All Forum Posts by: Laura Weiszer

I'm relatively new to this; I own one duplex which was empty and needed renovating when I bought it, and I'm looking at a 4 unit property with 2 of the 4 units currently rented. Since I've never dealt with previous tenants, I'm looking for some advice on the best way to move forward...

Unit 1:
- Studio Apt
- I did a walkthrough last week and spoke to the tenant; he mentioned the only issues he's had in the past year and half is that the cold comes through the windows
- He and the owner both confirmed that the tenant is month to month and paying $750, but so far the owner has not provided a lease.
- The owner did provide proof of payment, and rent is confirmed $750, but always a few days late...

Unit 2:
- 1 BR
- There was a language barrier, she didn't speak english, and I think she was afraid to open the door so I didn't get to tour it. The owner told us we'd be able to see all of the units, so I'm not sure if he didn't actually make her aware we were coming through or if she was being difficult.
- Owner sent proof of payment and she's been consistent since 2019 with no missed or late payments.
- Owner sent a 6 month lease signed back in 2019. Month-to-month following 6 months.
- The lease doesn't mention anything about increasing rent, but from the payment history it looks like they did increase her rent from $650 for the past ~3 years to $725 in Jan of this year. Again, lease doesn't explicitly state there will be an increase though, and for having the most sq footage (1 br + basement) she's paying below market rent.

Units 3+4: 
two more studio apts, can rent for $750 each.

I plan to put in an offer contingent upon inspection (and obviously getting into Unit 2...), but I'm not sure whether I should also ask for the property to be delivered vacant..

My questions:
- If I keep the tenants, what should I obtain from the current owner or the tenants themselves? Is an estoppel agreement with owner provided leases and payment history enough, or should I have them each sign new leases and go through the screening process again? 

-I really don't want to displace anybody, but is it a bad decision to keep a tenant with a language barrier, who wouldn't let me view the unit, and is paying below market? Or keep a tenant who is consistently 3-5 days late on rent?

Thanks in advance for the help!!