Purchasing a tenant occupied property

[Rob U.]

Hi everyone - I’m considering purchasing a vacation investment property at the Jersey shore. The property is tenant occupied at the moment, however, I would like the tenant to vacate the property once the lease is up - this is because it is a 12 month tenant and the property has a lot more cash flow potential if it is rented out to vacationers during the peak summer months rather than all year long to the same person.

Is there anything that I should be doing before the sale to mitigate my risk given that I am inheriting the tenant? My thought was asking the seller for rental payment history, etc, so I can screen the tenant myself. I really just want to avoid and protect myself from an eviction nightmare if the tenant did not want to leave the property following the end of the lease.

Any thoughts, ideas or guidance is appreciated!