Purchasing Home with Tenant

[Kevin Wembes]

Hello everyone!

I was thinking of purchasing property in TN Memphis and found a great location, the numbers made sense, the rehab did not seem too bad at all! But it had a tenant current living in the property and the past owners did not have a rent roll or ledger to prove payments, because their system shut down so I backed out of deal. What would you guys have done in this simaliar situation? Additionally, do you guys believe there was a better choice than backing out? Thank you guys! I just wanna get some tips for future simlair situations. I do live in California and had property management who told me to get proof of payments before buying. 

Thank you. 

[Vessi Kapoulian]

Kevin, I would have done the same. Rent roll is basic information and should be easily available. They should also provide a copy of the lease agreements. To the extent you have concerns with the underlying lease agreements provided by the owner, I'd also recommend getting the tenants to sign estoppel statements affirming the lease terms (though I recognize that is more typical of commercial 5+ units loans).