New landlords of a 4-plex

[Jill Clark]

Hello! This is my first post although I've been reading up for a while now. My husband and I will be closing on a 4-plex which we will be owner-occupying within the next few weeks and I'm looking for a bit of guidance. We already have a single family home which we rent so the world of being a landlord isn't totally new to us however, a 4-plex is a whole new beast. We will be inheriting 3 tenants (we'll also be evicting one who is on a month to month agreement so we have unit to occupy) and I'm trying to figure out the best way to introduce ourselves. We do have the current month to month leases so we have their very basic information but I would like more - employer, pet, vehicle info (on site, shared lot), emergency contact info. My plan now is to send them a welcome letter to introduce ourselves and letting them know a new rental agreement will be following shortly, a small questionnaire with the questions above and a Welcome mat as a gift. I'm curious if anyone has been in a similar situation before (inheriting tenants) and what your approach was. Thank you!

[Pat L.]

My daughter had the pleasure of taking over a 5-plex we found for her.

All units were well below mkt rents in shabby condition, (hence the great price she got it) & one unit had been vacant for 3 years because of very poor PM.

The intro letters went out & she quickly assessed who of the inherited tenants had to go.

A year later she only has one of the inherited tenants left & after some rehab the rents for the new tenants have been increased significantly. The last to go will no doubt leave when she gets her rent increase. Once rehabbed that unit will be worth significantly more than the tentative rent increase scheduled.

Occupancy is not a problem, in fact my daughter has a (social media) waiting list.