California Real Estate Agency Q&A

The Listing agent tells me the person handling the trust does not know anything about this property since they have been rented to the same families for the last ten years.

He could have her fill out disclosures with all “unknown” or can she do an “Exempt” TDS, he is asking me.

If the property is held in a trust and the trustees didn’t occupy the premises or own property outside of the trust in the last year, then the seller can use the exempt seller disclosure. 

If any trustee did in fact reside at the property or owned it outside of the trust in the last year, then they are required to do a TDS. 

“Unknown” should be marked as a no. A disclosure asks whether it is known, yes or no. If the seller doesn’t know then the “no” box should be checked. 

Offer was contingent on inspection and we are not going till Monday morning because just today one of the families provided negative COVID results after having contracted it, if we see problems with the properties we can still cancel, correct? Yes, you can cancel until you remove the inspection contingency in writing.

Also, buyer will be flipping them, my question is with such long tenancies, is there anything we need to do besides giving them 60 days notice, and can we do it 3 days after COE?

We already wrote that number on the tenant transfer form. Yes, as long as your 60 day notice is compliant with the moratorium and give a valid reason (extensive remodel in your case). The landlord (buyer) will likely need to either pay tenant relocation or a rent waiver. 

Here is the reason cited from civil code 1946.2: (D) (i) Intent to demolish or to substantially remodel the residential real property.

If an owner issues a notice to terminate a tenancy for no-fault just cause, the owner shall notify the tenant of the tenant’s right to relocation assistance or rent waiver pursuant to this section. If the owner elects to waive the rent for the final month of the tenancy as provided in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1), the notice shall state the amount of rent waived and that no rent is due for the final month of the tenancy.

Is there a problem with me helping my buyer do that after we close? Once you close escrow, your role and duties as a real estate agent ends. Any help you do would be on a personal level. You have to be very careful to not act on the client’s behalf, especially when it comes to property management or the lease termination.