[Question] Buying a house?

[grub]

So my wife and I are thinking about buying a townhouse, in the complex we currently rent in. I know my landlady bought this place hoping to live here but moved in with her boyfriend soon after purchase and has rented it since.
Is there a way to ask if she is willing to sell that won't get make her hesitant to keep us as tenants?
I'm ok with renting for now but the prices are climbing and I'm not getting any younger. I'd like to buy a full house at some point but will probably never be able to anywhere within 1 hour of here (Abbotsford B.C. 1 hour east of Vancouver)

 

[Gruebeard]

Is there a way to ask if she is willing to sell that won't get make her hesitant to keep us as tenants?

If you're good tenants, there's likely little chance she'll be hesitant to keep you on.

Not keeping you on runs her the very real risk of the house remaining empty, not collecting rent for several months. Even if she misses out on only one month, she's still out a fair chunk of cash. And if she's using a realtor to find a tenant, she's out another month's rent since that goes to the realtor.

So, unless she's being silly about money, she'll keep you.

 

[strawman]

Is there a way to ask if she is willing to sell that won't get make her hesitant to keep us as tenants?

"We are thinking about buying a place in the next few years, and were wondering if you were interested in selling this one?"

Pretty easy and straightforward, and the "next few years" part gives her the idea that you aren't going anywhere anytime soon, so she doesn't have to deal with looking for a new tenant or anything immediately. That should avoid any conflict with her.

 

[fade]

The owners of the last two houses we rented came to us with an offer to sell. It's not uncommon--especially when the owner realizes they've had enough.