Tenants when purchasing

[Tre DeBraga]

For those who have purchased multifamily properties with month-to-month tenants already in place, curious how you typically handle it.

Do you keep the existing tenants, vet them properly, and work on getting them into long-term leases? Or do you find it cleaner to start fresh, move the current tenants out, and bring in new well-vetted tenants at market rents?

There are obvious tradeoffs on both sides. Keeping tenants means immediate cash flow but you are inheriting unknowns. Starting fresh gives you control over who is in your units and what they are paying, but comes with vacancy and turnover costs upfront.

Would love to hear how others have approached this and what has worked or backfired.