Upstairs Tenant has no Lease
7 Replies
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Kathy Henley Residential Property Management from St. Louis, Missouri
posted over 2 years agoWe are negotiating the purchase of a duplex in St. Louis. The upstairs tenant doesn't have a lease. How does one fulfill a lease if there isn't one?
Kathy Henley
Red Bird Properties LLC
Kyle Penland Investor from Dyersburg, Tennessee
replied over 2 years agoIf you close on the property, have the tenant sign a new lease to you. Also, check their background, credit or whatever you check to vet your tenants. If they pass, have them sign a new lease, if they are less than ideal, give them notice to move.
Fred Heller Real Estate Agent/Property Management from Houston, Texas
replied over 2 years agoI wouldn't look at that as a negative. It's a beautiful thing. If the tenant is month-to-month you have every right to ask him to sign a lease on your terms. If he doesn't want to, then give him 30 days notice that you are terminating his tenancy if that's the time frame allowed in Missouri.
Josh LeMasters Accountant from Joplin, Missouri
replied over 2 years ago@Kathy Henley - Is this your first property in St. Louis? I currently live in Joplin, and have considered expanding to St. Louis through a turn key operation. How did you find your duplex?
Mike D'Arrigo Investor from San Jose, California
replied over 2 years ago@Kathy Henley You might want to let them stay month to month until you know if they're a good tenant or not. If they are, then you can decide if you want to put them on a lease. I wouldn't arbitrarily give him notice though if they don't want to sign a lease if they're a good tenant, there's no advantage of that. Either way, find out if they are a good tenant before doing anything. You don't want to put a lousy tenant on a lease and then have to evict them.
Peter MacKercher Residential Real Estate Broker from Saint Louis, Missouri
replied over 2 years agoWith inherited tenants month-to-month is a godsend, so don't change that. I would suggest getting them on a month-to-month lease quickly though since that protects both of you, and most importantly lets you evict them should you discover you need to. It's a lot harder to do that without a lease.
When you go introduce yourself with the lease also be sure you let them know you'll run a credit check and background check like you would any other tenant -- there's no reason to not get that information. I'd front any application fee you might normally charge since they're already in place.
Kathy Henley Residential Property Management from St. Louis, Missouri
replied over 2 years agoThanks for the help. It is under contract, with a month-to-month option for the upstairs tenant.
@Peter MacKercher Thanks for the suggestion of fronting the background check; that sounds sensible.
@Josh LeMasters It is not turn-key. I have a terrific property manager who will empty the basement of decades of old lady belongings. We budgeted for repairs but if the inspection reveals any unknowns, a new decision will be made. It is our third possible building.
James W. Investor, Entrepreneur from Greenville, Wisconsin
replied over 2 years agoOriginally posted by @Peter MacKercher :
With inherited tenants month-to-month is a godsend, so don't change that. I would suggest getting them on a month-to-month lease quickly though since that protects both of you, and most importantly lets you evict them should you discover you need to. It's a lot harder to do that without a lease.
When you go introduce yourself with the lease also be sure you let them know you'll run a credit check and background check like you would any other tenant -- there's no reason to not get that information. I'd front any application fee you might normally charge since they're already in place.
I wish I'd seen that advice a few months back, because I put 23 existing tenants on new year leases. What you say makes perfect sense and I'll definitely take advantage of that philosophy on my next deal.
Thanks for the post!
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