Can anyone give me advice? I am considering to buy an apartment in Geneva that is currently rented to someone. My agent told me that the present owner is NOT going to initiate the process of requesting the tenant to leave the apartment but I have to initiate this process after I have completed the purchase. However, a friend of mine says that this is fishy. He also bought an apartment that was then rented. In his case, the previous owner had already initiated the process and won the tribunal when he considered buying it. So the friend did not have to do anything, but receive the result of the tribunal before making the payment. Besides, though my agent's giving all the reasons that the tenant would leave the apt., his reasoning does not sound very convincing. Also, the present rent that the tenant is paying is very low. Should I stop the deal?
alohaa, do you have a permit from the Swiss to buy in Geneva? If not, are you a Swiss National, or is the apartment already owned by a foreigner who holds a foreigner's permit?
If you have no permit, it's a show stopper, unless you are stunningly rich, and if so, you would not need to be asking the question because your "people" would be sorting this out for you!
You mention your agent, do you have a Swiss lawyer to represent your interests at the Notary stage? They will get these questions answered for you, as well as other queries you may have about the purchase procedure.
