Any way to confirm if tenants are paying rent before buying?

[Bobby Dini]

I am about to have a duplex under contract as non owner occupied and I am curious if there is any way to determine if the current tenants who are under individual lease agreements are current on their rent payments. The fear is purchasing the property, and having to immediately go through the eviction process (or lack thereof).

I am, of course, going to ask the question to the seller but want to get some feedback from others who may have gone through this already or are currently.

[Michael Noto]

Very good question and something you definitely want to be on top of. First of all, get leases if there are any from the seller. This way you have an idea of what you are walking into. 

Next, make the landlord fill out and sign an assignment of lease doc which is basically him giving the current state of the tenants. 

- is rent current? If not, how far behind. 

- what security deposits are they currently holding for each tenant 

- what utilities are landlord paid vs tenant paid

- lease terms for each tenant 

You get the picture, it brings you current on what is going on present day. 

Next, make the tenants sign estoppel agreements that is them signing off from their perspective on all of the items mentioned above and maybe even more as your lawyer sees fit. 

These agreements can be drafted up by your lawyer, but a quick BP search or google search will give you an idea of what kinds of forms they are. Very basic info, but very important for a new owner to be straight on.