A normal sub-sale transaction would take three months to be completed meaning to say, by the time you settle the balance purchase price to the property, the property would be vacant.

There would not be a difference in terms of the sale procedure because the tenancy does not cross into the completion period.

Your main concern is the state, nature and condition of the property may be substantially different from that you see during your inspection.

Have your lawyer incorporate a term into the sale and purchase agreement whereby you are allowed to conduct a joint inspection of the property when the tenant moves out and impose an obligation to the vendor to fix any visible material defects in the property at the vendors' own costs and expenses.

There should be a bare minimum warranty by the vendor in respect of the condition of the property.

If you want to include a warranty from the owner, do when you put down the 2% booking fees, meaning the first stage of purchase. There will be an Offer Letter that both parties would need to sign to enter into an agreement.

Insist on writing down the clause of warranty on the Offer Letter as it is actually legally binding. It is as powerful as the Sales and Purchase Agreement (SPA). In other words, you can bring the owner to court if he doesn't fulfill the warranty.

If the owner doesn't agree to your clause, then you will know that he doesn't intend to be responsible for it and he will not sign the Offer Letter. Hence you will get back your Booking Fees. Hence you will safeguard your hard earned money.

Hi I'm interested to buy a property but currently the unit is tenanted. The agreement will end at somewhere around Aug. I would like to ask is there any differences of process during the purchasing? Do the owner responsible to cover the cost of repair the damage and make sure the tenant is moved out before the deal is completed?