A tenant who has paid late for a year, an open file at the Tribunal administratif du logement, $600 rents in a neighbourhood where everything rents at $1,100: many owners believe they must “fix that” before selling. They are wrong. These buildings sell, often to good buyers — provided you talk to the right one.
On the open market, a “problem” building scares off individual buyers and attracts lowball offers. A buyer who manages several hundred units himself sees something else: below-market rents are upside at turnover, a late tenant is a file he knows how to handle, a vacant unit is one to renovate and re-let at today’s price. He does not penalize you for what he knows how to do.
The most common case among long-time owners: loyal tenants, rents barely raised in twenty years. The income value is low, but a serious buyer also calculates the value at market rents and offers between the two. Do not impose sharp increases before the sale: they end up at the TAL, and a contested file is worth less than a low, peaceful rent.
A direct buyer takes over ongoing files with the building. What he wants is the truth: who pays, who does not, since when, and where the recourse stands. A seller who presents a clear table gets a better offer than one who hides a late unit the inspection will reveal anyway. Unpaid rent before the sale stays yours; after the sale it is the buyer’s problem.
You do not have to renovate to sell. A buyer who purchases as is prices the work and builds it into the offer; you avoid financing a job site at 60 to resell six months later. What matters is that the structure, roof and systems are documented: a recent inspection report, even a harsh one, reassures more than no report at all.
List the units with rent, lease date and payment status. Gather the notices sent and TAL decisions. Note the work done and the work ahead. Then ask a buyer who keeps tenants in place for a written offer: within a week you will know what the building is worth as it stands, with no broker, no showings and nothing to repair.
“We were surprised by their professionalism and organization. All of the conditions negotiated at the very beginning remained exactly the same at the signing.” — Peter B., seller
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