Interesting question. I think it would depend on the way your contracts are written and when you are closing. In my opinion you would normally need to pay rent through the closing date. So even if you have signed a contract , but for example you are closing on July 30th, you would need to pay rent July 1st. If you close July 15th, you'd need to pay the full month rent on July 1st, and then get a credit at closing from the seller for the time you own the house (after the 15th). If you haven't actually signed the contract yet this is a good time to have your Realtor look at it or perhaps better yet pay a board certified real estate attorney to review it. The cost could well be worth the savings.

It depends on when you are closing. If you are closing on the 1st, no. If you are closing during the month, you may be able to negotiate a pro-rated amount. If you paid a deposit when you first moved in, he has to return this to you, and it should be on your closing statement. So you may be able to negoiate something there as well.

Amy,

You will be required to pay rent for any portion of time prior to taking ownership of thr property. The closing company will take care of this for you. If you continue to have concern, contact the closing company and let them know.

Good luck,

The "Eckler Team"

I am not sure we have all the pieces to this puzzle. But I will attempt to answer the question by comparison to other expenses addressed at the closing date by escrow. In the case of utilities and property taxes, the seller is liable for all expenses through the closing date. You are responsible for all expenses after the closing date. Logical. The Escrow Officer will PRO-RATE these expenses accordingly. The same would hold true, in theory, with the RENT. Now, you did not state the terms of your original rent agreement. If it calls for an extra month’s rent after the close of a sale (in case of a sale), then that would be appropriate. Now, I am wondering if you were represented by a real estate agent or lawyer for this transaction? In the case of the sale of a home, in theory, anything is negotiable. So, if you signed a Purchase and Sale Agreement for the home and did not address a POTENTIAL clause in the Rent Agreement that calls for an additional month’s rent in case of a sale, you may have a problem. You may want to get the advice of an attorney if the lesser is unmovable on this point.

Depending on what day of the month you are closing, you would still be required to pay rent. This is something that should have been addressed in the contract as well.

It works the same way as if a buyer was purchasing a house with a tenant in it. He is owed for the time he is owner. It seems that you would have to prorate the payments for the days that you are living in the house before closing. If you close on July 10, you have to divide the rent per day and multiply by 10. Have you addressed your deposit on the contract as well?

Naima

It depends on when you close however don't forget the landlord has other financial obligations that depends on that rental income to cover. Rent is due and payable up to the point you close on the purchase. http://www.lynn911.com

I just closed a deal where the seller sold the house to the buyers. Although there was a set close date, the buyer ended up delayed close (due to financing problem) for a week. The seller prorated the rent to the close of escrow date.

The problem I can see is even though your contract calls for close of escrow on a certain day, there is no guarantee that the house will close on that day, so the lender will need to collect the next months rent and then hopefully reimburse you if you close early..

I will have a agreement made with the owener to that effect (reimbursement if you bought the house prior to the lease term is ccompleted) and go from there.

Sylvia