Fixed Life Lease Tenant Question

[Liz P.]

Hi all!

I recently inquired about a triplex in my area that has a pretty unique renting situation. Units 2 and 3 are rented out month to month with no formal lease in place. They have lived there 5 and 15 years and state they have "no intention" of moving anytime soon. Unit 1 is a fixed life lease.

I likely won't be pursuing this property, as I'm hoping to house hack my first multi-family, but because of how unique it is, I wanted to hear other's thoughts on it. Would you ever purchase a property where the renters have no formal lease or would securing a lease be part of your negotiations? Have you ever come across a fixed life lease and what are the pros/cons to it? Would you purchase a property with a tenant on a fixed life lease? 

[Bryan Devitt]

No lease is great, then you can boot them if they're undesirable or get them to sign one if you want to keep them. There are so few professional landlords with good leases that actually sell that you don't want to be stuck with their lease 99.9% of the time anyways. I am also lost as to what a life long lease is but I don't like those words in the same sentence