Lease transfer for private home sale

[Nicole Givler]

I'm using a title company to purchase my grandmothers home as a private sale and long term investment. We want to keep the current tenants there as they are reliable and have been there for 6+yrs. What is the best way to transfer a lease from her to me? How are security deposits handled? Any advice is appreciated, this is my first investment and I'm new at this. Also the home is out of state so we are communicating with current tenants via email/text/phone. We won't be able to physically be there for a few months to meet them but my whole family has met them/knows them. Do I still need to follow a process of running credit check/background check etc? If so, what is the best way to go about that? 

[Rosa Regier]

Welcome to the world of REI!

A change in ownership is a common event. The current owner will transfer all security deposits and the actual lease to you at closing. 

At that point you'll amend the lease listing you as the new owner, instructions on where to send the rent payment and your contact information. You'll also need to let them know that you have the security deposit. These are typically the only items that you can amend during a change in ownership. All other changes will need to wait until the lease ends. 

Congratulations!