Updated 7 days ago on . Most recent reply
Estoppel for 4-unit property
I am under contract for a small multi-family property (4 units).
Unfortunately I am past due diligence and I just learned about estoppel certificates. I am going to try to see if I can’t still get one signed before closing but the current seller is very hard to get a hold of and is not managing the property well.
I have their leases but they were all signed years ago and don’t reflect current rent / security deposit amounts. I do have emails from sellers agents confirming the current rent roll / security deposits.
The leases are all month to month, and I am going to be giving 30 days notice soon after closing.
A few questions I have:
1. If the tenants were to claim the security deposit was higher, or rents were lower than what the sellers agent said, would I have any recourse on the seller given I have written emails stating the current amounts?
2. Could the seller technically sign a new agreement with them right before closing with whatever terms he wanted, and I would have to uphold those new terms?
3. Do I need to worry about any side agreements, or that the tenants have a different lease than the ones the seller provided, etc.?
With what i’m seeing online it seems like there could be all kinds of issues without an estoppel. Or am I protected because of the emails stating the current lease agreements, payments, security deposits, etc.?