renting questions

So we found a place to rent that we adore The realtor told us we could have it and sign papers this week, but we just found out the owner is trying to sell it. We dont want to rent a place thats on the market so I asked the realtor and she said, that as long as he would find good tenants to rent it, he was fine not selling for a couple years. So my questions is, can we ask for that to be put in the lease? This way, 6 months from now, he suddenly doesnt decide to try and sell it again?r Also, is it customary to meet your future landlord before you sign? It seems like the realtor is taking the lead and I would like to meet who we will be renting from for the next year, so was thinking of asking if he could be available when we sign.
Thanks!

Message edited 5/15/2011 7:41:50 AM.

Re: renting questions

My understanding is that if you are signing a lease for a period of time (e.g. 1 year) rather than a month-to-month rental agreement, you should be protected. He could still sell the house, but you would not be forced to leave (the lease would have to be honored by the new owner until the lease period was up). Of course, it might be inconvenient to have the house on the market and have to deal with showings?

Is it on the market now? If it is, the sellers will sometimes try to rent it out on a month-to-month basis for less than market value while they wait for it to sell. But if he is giving you a lease, that's not the case here.

Also, sometimes if the owner is looking to sell, they want to do a rental with an option to buy.

As far as meeting the landlord in person, I always have my rental customers meet, whether I am working with the landlord or the renter. Once they sign the agreement and pay me my fee, I am out of the whole arrangement, so I want to make sure THEY are on the same page about everything. So if you want to try to suss out the landlord's long-term plans, then I think it's totally reasonable to ask to meet face-to-face before signing anything (assuming he lives locally and not out of state or something, which is something you also want to know before you rent).

Good luck!

Re: renting questions

Also, you can negotiate any provision in a lease or add anything in, so if you want something in there that says he won't put the home on the market for a period of months, you can try to add that to the lease. The landlord may agree or may not, but at least you'll know.

Re: renting questions

thank you so much!! I called the realtor again and checked and it is still on the market now, but once we sign the contracts this week, he will be taking it off. I guess he wants t make sure we are taking place, which I understand.
my other question is, the realtor is coming over to go over the lease. Should we sign it right there or is it Ok if I ask her to leave it so we can look it over and then sign the next day?