Renters without rental/lease contracts

[Coy Barnes]

I will be buying my first property soon.  One of the possibilities is a 5 unit and 3 units do not have rental contracts.  Can I have the tenants sign contracts during the escrow process? 

Any other Ideas I would love!

[Michael Noto]

@Coy Barnes  The fact that 3 of the 5 tenants have no lease may be indicative of how tight of a ship the current landlord runs.

Make sure to verify what they pay in terms of monthly rent, with no leases they can tell you any amount.  Verify what they pay and that they actually pay.

Are the numbers good on this deal?  Is this your first rental?  Just take the time to do your due diligence, taking over a property where the majority of the tenants have no leases can be a sticky situation where experience definitely helps.

Personally, I would run my numbers as if I will have to evict the 3 tenants without leases.  if they willingly sign a lease at a market competitive rate than great, if they aren't you have to be prepared.

Also, if they have no lease, I am assuming they did not get a background check run on them either.  You might want to do that as well.