First occupant contact recommendations for REO triplex.

[Charles McCabe]

Tomorrow I'll close on an REO triplex in PA in which I believe at least one of the units is occupied. The former owner is not one of the occupants. How do you recommend I make my first contact and work with them?

My plan so far is as follows:

Stop by and knock on doors in the early evening with a gift (like a gift card to a local chain of convenience stores) and a letter of introduction loaded with a couple of business cards.

If I get to talk to the occupant:

1. Ask their plans...do they want to stay or do they want to leave?  If they want to leave, send them notice of termination of the lease, so eviction proceedings can begin, if necessary.

2. Ask for a copy of their current lease.

3. If they can't produce the lease, ask them how much their rent was.  If it's within 10% of market, offer to sign a new 6-month lease at that rate with a provision that it will increase to market after that. If it's not within 10% of my expected rent, offer to sign a new lease at a 10% discount, like above.

4. If they can produce the lease, take it from there.  Given the length of the foreclosure process, I don't expect to find anything but month-to-month in place.

5. Either way, let them know that I expect to receive their rent on 01Feb.

6. If they want to stay and we come to terms, ask them about any repairs they feel are necessary.

If I don't get to talk to the occupant, leave the gift and letter, which makes a couple of important points:

1. That they need to contact me immediately because the previous owner (the bank, actually) filed for ejectment and we might need to stop that.

2. That if I don't hear from them within 7 days, I will presume the unit is unoccupied and enter "with a locksmith".

I've reviewed these posts, BTW:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/311/topics/19...

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/41/topics/185...

On the subject of entering, can anyone point me to the law governing that situation...specifically when it's not known whether the property is occupied or not?

Thanks,

Chaz