Inherited Tenant on 1st Rental Property Lease Concern

[Gabriel E. Galloza]

Good Afternoon BP community, 

Hope all is well, I'm closing on a property with an inherited tenant whose also in the process of purchasing a home. During the closing process I found out the tenant has not paid rent since December 2019, since the previous owner is going through a bankruptcy. I spoke to my lawyer in regards to my options and i have 3 options:

1) Keep the existing lease (exp Oct 2021)

2) Provide a new 1 Yr Agreement

3) Month to Month Lease

When i initially spoke to the tenant, the tenant was stressed out about signing a 1 yr lease, and i wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt (before i found out about the payment issue).  I told him we can keep the initial lease in play, however tenant has to come up with security deposit (bankruptcy court took security deposit) and 1st Months rent. We shook hands and agreed, to find out a few days later from my realtor, he doesn't want the terms we agreed on, and now wants a new Month to Month lease. He also requested a deduction (what a guy!). I'm not fond of Month to Month Leases, and with that there's also the possibility he vacates the property in October, or November, and it will be challenging to find a new tenant during that time. Im worried that he also picked up the habit of not paying rent, and will do that, forcing me to evict him. im also concerned that with this pandemic, since he will have the courts on his side.

This is my first deal, and i'm already dealing with obstacles, and i feel a bit inexperienced to handle this alone. Thank you BP Community for helping me navigate through these tides. 

With Best Regards, 

Gabriel