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The answer to this question is determined by many different factors, including the type of property you are selling, the city in which the property is located, local rent control ordinances and the length of time the tenant has been in the property. I’m going to treat this scenario as a single-family home, not under rent control, with tenants on an existing lease.

If the intention is to close your home sale without the tenants in place, the first step is to give them notice that you do not plan on continuing their tenancy. You’ll need to give 30 days’ notice if they have lived there less than a year and 60 days’ notice for a year or more. Legally, you may proceed with listing the house while the tenants are still living in the property. However, this can pose significant marketing challenges. 

With tenants in place, you have very little control over how the property looks for showings. It complicates your ability to do pre-marketing prep work such as painting, cleaning and staging, and these steps are extremely important if you are trying to maximize your profit. Your tenants would need to cooperate with your requests for showings, which need to be made at least 24 hours in advance. They are under no obligation to tidy the house or leave the property during showings. Listing with tenants in place can also be a red flag for buyers who want to owner occupy, because they may be concerned about the possibility of the tenants refusing to leave. 

The bottom line is if you are looking for the highest possible sale price, and your tenants only have one month left on their lease, your best option is likely to wait until the property is vacant to put the home on the market. That being said, if you absolutely need to sell as quickly as possible, an experienced Realtor can help you to navigate a tenant occupied property sale to minimize the impact of these challenges as much as possible. 

Kari Carson

DRE #01903828

(818) 424-5537

kari@karicarson.com

Neighborhoods Served: La Canada Flintridge, La Crescenta, Montrose, Glendale, Pasadena, Eagle Rock, Highland Park, Greater LA area

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This is one of the questions I’m asked most often during listing appointments, and it’s definitely smart to think strategically about timing your list date if your personal situation allows for flexibility.

Our local market does tend to follow a familiar seasonal cycle influenced by weather, school schedules, and holidays. Unsurprisingly, activity typically slows between Thanksgiving and New Year’s, as many buyers are focused on holiday spending and travel during that time.  But sellers should also be mindful of other holiday weekends that can impact a listing launch. Realtors often try to avoid bringing homes to market right before Easter, Mother’s Day, Memorial Day, or Labor Day, since many buyers travel during those weekends, which can reduce open house traffic.

Another surprisingly slow time of year in our area is July and August. I recently spoke with sellers who had been advised to list in July to attract buyers hoping to enroll in our Blue Ribbon school districts. However, La Cañada and Glendale schools typically begin in mid-August, and enrollment periods usually open the February prior. As a result, buyers who are specifically purchasing for schools are often house hunting in the spring rather than waiting until summer. Because our neighborhoods are so closely tied to school calendars, July and August tend to become vacation and back-to-school months for many families, making late summer one of the quieter periods of the year for real estate activity. Even many local Realtors schedule their own vacations during that time.

That said, we are fortunate that the consistently low inventory in our foothill communities helps maintain strong buyer demand year-round. So if you end up needing to list your home in December – or during another traditionally slower season – there is absolutely no reason your home can’t still sell quickly. It simply becomes more important to recognize current market conditions and price strategically. And remember: listing during a slower time of year can also mean facing less competition from nearby listings, which can help offset having fewer active buyers in the market.

Kari Carson

DRE #01903828

(818) 424-5537

kari@karicarson.com

Neighborhoods Served: La Canada Flintridge, La Crescenta, Montrose, Glendale, Pasadena, Eagle Rock, Highland Park, Greater LA area

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“I’ve noticed that some houses in the neighborhood are selling right away for over asking, while other houses that seem just as nice are sitting. Why is this happening?”

During the pandemic, the buyer demand was so high that a seller could practically just post a sign in their yard and receive multiple offers, regardless of how the home was presented or priced. Most buyers wanted to get into a home so badly, that they were willing to overlook common flaws or compromises. While the demand for our Greater Los Angeles communities is still high today, buyers have gotten over their fear of missing out and are now willing to be patient and wait for the right house. Once they find it, they may offer quickly and bid high, but they aren’t going to move with any kind of urgency unless they are worried about losing the opportunity to another buyer. This makes strategic pricing especially important, as sellers need to understand specific features that can affect the overall value of a property when determining their list price. 

In highly desirable neighborhoods like La Canada Flintridge, as the list price of a home goes up, features that wouldn’t matter for first time homeowners become that much more important. Take for example the size and configuration of the yard. If your home is 3,000 sq ft or larger, it is likely that your buyer may be trading up from their starter home. They are moving specifically because they lack something in their current home, and that applies as much to the outdoor living areas as the indoor.  Something as simple as the yard being larger on the side than in the back can affect the home’s value. How private is the lot? Buyers often want a pool, but they don’t want to sacrifice all their outdoor yard space to accommodate one. How deep is the setback of the house on the lot? Most buyers want a large backyard, but they don’t want their front door right at the street in order to achieve that. The location of the access to the yard from the house is also important, as many buyers envision themselves moving to the main outdoor space directly from their family room or kitchen.  The ideal lot gives a buyer privacy from their neighbors and the street, low maintenance but mature landscaping in all areas (without sacrificing trees and greenery), and multiple defined outdoor areas for different uses. Homes may feature areas for a pool or water element, an outdoor kitchen and dining area, a firepit, and a flat grassy or landscaped portion for pets and children. Houses that are missing a key element of a typical buyers’ wish list will likely take a bit longer to sell. In this market, every aspect of the property matters, so make sure you carefully discuss the best pricing strategy for your home with your Realtor before listing. 

Kari Carson

DRE #01903828

(818) 424-5537

kari@karicarson.com

Neighborhoods Served: La Canada Flintridge, La Crescenta, Montrose, Glendale, Pasadena, Eagle Rock, Highland Park, Greater LA area