Inheriting Elderly Tenants

[Jesse Mitchell]

Hey Everyone,  I find myself in a unique situation and am hoping there are a few of you out there with experience/advice for my situation.  I am pending on a duplex that already has existing tenants in the lower level, they have been there 3 years, always paid rent, and after meeting them really seemed to be nice people that enjoy living there.  Where my long term concern arises is they are all 3 older and have various health problems they deal with..... so riddle me this.  What happens if one of them passes away and the other 2 cannot afford the rent?  I can't imagine having to be the landlord that evicts a poor, senior citizen, in poor health....   In a perfect world, they all live happily ever after another 20 years but my concern is what if they don't.  Has anyone else been in this situation before and if so, how would/did you handle it?  

[Nathan Gesner]

What if you bought a unit with a 30-year-old millionaire that always paid his rent 15 days in advance with gold bullion and never even occupied the apartment? He could stop paying and leave you hanging one day. Or he could show up and burn it with a Molotov cocktail. Or he could pimp women out of it.

Every tenant carries risks, even the perfect tenant. You've already committed to purchasing so don't sweat it. Once you own the place, sit down with the tenants and express your concern to find out what plans they have in place. Then make sure you are protected with a well-written lease.