Landlords who want out usually assume the process goes: wait for the lease to end, don’t renew, clean and paint, list it, show it, sell it. Six to nine months of lost rent and turnover costs before you see a dollar. If you’re selling to someone who wants to live in the house, that’s roughly how it goes. If you’re selling to an investor, almost none of it is necessary. Here’s how a tenant-occupied sale actually works in Georgia and how to get the most out of it.

What happens to the lease when you sell

In Georgia, as in most states, a lease runs with the property. Selling the house doesn’t end it. The buyer becomes the landlord on the day of closing, bound by the same lease you signed, and the tenant keeps paying rent — to the new owner — under the same terms until the lease ends. You can’t sell your way out of a lease, and a buyer can’t use the sale to push a tenant out early.

Practically, that means the buyer wants to see:

• The signed lease and any addenda, including pet agreements and any side arrangements (“I told him he could pay on the 10th”). Put side arrangements in writing before the sale, or disclose them.
• The rent roll: current rent, due date, when the lease ends, whether the tenant is current.
• Payment history — ideally 12 months of bank deposits or your property-management ledger. A tenant who has paid on time for three years is worth real money to an investor.
• Security deposit amount and where it’s held.

Security deposits

The deposit belongs to the tenant, not to you. When you sell, it transfers to the buyer as a credit at closing — the buyer’s funds to you are reduced by the deposit amount, and the buyer now holds it on the tenant’s behalf. Georgia law requires the new owner to take on the deposit obligations, and the tenant should be notified in writing of who now holds their deposit and where to pay rent. The closing attorney and the buyer handle the notice; make sure your accounting for the deposit is clean so there’s no dispute at move-out later.

Notice to the tenant

You don’t need the tenant’s permission to sell. You do need to respect their right to quiet enjoyment — reasonable notice before any inspection or walk-through, usually 24 hours and at a reasonable time. Check your lease for the specific access clause. Investor buyers typically need one walk-through, not a dozen showings, which is one of the reasons selling to one is easier on the tenant and on you.

If the tenant is month-to-month and a buyer wants the property vacant, Georgia requires the landlord to give 60 days’ written notice to terminate (the tenant only has to give 30). But with an investor buyer, the question usually doesn’t come up — a paying month-to-month tenant is an asset, not an obstacle.

How an investor prices an occupied rental

A buyer who wants to live in the house looks at comparable sales and the kitchen. An investor looks at three things:

1. Rent relative to value. What does the property earn, and what will it earn once the current lease ends? A $1,450 rent on a house worth $170,000 is a different proposition from $1,450 on a house worth $260,000.
2. Condition and deferred maintenance. Roof age, HVAC, plumbing, electrical panel, and anything the tenant has been quietly living with. Investors price in repairs rather than asking you to make them.
3. The tenant. Payment history, how long they’ve been there, whether the rent is below market (an opportunity) or above market (a risk when they leave), and whether there is any dispute or eviction history.

Then they ask whether the property produces enough cash flow after their financing and expenses to make sense. Price follows from that. It is a more honest, more predictable process than the retail market — and it works in your favor when the tenant is solid, because that tenant is worth a premium an owner-occupant would never pay.

Tenants in place: advantage or discount?

It depends on the tenant and the buyer.

The worst option is usually the one landlords default to: evicting or non-renewing a paying tenant so the property can be listed vacant, then spending four months and $10,000 on turnover to sell to a retail buyer at a number that, after commission, is close to what an investor would have paid on day one with the tenant still in place.

Tired of being a landlord but the numbers still work?

A couple of structures short of a straight cash sale are worth knowing about. Some sellers carry part of the price as a seller-financed note — you become the bank, receive monthly payments with interest, and spread your capital gains over years instead of taking the hit at once. Others sell with a lease-option or a master lease, where an investor takes over operations and the tenant relationship now and purchases on an agreed timeline. These aren’t right for everyone, but if your real problem is the phone calls rather than the asset, say so. The structure can be built around that.

What to do this week

1. Pull the lease, the last 12 months of rent deposits, and the deposit record into one folder.
2. Write down anything the tenant has told you needs fixing. The buyer will find it; you’d rather it be a line item than a surprise.
3. Decide whether you want speed, top price, or ongoing income — that determines who you should sell to and how.

Then tell us about the property. Address, rent, condition, and the tenant situation is enough. We buy with tenants in place, including when the situation isn’t clean.