Buying first Tenant Occupied REO

[Brian Cooke]

I'm buying a house that is bank owned, and tenant occupied. The bank and listing agent do not have a key to the house, so we have to rely on the tenant to let us in. They were great for the initial showing, but when I put it under contract and went back with an inspector they left so that they weren't home to let us in (despite telling the agent that they would be there and that time worked great).

My initial plan was to continue letting the tenant live there (his lease is currently month to month), and flip the house when he decided to move, but this has made me lose any confidence in him being a reliable tenant. I suspect they are living there rent free right now and are trying to drag it out as long as possible. I was told by the listing agent that after I buy the house I will have to negotiate with the tenant to get a key to the place, which I figure is going to be interesting. I'd rather get the tenant out of there, replace the locks, and get on with getting it retail ready.

If this were you, after you bought the house how would you go about the process of telling the tenant they need to move? In a way that would minimize the chance of needing to go to eviction court.