Cyd Weeks : Situation with virtual tour and tenant

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Situation with virtual tour and tenant

By: Cyd Weeks
Friday, September 21, 2007 11:05 AM

I have a tenant that does not want the house he's renting to be sold. Surprise, surprise. Today we recieved a call demanding that we remove the virtual tour as it is his property inside and we are setting him up for a robbery. (he's a Realtor, by the way). He states he contacted our local board and they told him he has every right to have the virtual tour removed as he 'owns' the interior of the house and the owner only has rights to the exterior. This, to me, sounds absurd. I've posted in point2 to see if I can get that magnifying feature (another thing they added that I didn't like) off but I don't hold any hope to that. So, my question is... does it make sense that I have to remove the virtual tour?

I've explained the tenant that this house is for sale, the owner has every right to have her property marketed to the fullest and I would be willing to retake pictures after he packs up or removes what he doesn't want in the pictures, or he can move and I'll take them then.

What say you?

Comments

Member Since '04	Phil Anderson said: Interesting.....I actually called the Oregon RE Agency to see if they had an opinion, and they had nothing specific about VTs. So, were it me, I would take the VT down and explain to the owner that tenants do have many rights and that I would not want to infringe upon their right to have "peaceful enjoyment" of the property, nor did I wish to become the target of a potential lawsuit. You are still doing everything you can to get the property sold... You can't be blamed for their tenant's attitude. September 21, 2007 10:16 AM
Member Since '03	Velda Miller said: As for the tour, I'd take it off. Did he complain about still pictures too or just the tour? Any other decisions should be up to the seller and I would have a discussion with the seller about the tenant's attitude. If the tenant is on a month to month, I believe I would advise the seller to give the tenant the required notice to vacate IF that is financially possible for the seller OR again if month to month, give notice that the rent is going to be increased to double the current amount (if doesn't conflict with any thing else already in writing) on a certain date and the seller will take it off the market if the rent increase is acceptable. (I have a mean streak in me). If he stays, then your seller is making more rent money and if he leaves, good riddance. Otherwise, you're just stuck with an uncooperative tenant until he moves or it sells or you & the seller give up. Frankly, as long as he is there it will be difficult to sell.. what potential landlord wants a difficult tenant and what potential owner/occupant wants to deal with the possiblilty that the tenant might not vacant when required? September 21, 2007 10:46 AM
Member Since '05	Cyd Weeks said: I called the local association and they stated they had not heard from him nor would they have told him such a thing. I didn't think they would have. I just got off the phone with the Florida Realtor's Legal Hotline, a free legal advice line to Realtors in Florida. (I love that service) He is not protected under the privacy act of Florida. But, the landlord/tenant act does not address it so, it could be an open ended issue. I contacted the tenant and told them they had two choices..remove the things they don't want seen and agree to a virtual tour or...move because the landlord's intention is to have the house sold and have a virtual tour. I have an appointment next week to take other pictures. At the same time I will have him sign something about the VT so that will end that. If he won't sign, he'll be given notice to vacate...he's on a month to month. So...just a note to everyone...if you are selling a property with a tenant in there and you are going to do a VT, get something in writing from them to save yourself a potential headache. September 21, 2007 10:58 AM
Member Since '04	Vance Remele said: Cyd I would confirm with a call myself to the board, to see if in fact what the tenant is saying is correct and to forward you the section of the board policy stating to remove the Vt under these conditions. Vance September 21, 2007 10:59 AM
Member Since '04	Vance Remele said: Oops you read my mind Cyd you beat me to the punch. vance September 21, 2007 11:00 AM
Member Since '07	Candice A Donofrio said: The tenant does have some rights, subject to L/T laws in your state. I would consult with the owner. Does he want to remove the tenant so he can get the house sold. Or does he want to play fast and loose and remove the VT, running the risk the home will never be sold. Tenants have considerable power to impede a sale. It's usually best to give them a legal notice. Is the tenant on a lease? Tenants are only good when an investor buys the property. LOL! September 21, 2007 12:36 PM
