Sell a House With Tenants in Savannah

Nothing has to change for the tenant

A Georgia lease is an interest in the property, so it continues past closing on the same terms — same rent, same end date, same rights. At closing the leases are assigned, deposits and prepaid rent transfer, and rent is prorated for the month. The deposit goes to the buyer, who becomes responsible for it to the tenant.

Georgia sets no statutory cap on security deposits, though landlords above a threshold number of units, or using a management agent, face escrow account and move-in inspection requirements that smaller owners do not. Bring the ledger either way so the accounting reconciles.

No showings — which matters more here

Savannah rentals are often older houses divided into units, sometimes with shared entrances and thin walls. Marching buyers through that is disruptive in a way it is not in a suburban subdivision, and an unhappy tenant makes a conventional sale considerably harder.

We do not need showings, open houses, or interior photographs of occupied rooms. Usually one walkthrough, scheduled when it suits the tenant.

What Savannah rentals usually need

Termites first. Coastal Georgia has intense termite pressure, and Savannah has dealt with Formosan subterranean termites, which are far more destructive than native species. In nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century wood-frame houses that means damage to sills, floor joists, and framing, often unseen until something is opened up. A termite letter is standard at a Georgia closing, and structural damage will frequently end a financed sale.

Then the rest: rot over damp crawlspaces, knob-and-tube remnants, galvanized plumbing, roofs patched many times, and water intrusion from tidal flooding, heavy rainfall, or surge. If the property is in a review district, exterior repairs are subject to design review, which makes a compliant renovation slow and expensive — and is a real reason landlords here sell as-is rather than fixing.

Short-term rentals and mixed use

Savannah regulates short-term rentals, and some properties operate in ways the current rules would not permit, or have permits that do not survive a sale. Others are rooming houses or houses divided into units without permits.

None of that stops us buying, but it affects value and it needs to be on the table early. Tell us what the property's actual permitted status is rather than what it has been doing.

Documents worth gathering

• The lease and every amendment or renewal, for each unit
• A current rent ledger showing payments and arrears
• Deposit records and where the funds are held
• Any demand for possession given, and any filed dispossessory case
• Housing-authority paperwork if any tenancy is subsidised
• Short-term rental permit documentation, if applicable
• Any termite letter, bond, or treatment history

Frequently asked questions