City of Athens Building Codes Division
The division reviews construction plans, issues permits, and conducts inspections for properties within Athens city limits.
Athens, TN seller help · Tenant-occupied property
You're done — no turnover, no repairs, no more bad tenants.
When you sell the house to USA Home Buyers, you leave the landlord role behind. We buy tenant-occupied houses as-is in Athens and McMinn County, Tennessee, with the tenants still living there.
Call 888-274-5006 or tell us what is happening with the lease, access, occupancy, or repairs.
We give written cash offers in 24 hours.
Share the address and what you know about the lease, occupancy, access, or repairs.
What we do with a tenant-occupied house
We buy houses as-is, in any condition — no repairs, no cleaning, no cleanout required to sell to us. Tell us what condition the house is in and which repairs are difficult to coordinate around the tenants.
You don't always need to evict to sell to us. We buy houses with tenants in place — we've done it many times, including cash-for-keys when that works better for everyone.
Bring us the tenancy, access, or repair problem
Tell us what is happening with the lease, access, repairs, or a possible move-out. We can talk through the house and tenancy with you.
Call 888-274-5006 or use the form above.
What happens next
1. We discuss the house and tenancy
We talk through the Athens address, who lives there, the lease, access, repairs, and timing. We can also discuss rent or deposit records and any code notice that affects the sale.
2. We put the offer and terms in writing
We'll give you a written cash offer within 24 hours. You get a written offer and written terms before you commit, and we close through a title company.
3. We talk through the tenant handoff
We discuss the lease, occupancy, access, and deposit handoff as part of the sale. If the tenants stay, the buyer takes over as landlord under the lease.
Local help for Athens code and property-record questions
For building-code or permit questions inside Athens city limits, contact the City of Athens Building Codes Division. The McMinn County Assessor handles county property-record questions.
McMinn County Assessor of Property
Contact the county assessor with county property-record questions.
If a code notice is part of the sale question, see our Athens code-violations page for related seller information.
Tennessee leases, notice, possession, and security deposits
You can sell with tenants in place. If they stay, the buyer takes the house subject to the lease and becomes the new landlord.
Tennessee tenant-law coverage in McMinn County
Tennessee’s Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act applies only in counties with more than 75,000 people in the 2010 census. McMinn County had 52,266 people then, so the Act’s month-to-month and week-to-week notice periods and its security-deposit account and sale-transfer rules do not apply to McMinn County rentals.
The lease and security deposit are part of the tenant handoff. We can talk through the deposit with you as part of the sale.
Sources: Tennessee General Assembly, Public Chapter 182 (county coverage); Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 66-28-301 and 66-28-512; Public Chapter 156, § 3 (sale notice and deposit transfer); U.S. Census Bureau, 2010 Census (McMinn County population).
More Athens seller information
Compare a sale with tenants in place against your other options, or look up a different Athens seller question.
Athens home-sale net proceeds calculator →Compare your own sale-price or written-offer assumptions with repairs, monthly bills, and selling costs.Athens and McMinn County seller resources →Find local information and other seller options for the area.More Athens seller questions →Read answers about local records, selling, and property questions.How the Athens sale process works →See how property details, written terms, and title-company closing fit together.
What our sellers say
“LISTEN, PROPERTY TAXES GOT TOO HIGH FOR MY FIXED INCOME. SOLD IT TO THEM. WALKED AWAY WITH CASH. GLAD IT'S OVER.”
“Facing foreclosure ... Very stressful time... They handled it professionally and got me out of the debt...”
“no open houses. no realtors tracking dirt in. just a straight cash sale for our house so we could move. Glad it's over.”
Questions about selling an Athens house with tenants
Can I sell my Athens house while tenants are still living there?
Yes. USA Home Buyers buys tenant-occupied houses as-is in Athens and McMinn County, Tennessee. If the tenants stay, the buyer takes the house subject to the lease and becomes the new landlord.
Do I have to evict the tenants before I call?
No. You don't always need to evict to sell to us. We buy houses with tenants in place — we've done it many times, including cash-for-keys when that works better for everyone. Tell us about the property and tenancy.
Do Tennessee’s 30-day and 10-day notice rules apply to an Athens rental?
No. McMinn County had 52,266 people in the 2010 census, below the more-than-75,000 county threshold for Tennessee’s Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act. The Act’s 30-day month-to-month and 10-day week-to-week notice periods do not apply to McMinn County rentals.
What happens to the security deposit when the house is sold?
The buyer becomes the new landlord under the lease if the tenants stay. Tennessee’s Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act deposit-account and sale-transfer rules do not apply to McMinn County rentals. We can talk through the deposit handoff as part of the sale.
Talk through the tenant situation
Call 888-274-5006 or use the form below. Start with the Athens address and what you know about the house and tenancy.
We give written cash offers in 24 hours.
Share the address and what you know about the lease, occupancy, access, or repairs.