Inherited Tenants in Florida

[Audrey Johnson]

Hi everyone! I am looking for some guidance on inherited tenants in Florida and would love to hear back from anyone who has any experience with inherited tenants.

I am getting ready to close on a fourplex in Jacksonville, Fl that I have been living in for the past year while waiting for the current owners to sort everything out with their lender. I am set to close on the 25th of June and would like to get everything sorted out beforehand. Two of the units are vacant, and there are currently two girls living in the 4th unit on a month to month lease (not sure if it is a verbal agreement or they have one in writing at this point, I am waiting to hear back from the sellers). They have been nice neighbors and stay relatively quiet, however they are only paying 1k/mo for a 1500 sf 2/2 waterfront apartment, which is what the tenants I have set to move into the downstairs 1/1 units will be paying. I am by no means looking to get top dollar from them, especially as we will be replacing the roof and doing quite a few other rehab projects around the property to update it, which I anticipate will be inconvenient for a short time for those living in the property. I still feel that at minimum 1,200/mo is a very fair price- below market value here in Jacksonville, and will be necessary for me to make the mortgage, insurance and taxes payments while we are working on updating the property. Has anyone dealt with inherited tenants before, especially when looking to increase the rent? I have not found a clear answer online on the process of going about it. Should I have them sign a new month to month lease agreement with myself on the closing date, and let them know then that I would be increasing rent to 1,200/mo on the first of August? (This would give them over 30 days notice) If they do have a written month to month lease with the current owners- does mine have to look the same for the first 30 days with a notice that the terms of the lease will change in a month? Any and all input and experiences are welcomed, this is my first property and I want to make sure I do everything correctly while being fair to the current tenants and protecting myself.

Thank you in advance!