Landlord Question and Answer Forum

We are in the process of purchasing a piece of property that has a home on it that is currently being rented. In the paperwork they are asking if we would like to have the current property owner evict the tenant, or if we would like to let them stay on and rent from us and handle evicting or setting up a new agreement with them after we take ownership. We have NO information as to what type of contract/lease/deposit the current tenant has with the current property owner. The realtor we are dealing with is dealing with an attorney for the "estate" that owns the property and he seems to be having a hard time getting any type of solid information. We will not be able/interested in living on the property ourselves right away and we had thought it might be helpful to have the income from a renter in the interim to help make some improvements and such but we are also concerned about the legal technicalities. Concerns like... if we want to be on the property (acreage) doing work, are we going to have to notify the tenants every time or stay more than ** feet away from the house or something like that? Will we need to create all new lease/rental agreements with the current tenant before or after we take ownership? We are just wondering if we would be better off having the current owner evict the current tenants and start from scratch ourselves with someone new or what, we have never owned property/homes that we rented out before and have heard so many horror stories about problems getting bad tenants out...

JM, this is really a hard question to answer because it comes down to what you "really" want. Do you want a tenant in there, do you want to start fresh. All questions you need to ask yourself. It would be nice if you could find out more info regarding ther current rental situation. I would personally be concerned if no info is given regarding payment history. The reason being, if the tenant is not paying you will have to evict them and evictions cost time and money.

Posted by karen s, WI on Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Can you stop by the property and have a chat with the current tenant?

Posted by Dawn A, WI on Tuesday, July 31, 2012

If you can, visit with the Tenants. Find out if rent payments were on time. Ask current owner for copy of bank statement showing rent deposits. Also, review the lease agreement and see if it expires to you satisfaction. You may want to create a new agreement to include giving you access rights to the property. You determine the rules. It’s your property. If tenants are not happy, have current owner remove them BEFORE signing. ---- Disclaimer: Since I’ve been answering a lot of questions, I thought I would make the following statement. I’m not affiliated with EZlandlord Forms. I’m just here (not sure how long) to help those that have questions. Having 40+ yrs with Rental Property and done well, it’s my way of “Pay it Forward (check out the movie).” However, it is up to you to become familiar with your State/Local laws. I always like to know if the suggestions I offer are helpful. Feel free to comment anytime. Thanks in Advance.

Posted by Bob R, CA on Wednesday, August 1, 2012

I would go knock on the door and explain to them. If they are not willing to cooperate with you and be friendly, then move on to another investment property.

Posted by Jenna L, TX on Monday, August 6, 2012