Purchase with Seller Rent-back? Tips to make it work?

[Tracy Cummins]

Hey BP community - There's a property I'm very interested in which the Seller is looking to do a rent-back situation up to 6 months following closing.  Once vacant, the house will need at minimum, duct replacement, refinished floors and fresh paint throughout to rid cigarette smoke and cat smell before moving in.  Assuming I really and truly want to make this deal work, what's the best way to proceed?  Looking for advice, pros/cons, best practices and pitfalls to avoid specifically on the rent-back piece.  TIA!!!

[Charlie MacPherson]

@Tracy Cummins  You need to be prepared in the event that they refuse to leave at the end of the lease - especially if the COVID eviction moratorium restriction is still in place where you are.  That can make it virtually impossible to evict, or at least, very expensive.

If circumstances allow, I'd push to get it under contract now with closing scheduled in 6 months.  Be careful that you have an out if the property is no longer in the same condition in which you viewed it.  Include language stating that the seller still has to maintain insurance at a specified level. 

You should have an attorney involved so you don't miss any potential pitfalls, but if you go forward, do so knowing that this is risky.