Inherited tenant screening. What to do?

[Tom V.]

I'm looking at a duplex today that is half occupied. I realize that if there is a lease in place I need to honor that lease until it expires, but I'm unsure how to handle the screening at first.

Say there's 4 months left on the current lease when I buy the property. Should I have them go through the screening process now, and if they don't pass then let them know that the lease will not be renewed?

Or, wait until the month before the lease expires and run them through screening then?

Also, if the current situation is month to month (which I suspect it is), I would appreciate any advice on how to best handle the screening and subsequent actions for that situation as well.

Thanks in advance.