Owner has no idea if house is occupied, what to do?

[Andrey Y.]

Hope everyone is having a great Monday/Tuesday AM. I have a very nice elderly lady who wants to sell me her house. Pretty well motivated. Unfortunately, she does not know much about the state of the house (she lives 1000++ miles away). She later remembered that maybe her sister collects rent checks, but she isn't sure. In fact, she forgets things even stated 5 minutes ago! Is going to the property and knocking on the door even a sensible option? (she suggested that) Let her call her sister and hope for the best? She didn't take my offer of calling her sister myself. Thanks guys.

[Matt Slakey]

I would say honesty is the best policy. 

I would make sure you run this deal by a lucid family member or her lawyer first to avoid any complications down the line. Get as much as possible in writing if you do not go through a lawyer.

Are you planning to keep the tenants? That may be another discussion, but I doubt that the current owner did a thorough job screening a tenant given her situation. Go over and say, assuming there is someone there that you wish were not, that the house is being sold and give a 30-day (or whatever Hawaii's policy is) no-fault notice. If they ask, you could say that you are helping out your friend. You should probably be prepared to give them some contact info of the owner.