Owner move-in eviction during COVID

[Kenneth Ryan]

I am in the process of purchasing a triplex in Los Angeles that is fully occupied. I intend on financing through an owner-occupied loan and thus must abide by the owner-occupied restriction. From my understanding, there is an eviction moratorium currently in place in California and with the incoming Biden administration I anticipate this will be further upheld and/or extended.

A few questions regarding this edge-case scenario:

1) When the deal closes, I would need to occupy one of the units. The eviction moratorium currently does not allow me to execute an owner move-in eviction. It appears that my lender will still finance the deal, what do I do?

2) Is this an 'edge-case' scenario of sorts that would allow me to get around the owner-occupied restriction, at least temporarily? (note: I am not asking for ways to skirt this restriction, rather I am trying to understand my options)

3) Should I contact a lawyer before this deal closes?