Member Since '05	Cyd Weeks said: He's complaining about the virtual tour but in reality what he's complaining about and doesn't know how to explain are the still pics on my point2 site. You can magnify them and see actual possessions in the room that one might not normally see. Why they have that feature is beyond me, another liability in my opinion, but there's nothing I can about it. The tenant is going to remove what he doesn't want seen and I'll have him sign regarding marketing of the property, that he will hold us harmless or whatever. The landlord is of the opinion that if the tenant doesn't like it he can move. He was in there on a lease purchase that he wasn't able to follow through on to begin with so she's quite annoyed at the whole situation. She'll be bringing the price down again I think and hopefully it will all be over soon. It's not subject to a lease since it is a month to month situation, so that isn't an issue. Yet. :) September 21, 2007 12:58 PM
Member Since '06	Steven Burnett said: Uncooperative tenants can cause a house NOT to sell more than anything I have seen. I'd consider getting the person out and THEN listing the property. I had a tenant that told the buyers that the yard flooded, the neighbors were loud, etc. Had to get rid if the guy to even get buyers to LOOK at the house. The house was ALWAYS messy & stinky... I'm sure it was on purpose. Good luck! September 21, 2007 2:12 PM
Member Since '07	Candice A Donofrio said: [Cyd sez: He was in there on a lease purchase that he wasn't able to follow through on to begin with so she's quite annoyed at the whole situation. ] Mmm hmm. Heard that coming. Tenants that want to but can't buy the house are the worst. LOL I remember in the 70s my boyfriend's condo was for sale and we made sure and told any prospectives that "the airport noise wasn't THAT bad" . . . ;) September 21, 2007 2:20 PM
Member Since '03	Mipeco Realty, Inc - Michaela Krestenic, Broker-Owner said: why don't you turn off the virtual tour and use just pictures? That way there would be no magnifying feature. September 22, 2007 9:38 AM
Member Since '06	Norm Fisher said: I had this happen for the first time myself just last week. The tenant arrives home to see my sign with a rider saying, "tour this home online at www.normfisher.com." He flipped and called the landlord demanding that the photos be removed. Cited concerns over break ins. At the landlords insistence I removed the photos (actually archived the whole ad). Despite the thousands of homes which are marketed this way, I have yet to hear of that happening. I wonder what he thought I was going to do with all those pics when I spent an hour in his home shooting them? I did get remarkably good cooperation for the tenant for showings and managed a sale already so not a big deal. September 22, 2007 9:14 PM
Member Since '05	Cyd Weeks said: Michela... The magnification feature is on the pictures, not the virtual tour. Removing the virtual tour does nothing. September 22, 2007 11:00 PM
Member Since '03	Mipeco Realty, Inc - Michaela Krestenic, Broker-Owner said: Cyd, you are right ... I was thinking of something else. I actually didn't know about the magnifying feature you had in mind until I tried it just now! It sure would be nice to have the option to turn it off ... even just for practical purposes, such as when the pics are of a lower quality. September 22, 2007 11:17 PM
Member Since '05	Cyd Weeks said: Yep. Sure can see a lot of things with that feature that someone on the net usually wouldn't pick up on. Of course for high end properties, if someone wants to really see whats in there they can magnify the pic all on their own and plan a robbery if that's what they want to do. I can't imagine some joe schmoe doing it on a regular neighborhood house, but then again, I don't think like them to begin with, lol. I don't know why point2 added the feature and I believe there was a discussion on the board about it..the pros and cons. I don't see any pros to it, just liabilities. September 23, 2007 8:11 PM
Member Since '07	Michael Klijanowicz said: He must not be a very good Realtor if he can't even afford to own a home? I always tell my clients who have tenants to get rid of them and clean up the place before you put it on the market as most of them don't have a vested interest in seeing that the property is in the best showing condition and that the owner gets the best price! September 24, 2007 5:39 PM
Member Since '05	Cyd Weeks said: Well, I wouldn't go that far... some people got themselves in to situations before they became Realtors or they came in on the 'tail end' of the good times and are in an area that just isn't doing all that well. So, I'm not going to judge him because he's renting a house that he can't afford to purchase. I know quite a few Realtors who have sold the places they are living in and have gone to renting for one reason or another. He could probably purchase a home, just not one like he's living in now. :) September 25, 2007 6:33 PM