Tenant Buyout Services

Tenant Buyouts (also known as "Cash for Keys" or "Tenant Move-Out Negotiation"") are a way in which to gain possession of a unit. Bay Area cities are highly-regulated when it comes to the possession rights a tenant has of your unit, so sometimes a buyout is the only way to go. Buyouts are especially important if you need to rid yourself of a troublesome tenant or if you intend to sell the property and need the unit to be vacant.

A Tenant Buyout is a private agreement between the owner and the tenant to vacate the property by a certain date in exchange for a certain amount of money. While a legal agreement between the two parties, it is a regulated transaction in cities like Oakland, Berkeley, and Alameda. This means it comes with a set of rules and instructions for starting and completing the transaction. Market Insite Consulting has extensive experience in the nuances of these various buyout ordinances.

If you engage our services for a tenant buyout, you will have a partner from beginning to end of the transaction. We start by filing the proper paperwork with the city. Then we make contact with the tenant to engage in negotiations and get an agreement signed. Our final step includes helping to clear the unit, hand over possession of the unit to you, and file the final paperwork. Buyouts are a very tricky process that must be done with compassion, understanding, knowledge, and business acumen. Our high success rate speaks to our ability to properly close such a high-stakes transaction - over 70 buyouts with an 84% success rate.

Buyout amounts vary greatly and are dependent on a number of factors. For instance, if your rental property is in the city of Oakland, there is a minimum starting point for all buyout offer amounts depending on the number of bedrooms in the unit you seek to possess. In other cities, while the ability to set the amount may be up to you, the final amount will depend greatly on the length of tenancy, size of unit, and approximate differential in rent for a comparable unit on the open marketplace. Typical minimum starting points for any buyout negotiations are $20k-$25k.

If you are interested in engaging our services for a buyout, you will need to fill out our Owner Buyout Questionnaire.  Once received, we can set a complimentary consult call to go over the process in more detail. 

Buyout timelines vary depending on the tenant and owner situation. However, most tenants will act on (or refuse) a buyout offer within a 30 day period and once committed, typically move within a 45-60 day timeframe.