Bought a 6 unit, do I keep non paying tenants until im ready

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I just bought a 6 unit that need renovation till I put it up for rent. My 1 million dollar question is: There are 3 tenants that still live there(non paying of course). I could pay them out or evict them but since im not ready to start the project(could be ready in 2-3 months-- no money yet), im not sure if its a good idea to kick them out yet. If I kick them out, the place will be empty and that could end up costing me thousands as thieves could easily break in and steal coppers etc in the home......Im an out of state investor(8hrs away) but im here now. Will go back home after closing.

Do I leave them alone for now or try to kick them out and board it up hoping no thieves will break in?

Any advice out there will be appreciated.

[John C.]

Hi Lamy.  Having gone through many evictions my suggestion to do what you can to pay the tenants outs.  The court process can be tedious.  I have paid for keys, forgiven monies owed, and most recently actually found a tenant a place to live and paid for some of the deposit he needed for the new place. @Michael Noto is correct in suggesting to get better tenants in you'll benefit from extracting the bad ones.  Good luck