Being a landlord in Spokane used to be a steady side income. After the 2019 Washington landlord-tenant reform and the post-pandemic eviction backlog, a lot of small landlords are quietly looking for the exit. If you’re reading this at 11pm because a tenant just called about a leaking water heater, you’re not alone, and you have more options than you think.
This guide walks through the real reasons Spokane landlords are getting out, what your fastest exit looks like, and how to sell without making your tenant move, fixing the kitchen, or paying a 6% commission.
Why Spokane Landlords Are Quietly Selling Off
We talk to landlords every week. The same patterns keep coming up:
- Tighter notice rules under RCW 59.18. Month-to-month terminations now require just cause in most cases, and rent increases over a certain threshold need 60+ days written notice. The days of a clean 20-day no-cause notice are gone.
- Eviction timelines have stretched. A nonpayment case that used to take 30-45 days now routinely runs 60-120+ days from the 14-day pay-or-vacate notice through writ of restitution, especially in Spokane County District Court when the docket is backed up.
- Repair fatigue. Older Hillyard and East Central rentals were cash-flowing fine until the roof, the furnace, and the sewer line all came due in the same year.
- Cheney turnover. Landlords with EWU student rentals are burnt out on yearly turn costs, party damage, and the May-to-August vacancy gap.
- Out-of-state owners. A surprising number of Spokane rentals are owned by folks who moved to Arizona or back to the coast. Managing from a distance stopped being worth the cap rate.
None of these are character flaws. They’re market realities. The question is what to do about it.
Your Three Real Exit Options
1. List It on the MLS
You can list with a Spokane agent, but realize what that means for a rental:
- Most buyers want vacant or owner-occupied. That usually means terminating the tenancy first, which under Washington just-cause rules can take 60-90 days even when done correctly.
- You’ll likely need repairs, paint, flooring, and a deep clean before photos.
- Commissions and concessions typically eat 7-9% of the sale price.
- Showings with a tenant in place are a logistical nightmare and often hostile.
This route can get you top-of-market price if the property shows well. It rarely works for a tired rental with a long-term tenant.
2. Sell to Another Landlord
Investor-to-investor sales are common in Spokane. You keep the tenant in place, transfer the deposit, and skip the cosmetic work. Pricing is based on rent and condition, not retail comps. This is a solid option if your rent is at market and your tenant pays on time.
3. Sell to a Cash Buyer As-Is, Tenant Included
If you want out in two or three weeks with no repairs, no showings, and no tenant disruption, a direct cash sale is usually the cleanest path. A buyer like us can purchase your Spokane rental property with the tenant in place, take over the existing lease, and close on your timeline. You walk away with a check and zero ongoing obligations.
Can You Really Sell With a Tenant in the House?
Yes. Washington law follows the rule that a sale does not break a lease. If your tenant is on a fixed-term lease, the new owner steps into your shoes and honors it through the end date. If they’re month-to-month, the new owner takes over under the same terms.
Practically, this means:
- You don’t have to give notice or evict.
- The security deposit transfers to the new owner (you credit it at closing).
- The tenant keeps living their life. Often we don’t even need an interior inspection if you can describe the condition honestly.
For burnt-out landlords, this is the single biggest stress reducer. You don’t have to be the bad guy who tells a family to move.
What About Problem Tenants?
Behind on rent? Lease violations? Hoarding situation? We still buy. We’ve closed on rentals where the tenant was four months behind, where the unit hadn’t been inspected in two years, and where the landlord couldn’t bring themselves to start the eviction. You don’t have to clean up the problem before selling. You can hand it off.
If the unit needs a full reset, we may also be a good fit if you’ve already had the property go vacant and you’re looking at a long repair list. See our notes on selling a Spokane house as-is.
What You’ll Actually Walk Away With
Here’s the honest math. A cash offer on a rental usually lands somewhere between 70-85% of after-repair retail value, depending on condition, rents, and location. That sounds like a discount until you back out:
- 6% agent commission
- 2-3% closing costs and concessions
- $10,000-$40,000 in turn/repair costs to get to MLS-ready
- 2-6 months of carrying costs (mortgage, taxes, insurance, utilities, vacancy)
- The relief of not being a landlord anymore
Net-net, a lot of landlords are within a few thousand dollars of the same number, and they get out in 14 days instead of 6 months.
What the Process Looks Like With Us
Quick version: you call or fill out the form, we ask about the property and the tenant situation, we run comps and rent data, and you get a written cash offer usually within 24 hours. If it works, we open escrow at a local Spokane title company, do our walkthrough (or skip it if the tenant prefers), and close in 7-21 days. You pick the date.
No commissions. No closing costs on your side. No repairs. No staging. No “we need to relist at a lower price” conversations three months in.
Ready to Be Done?
If you’re tired of being a landlord in Spokane, Spokane Valley, Cheney, or anywhere else in the area, we’d like to make you a fair cash offer. Call (509) 720-8429 or send us the address. You’ll get a no-pressure number within 24 hours and you can decide on your own timeline. No obligation, no fees, and no one trying to talk you into keeping the place “just one more year.”