Construction with long-term tenants living in property

[Madison Balter]

Hi BP, I am a new real estate investor living in the suburbs (beachside) of Los Angeles. I was looking to invest in the city of Long Beach, but houses are around $550k each for multi family duplexes. I walked in a house today with tenants who have lived there for maybe 15+ years. It needs lots of work on the house and I’m sure some areas are not permitted, for instance they added a bathroom to the garage. My question is, if I were to purchase a multi-unit property and rehab it to refinance it, should I be looking at properties with no tenants at the moment?