Inheriting Tenant on first purchase

[Johnny Alvarez]

Hello BP,

Finally did it. Pulled the trigger and now I am 5 days from closing on my first property! It is a duplex in Chicago, with a long term tenant already occupying one of the units. The tenant has been there for several years, and is M2M with rent being slightly below market (Not by a lot) so I am more than happy to keep status quo, at least for the short term to cut vacancy costs to start off.

My question is the following: How does the change of ownership transition process look like after closing for a new Landlord in this case? Does one just simply knock on the door, introduce oneself and say "By the way you gotta change name in the check" or is it a little more involved than that? I believe my attorney mentioned some document I will receive at closing that I need to copy and present to the tenant to make it legal but other than that I'm not to familiar with how to approach this and wanted to hear from your experiences.

This has a been a very exciting process and I am very thankful for this community. It has helped me overcome doubts and anxieties that come from being new and unexperienced so Thank you.