Owner occupying multi-family, need advice on how to deal with tenant leaving

[Rachel L.]

Hi BP community -

I just closed a couple of weeks ago on my first multi-family investment property last week and will be owner occupying one of the units. Part of the P&S agreement was that the seller would give notice to vacate to one of the units, which they did. As the new owner, I'm trying to get a start on understanding the building and maintenance issues.

Middle of last week, I left a letter to all units saying that I would be visiting this past Sunday (the 19th) to do a walkthrough and general inspection, stating it would be preferable that someone in each unit be home to answer any questions about maintenance. I stated that I would be taking photos of any maintenance issues.

The tenant in the unit that I’m asking to leave called me and said she would not be home this past weekend and asked for rescheduling, which we did for this Wednesday. I didn’t go into the unit she is currently occupying.

She just called me today and asked me why I had crossed her name off of the mailbox. She stated that this entire moving process has been very stressful for her and she stated she feels like she has been treated like less than a human should. She stated that if I wanted to do a walkthrough, it would have to wait till the day she left. She said she would like to have her case manager there the day she is moving out and that she knows her rights.

I tried to explain that I did not cross out her name (not sure who did really, not even my handwriting) and it’s actually been crossed off for at least a week now. I didn’t get much past 6 words in the actual conversation.

Any advice on how to handle this kind of a situation?

[Marcia Maynard]

Remain polite, firm and fair and you should be fine. Be flexible if you can, but do what you need to do. If the scheduled last day for this tenant is July 31 or sooner, I would not bother to do a maintenance inspection of the unit until it is vacant. Also, put her name back on the mailbox until she has returned possession of the unit back to you, no matter who removed it. That will show you have good intent.

Instead, offer to her help with the move. Let her know you want the move to go as smoothly as possible for her. Ask her what she needs and if there is anything you can do to help, then really listen to her answers. Respond favorably to that which is reasonable. Offer her some moving boxes/tape, including a wardrobe box. Give her some 3 mil thick garbage bags and offer to dispose of any garbage for her.

If she refuses to communicate with you, it will become more difficult. Since she has a case manager, if you can call the case manager and explain the situation, it may be helpful to do so. You may gain some insight from the case manager.