate in the visit in any way, show people around, etc.? (I'd rather not unless there is some need for me to do that.) I do expect that the real estate agent will accompany the visitors from room to room, right?

We just sold a house and cottage in the US with two sets of tenants involved, and now we are getting to feel what they went through.

Participate: Absolutely not, its none of your business really is it.

But to get the message across to the agent about visiting times, perhaps butt in and be totally OTT about it!

I would not grant access whilst I am still resident. The buyers can look at the outside & decide if they want to buy or not.

Is that legal? I would think there's something in the contract about reasonable access in the event of the property being sold out from under you?

LearningAlways, you don't have to do anything except make sure the place is reasonably tidy. The agent will do all the viewings and showings of rooms. It's nothing to do with you. If the agent asks you a question about something (we'd had a new oven installed a few months before the viewings because the old one broke, but he couldn't remember exactly when it was installed) then answer him, but otherwise just keep out of their way. From my experience you're likely to have several people per viewing (family/friends & architect/builder) so no need to add to the numbers.

Which can result in termination of your rental contract, so that is not advice that the OP should necessarily heed.

You definitely have to grant reasonable access, but that doesn't mean they can turn your life upside down. Give them clear days/times and say that they are non-negotiable. As long as you have given them something reasonable to chose from that should be ok.

That's fine, if I appeal I will get 3 years before I have to go.
If I rent a place then its my home end if story, its a business arrangement not about being nice . If they offer to reduce rent by 50% then that's another story.

On what grounds? There is no contract between the tenant and the new buyer.