Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

I live in CA and am looking to purchase a short sale. There is a tenant in the house and he wants the S'er to buy out his 3 year lease. Can we buy this house without regard to the lease?


Asked on 8/16/12, 2:12 pm

3 Answers from Attorneys

Gary R. White Burton & White

No

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Answered on 8/16/12, 2:31 pm

Absolutely not. A lease is, in many ways like a lien, only with an expiration date. If it attaches before a sale or another lien, it has priority over any later transfer or encumbrance. The only options are cancel the lease by agreement (apparently requiring payment), wait until he does something that warrants eviction, or let him stay for the term of his lease and then kick him out.

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Answered on 8/16/12, 3:23 pm
Bryan Whipple Bryan R. R. Whipple, Attorney at Law

No. A change of ownership of a property does not affect the rights of tenants under their leases. That's how huge office buildings with dozens or hundreds of tenants get sold. In rare instances, a lease will contain a specific provision making it terminable upon a sale, but such clauses are the xception, not the rule.

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Answered on 8/16/12, 6:25 pm


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