Need Advice for Potential House Hack

[Michael Kelley]

I have found an off-market Fourplex in my market that I plan to "house hack." The current owner seems to have fallen into this fourplex back in 2012 when he bought it from the bank. Last week was the first time he had been in the property and has left everything to the property manager. He recently had to switch property managers and his current manager has fallen short on promises. Currently two units are vacant, one has not been paying rents for a few months, and the other has a rottweiler. It is in a decent neighborhood and vacancy is very low in our market, so I am fairly confident I can get units rented, but was concerned about the tenant not paying rent and the rottweiler. How should I write my offer? Should I write it subject to the eviction of the tenant and removal of the rottweiler? Or are there other options that some of you may have used in the past?

The rottweiler is in violation of the current lease in place, but no disciplinary action has been taken, and I doubt any will be taken. I plan to offer small dogs and cats (30 pounds or less), but I am afraid a 130-150 lb rottweiler will raise my insurance and reduce the desirability to prospective tenants. I would ask the tenant to find a new home for the dog, but they have been in the property for 7 years and have never been late on rent, which is hard to find.

I believe I will ultimately have to evict the tenants not paying rent, and ask the others to find a new home for a dog, but wanted to ask the BP community for any advice, or to simply use as a sounding board.