Do I ask for rental histories?

[John S Lewis]

So I think I found a good deal.  The owner says he's made money and now wants to get out of the biz and sell down his holdings in the next 5 years.  He also claims the property I'm looking at is always rented.  Then I noticed on craigslist that he has ad's for the place to be rented.  Is it a normal course of due diligence to get rental records?  It's possible the leases are up I guess.  But of course I want to be sure.  Thanks.

[Kim Meredith Hampton]

John,

I always ask for signed estoppel agreements from every tenant to verify that the rent, lease dates and security deposits match up with what the owner/seller has given you. I also like to have a rental ledger for every tenant, in addition, a copy of their rental application.

In addition, all of the feeder sites hold on to ads way beyond the lease dates, check and verify!!!