Renting a business with history of bed bugs.

[Brittany Fife]

I have been given the opportunity to lease a business for x amount of time with option to buy. It is an eight unit. The problem is that it has a history of bed bugs. They were found in June 2017. They were treated for where the bugs had been present either alive or had evidence that they inhabited the apartment. They were heat treated and now four months later they are found in a different apartment above which was treated. The landlord is going to treat it again but I have heard bed bugs are awful to get rid of which is making me nervous about agreeing to take over. Do you have any advice as what I should do or run away from the deal? The first few years is where I will be making less of a profit to begin with because of making some basic repairs.

[Lee Ripma]

Seems like this could be a great opportunity to clear the entire building, remove everything, treat it properly, renovate the whole thing, and rent it to new tenants. It’ll be a lot of capital upfront but if you can buy on actual and take into account your renovations it could be great!