House hacking a duplex if lease is not up

[Zach Adams]

Hi all, I live in an area where there are a lot of duplexes and am looking to purchase one to house hack. The issue I see is that all of the homes on the market have tenants in place. Does this mean that I can not do an owner-occupied loan and will need to get more creative to get a low down payment? Any suggestions? 

[Mac Caspersen]

@Zach Adams I am not a lawyer or anything, and the law differs from state to state, but a few things I would think about: is an owner-move-in eviction an option? Can you do a cash for keys type situation to get a tenant out? Can you find a deal where the tenants are on a month-to-month lease (or no lease... I just found 3 tenant-occupied properties with no lease in place) and make the purchase contingent on one tenant vacating?

Once you land on an option that you think makes sense, give your plan to your financer to ensure it works with their rules.