What a non-paying tenant costs a Merrick landlord
The hardest part of a non-paying tenant is that you cannot see the end of it. A court sets the pace rather than you, and the timeline depends on the court and on the specifics of the case.
Meanwhile the meter runs. That is why some landlords decide the sensible move is to turn the property into cash now rather than spend an unknown number of months trying to restore a tenancy that has already failed.
Why ordinary buyers walk away from arrears
Owners often go through several rounds of this before calling us. Interest, an accepted offer, then the arrears surface during attorney review and the buyer withdraws. Each cycle puts more days on the house and less confidence behind the price.
The pattern is not bad luck. A financed buyer genuinely cannot get comfortable with a non-paying tenant, because their lender will not. Starting with a cash buyer means starting where that process was always going to end up.
Why local knowledge changes the number
The median is up 8.68% year over year as of 2026-10. A firming market gives you a little room for error on price, which is worth more than it sounds when the house is not in showable condition. At a $902,038 median, Merrick buyers are paying enough that they expect the house to be finished. A dated kitchen is a deduction in a cheaper market and close to disqualifying in this one, which is why unrenovated houses here sit while the renovated ones move. The median house here goes under contract in about 24 days, which is quick for Long Island. It is also a figure that only applies to property in showable condition.
Merrick is roughly 22,040 people in Nassau County, ZIP 11566, and the housing stock is mostly hi-ranch, colonial, split-level. Around Merrick Road and Sunrise Highway, most of it is old enough that the mechanicals are on their second or third life. The Merrick stop pulls buyers who commute, which supports the good houses and does very little for the ones that need a roof. We have been buying across Nassau County for 15+ years. We know what the Merrick Union Free School District does to a resale price, which blocks still have oil tanks in the ground, and what a house like yours is actually worth here.
Selling a Merrick house with a non-paying tenant still in it
Most purchase agreements hand the tenant problem straight back to the seller. Deliver the property empty by closing or there is no closing. Ours does not.
We buy subject to whatever occupancy exists. You do not serve notice on our behalf, you do not fund a cash-for-keys offer out of your own pocket, and you do not have to see a proceeding through to the end. The non-paying tenant becomes ours at closing.
What we bring beyond the offer
Selling is not always the right answer and we will say so. Sometimes a tenant who has stopped paying is a fixable situation, and what the landlord actually needs is a good landlord-tenant attorney rather than a buyer.
We know the attorneys who do this work on Long Island and we are glad to make the introduction whether or not the house ends up being ours. Where selling is the right move, we have bought a great many houses with a non-paying tenant in place and none of the details will surprise us.
What you do not pay when you sell a house with a non-paying tenant
Listing a house with a non-paying tenant the usual way brings each of these costs with it. Selling to us brings none of them.
- Agent commission
- $45,102 at 5% of the Merrick median none
- Seller closing costs
- About $18,041 on a $902,038 sale. We can cover these. none
- Repairs to make it listable
- Whatever it takes to make it listable, paid in advance none
- Cleanout and removal
- Dumpsters or haulers by the load, ahead of any viewing none
- Carrying costs while it waits
- Taxes, insurance and utilities across the 69 to 84 days it takes to find a buyer and then wait on their lender none
What the tenant gets told, and when
Some tenancies have become tense enough that the landlord wants no contact with the non-paying tenant at all. That is workable. We ask for whatever access you can reasonably give, we will not ask you to force entry on anybody, and we do not make an unrealistic showing schedule a condition of the offer.
If the relationship has reached the point where communication should go through counsel, your attorney will tell you so, and we will work around it.
What the two paths cost in Merrick
These are the two routes open to you with a house with a non-paying tenant, priced against what Merrick houses actually sell for.
Work it against Merrick's own numbers. The median sale here is $902,038. A 5% commission on that is $45,102, and seller closing costs of about 2% add roughly $18,041. Those are costs we can cover on our side. That is $63,143 gone before anyone counts the repairs it took to get the house listable.
There are two waits in a listed sale and people usually only count the first. In Merrick the median house takes about 24 days to go from listed to a signed contract. Then it waits again, typically 45 to 60 days, while the buyer's lender orders an appraisal and underwrites the loan. Call it 69 to 84 days from sign to keys, assuming nothing goes wrong.
The part worth understanding is what a signed contract actually guarantees, which is less than most sellers assume. A retail buyer with a mortgage contingency can walk away right up to the end. If they do not qualify, if the appraisal comes in under the price, if they change their mind and let the financing lapse. A share of deals die exactly there, after months of waiting, and the house goes back on the market with time on it. We are not borrowing anything, so there is no lender to satisfy, no appraisal to come in low and no contingency to exercise.
| Listing with an agent | Selling to us | |
|---|---|---|
| Sale price | $902,038 (Merrick median) | Our written offer |
| Commission | −$45,102 | None |
| Seller closing costs | −$18,041 | We can cover them |
| Repairs before listing | Out of pocket | None |
| Cleanout | Yours | Ours |
| Showings | Until it sells | One visit |
| Listed to signed contract | 24 days (Merrick median, once listable) | 24 hours to a written offer |
| Contract to closing | 45 to 60 days (waiting on the buyer's lender) | A date you choose |
| Total wait | 69 to 84 days if nothing falls through | Yours to set |
| Can the buyer walk? | Yes (mortgage contingency runs to the end) | No financing to fall through |
| Before repairs and carrying | $838,895 | The number we put in writing |
The agent column uses a 5% commission and about 2% of seller closing costs, which are typical rather than fixed. It leaves out repairs and holding costs because no two houses are alike there. Where a house is in good condition, listing with a capable agent can beat our number, and we will be upfront if that is the case.
The honest comparison
The comparison worth making is our offer against what the listed route actually produces for a house with a non-paying tenant in it. Months of carrying a property that generates nothing, commission and closing costs at the end, and a real chance of a buyer withdrawing once the arrears come up in attorney review.
The median house in Merrick sold for $902,038 and took about 24 days to go under contract, then another 45 to 60 days waiting on the buyer's mortgage. That is 69 to 84 days in total, for a house that was ready to show on day one. We will go through both columns with you plainly.
Common questions
Will you buy my Merrick house with a non-paying tenant in it?
A non-paying tenant is ordinary work for us. Tell us how far behind they are and whether anything has been filed, and it goes into the number rather than stopping the conversation.
Do I have to start an eviction before you will make an offer?
No. We never ask a seller to begin or finish a proceeding as a condition of buying a house with a non-paying tenant in it. If one is already underway that is fine too, and in many cases it can carry on after closing.
Can I still recover the back rent I am owed?
Selling does not by itself settle what a non-paying tenant owes you, and how it is handled wants writing into the contract properly. Have your attorney look at that point, and we will work with whatever they ask for.
How long is this going to take?
A sale to us moves at whatever pace suits you, because there is no lender on our side to satisfy. The non-paying tenant case is the part with an unpredictable timeline, and that becomes our problem rather than yours.
Do you need to see inside the Merrick unit first?
Ideally yes, realistically often not. We price the space we cannot see conservatively and tell you clearly what we assumed, rather than walking away from a house over access.