Sale of MA rental- Are any statements to tenants required after?

[Mary J.]

Good morning,

This is the first rental I've sold.  I have already provided the tenants with the new owners name and phone number, but I got to thinking, shouldn't I provide the tenants with some sort of statement that reflects their last months rent and security deposits have been given to the new owner as well?   I have looked through my management manual and unless I've missed it, I see nothing listed about this in the forms, or in the guide itself.  Is there a form for this?   Or do I just whip one up?  It seems logical we should be providing one.  Massachusetts is generally pretty strict with their form verbiage so I just wanted to check in with those on here that may be more familiar with selling buildings in MA.

Thanks for your help!

Mary  :)

[Filipe Pereira]

Congrats on the sale @Mary J.!

While I don't believe it's required in MA (and definitely not in CT), the buyer's agent would have been wise to request a signed estoppel agreement during the closing process. For those reading who may not already know, an estoppel certificate is a "confirmation by the tenant of the terms of the rental agreement, such as the amount of rent, the amount of security deposit and the expiration of the agreement" (WIKI). 

Typically the owner drafts it up and the tenants sign it prior to closing. It certainly helps if you are the buyer because once the deal closes, tenants can and may try to say "my rent was X with the previous owner" when you as the buyer thought it was "Y"... ask me how I know ;) That's when it comes in real handy to have the estoppel cert (which they signed). 

Sorry I don't have a legal answer for you one way or another. Happy investing and congrats again!