Where the money goes while a non-paying tenant stays
The hardest part of a non-paying tenant is that you cannot see the end of it. A court sets the pace rather than you, and the timeline depends on the court and on the specifics of the case.
Meanwhile the meter runs. That is why some landlords decide the sensible move is to turn the property into cash now rather than spend an unknown number of months trying to restore a tenancy that has already failed.
Why a Commack house with a non-paying tenant will not finance
Owners often go through several rounds of this before calling us. Interest, an accepted offer, then the arrears surface during attorney review and the buyer withdraws. Each cycle puts more days on the house and less confidence behind the price.
The pattern is not bad luck. A financed buyer genuinely cannot get comfortable with a non-paying tenant, because their lender will not. Starting with a cash buyer means starting where that process was always going to end up.
Why local knowledge changes the number
A three-bedroom on Elder Drive. A house on Cobb Lane. Both in Commack, bought and paid for by us.
Commack is roughly 36,536 people in Suffolk County, ZIP 11725, and the housing stock is mostly colonial, split-level, ranch. Around Jericho Turnpike and Commack Road, most of it is old enough that the mechanicals are on their second or third life. We have been buying across Suffolk County for 15+ years. We know what the Commack Union Free School District does to a resale price, which blocks still have oil tanks in the ground, and what a house like yours is actually worth here.
Selling a Commack house with a non-paying tenant still in it
Most purchase agreements hand the tenant problem straight back to the seller. Deliver the property empty by closing or there is no closing. Ours does not.
We buy subject to whatever occupancy exists. You do not serve notice on our behalf, you do not fund a cash-for-keys offer out of your own pocket, and you do not have to see a proceeding through to the end. The non-paying tenant becomes ours at closing.
How we help Commack landlords with a non-paying tenant
Landlords in this position are often embarrassed and we would rather they were not. A non-paying tenant is not a judgment on the landlord, it is one of the ordinary risks of owning property, and a great many careful owners are sitting in exactly the same place this month.
What we offer is a straight conversation. What the house is worth as it stands, what the alternatives look like, and which professional to call if the answer turns out not to be a sale. None of it costs you anything to explore.
What you do not pay when you sell a house with a non-paying tenant
Each of the following comes with a retail listing of a house with a non-paying tenant, and none of it comes with ours.
- Agent commission
- $42,000 at 5% of the Commack median none
- Seller closing costs
- About $16,800 on a $840,000 sale. We can cover these. none
- Repairs to make it listable
- Whatever it takes to make it listable, paid in advance none
- Cleanout and removal
- Dumpsters or haulers by the load, ahead of any viewing none
- Carrying costs while it waits
- Taxes, insurance and utilities through the 74 to 89 days a listing takes to sell and close none
Selling quietly while the Commack arrears are unresolved
Landlords worry, reasonably, that a sale will provoke a non-paying tenant and make things worse before closing. Nothing we do announces anything. We are not photographing the property for the internet or scheduling weekend showings.
The notice that eventually goes out is a routine one about where rent should be paid, and it goes out after closing, when the property is ours.
What the two paths cost in Commack
These are the two routes open to you with a house with a non-paying tenant, priced against what Commack houses actually sell for.
Work it against Commack's own numbers. The median sale here is $840,000. A 5% commission on that is $42,000, and seller closing costs of about 2% add roughly $16,800. Those are costs we can cover on our side. That is $58,800 gone before anyone counts the repairs it took to get the house listable.
There are two waits in a listed sale and people usually only count the first. In Commack the median house takes about 29 days to go from listed to a signed contract. Then it waits again, typically 45 to 60 days, while the buyer's lender orders an appraisal and underwrites the loan. Call it 74 to 89 days from sign to keys, assuming nothing goes wrong.
The part worth understanding is what a signed contract actually guarantees, which is less than most sellers assume. A retail buyer with a mortgage contingency can walk away right up to the end. If they do not qualify, if the appraisal comes in under the price, if they change their mind and let the financing lapse. A share of deals die exactly there, after months of waiting, and the house goes back on the market with time on it. We are not borrowing anything, so there is no lender to satisfy, no appraisal to come in low and no contingency to exercise.
| Listing with an agent | Selling to us | |
|---|---|---|
| Sale price | $840,000 (Commack median) | Our written offer |
| Commission | −$42,000 | None |
| Seller closing costs | −$16,800 | We can cover them |
| Repairs before listing | Out of pocket | None |
| Cleanout | Yours | Ours |
| Showings | Until it sells | One visit |
| Listed to signed contract | 29 days (Commack median, once listable) | 24 hours to a written offer |
| Contract to closing | 45 to 60 days (waiting on the buyer's lender) | A date you choose |
| Total wait | 74 to 89 days if nothing falls through | Yours to set |
| Can the buyer walk? | Yes (mortgage contingency runs to the end) | No financing to fall through |
| Before repairs and carrying | $781,200 | The number we put in writing |
The agent column uses a 5% commission and about 2% of seller closing costs, which are typical rather than fixed. It leaves out repairs and holding costs because no two houses are alike there. Where a house is in good condition, listing with a capable agent can beat our number, and we will be upfront if that is the case.
The honest comparison
The median house in Commack sold for $840,000 and took about 29 days to go under contract, then another 45 to 60 days waiting on the buyer's mortgage. That is 74 to 89 days in total, for a house that was ready to show on day one. That is the ordinary path for an ordinary house. Add a non-paying tenant and it frequently does not finish at all, because the buyer's lender will not go where the occupancy is unresolved.
Weigh the retail figure against a closing you control and the two are often much closer than owners expect.
Common questions
Will you buy my Commack house with a non-paying tenant in it?
Yes. A non-paying tenant is one of the most common reasons landlords call us. We price the house as it stands and take the arrears situation on ourselves after closing.
Do I have to start an eviction before you will make an offer?
Not at all. Whether starting a case makes sense for you is a question for a landlord-tenant attorney and we can introduce you to one. It is not something we require.
Can I still recover the back rent I am owed?
Selling does not by itself settle what a non-paying tenant owes you, and how it is handled wants writing into the contract properly. Have your attorney look at that point, and we will work with whatever they ask for.
How long is this going to take?
A sale to us moves at whatever pace suits you, because there is no lender on our side to satisfy. The non-paying tenant case is the part with an unpredictable timeline, and that becomes our problem rather than yours.
Do you need to see inside the Commack unit first?
We would like to, and we can work from whatever you are able to show us. A non-paying tenant rarely welcomes visitors, so we plan for that rather than making it a condition.