House Hacking Duplex: Who to Vacate & Who to Keep?

Question

Never having done this before, I am not entirely sure what to do.  I have considered sitting down with each tenant and having a brief conversation with them and getting a feel for their personality and "tenant ethics".  Please provide any feedback!  Thank you.

Kevin S. · Answer

@Mark Feaver you said "...into how I will go about it when acquiring my first property" above so I'm assuming that you haven't found/purchased a property yet, you are just looking into the issue for the future. Typically if you're purchasing a duplex as a "house-hack" then you're purchasing it with an owner-occupied mortgage. That means you have a set amount of time (I think it's somewhere between 30-60 days) to occupy the property. Remember, you have to honor whatever lease the tenants are under when you purchase the property. Therefore, you have to find a property that either has tenants that are month-to-month (that you can give notice to, how much notice depends on your local laws), who's lease is ending within the occupancy period (that you don't renew), or you purchase them out of their lease (think cash for keys).

Instead of dealing with all of this, in my opinion the easiest route to go is to stipulate in any offer you make on a multi-family that it be delivered with one unit vacant at the time you close. That way you don't have to deal with trying to figure out who stays/who goes/etc.

Bob Prisco · Answer

@Mark Feaver yes met and greet , see their payment history, look around at the prop, see the condition, KEEP IT SIMPLE.....

Calvin Ozanick · Answer

I would go off of feel, and I would also go based on the rents. I personally am not very picky about where I live, so I would keep the tenant that pays more rent. Otherwise, just try to feel it out and think which one would be a better long term tenant.

Mark Feaver · Answer

@Arvi Carkanji, @Dennis M. and @Bryan O. Thank you all for the responses.  They were incredibly helpful and insightful into how I will go about it when acquiring my first property.

Bryan O. · Answer

@Mark Feaver when do their leases end? Can you terminate either easier than the other due to lease language? Are either late on rent? Do either have a cat (vomit)? Is either harder on the property than the other? If the paperwork doesn't make it clear who stays, and the leases have equal ease of getting rid of either, I would look at the units themselves. Move into the worst one because it is easier to fix up without coordination.

Dennis M. · Answer

ask to see their pay stubs ..the one with the lower number gets voted off the island

Arvi Carkanji · Answer

That is a very interesting question. I hate kicking out good tenants. I guess I would talk to them and be honest, like you said feel what the "vibe" is, what are their goals, if they plan on moving soon. Maybe which units needs more repairs (I would focus on that one first) or I guess if the units are not identical I would choose which one I liked better. But one thing I do have to point out is that house hacking is a great benefit. Hopefully the choice is easy for you after you talk to your tenants. Good Luck!