Inherited tenants: Best ways to deal w/ seller and tenants?

[Brian Kantor]

Just like many of you, my preference when purchasing a new property is for it to be vacant, so that my property manager can vet quality tenants vs the roll-of-the-dice that comes with inherited tenants.

That said, where I primarily invest—Detroit, MI—inherited tenants are pretty commonplace in 1 to 4-unit properties, and sometimes those deals are just too good to pass up. 

So with that in mind, I'm looking for any suggestions on how best to handle inherited tenants with the below end goals in mind (in order of importance):

1. Protecting my investment and cash-flow
2. Serving the tenant well
3. Treating the seller fairly

Here are the questions I have... 

Estoppel Certificates:

1. Do you ever submit an estoppel certificate to tenants in properties with so few units? 
2. If you do, does this request get included in the Purchase Agreement?
3. Have you ever had sellers push back on this and if so, how have you gotten them to agree?

Transitioning from MTM to a lease and raising rents:

1. If a tenant is currently month-to-month at a below-market rent, do you suggest having them resubmitting an application in order to be "approved" for a long-term lease?
   
2. Do you offer the tenant a window of something like 1 to 3 months to stay on a month-to-month situation before requiring that they commit to a longer commitment and annual lease?

Anything else I should think about or any other suggestions?

Please note that I am not coming in and raising rent without cause; I'll always come in and fix up the property so that the tenant feels like they are being treated fairly.

Thanks!