Buying properties with tenants

[Dibyendu Mukherjee]

Hi All,

I'm preparing for my 1st investment property in Columbus,OH. I am getting a lot of mails from agents for properties with tenants in them. A few questions:

1) What additional cost should I account for the property for having tenants in it? Just the property management company? How do they calculate cost here if the lease of the existing tenants is going to be up in 2 months? Any references for good property management companies are welcome.

2) What are some of the issues to be mindful of for having the tenants?

3) Will I be able to increase the rent at the end of the lease by any amount (of course to market rate) ? Or are there laws that prevent an increase beyond a certain %?

4) What questions I should ask my real estate agent or just in general what is it that I must know before investing in these types of properties so that I can avoid risks.