I want to thank those that came out to the AAGLA annual meeting and listened to me speak on buyouts. For those that could not make it I thought I would do an FAQ this week.
Question 1: What are the requirements?
In several rent controlled cities buyouts commonly require:
Tenant receive and sign a disclosure
Tenant has a window of time to cancel (30-45 days)
The agreement be in the primary language of the tenant
The agreement gets filed with the rent control board.
Question 2: For buyouts that get filed, do they get checked?
Many of the rent control boards as part of the buyout filing process receive the tenant phone number and/or email provided on the disclosure that gets filed along with the agreement. Then the tenant(s) do get contacted to make sure they did in fact agree to doing a buyout and in some cases that the agreement is in the tenant's primary language.
Question 3: How much should the first offer be?
In some cities there is a minimum, which is the minimum a tenant would receive if they had to get relocation. You can watch my video on the difference between relocation and buyouts here. If there is no minimum set, then the first offer is the relocation amount because it is an easier way for both sides to use as a baseline. However, this number may very based on the circumstances, such as if the tenant has a past owed amount that you may want to offset to justify offering lower than relocation.
You can watch my latest video on buyout requirements and tips here. Buyouts are above all voluntary agreements. The first step is starting the conversation. In the words of Wayne Gretzky "you miss 100% of the shots you don't take." In other words, you don't know if a deal is possible until you float the idea.
A good first step is getting informed on what requirements you may need to meet as a landlord offering a buyout. If you are interested in learning more you can submit an inquiry form to set up a consultation with me.
The information in this post is for general information purposes only. Nothing on this post should be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation. This information is not intended to create, and receipt or viewing does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship.