Furthermore,  the location of rooming house are usually tightly regulated.On top of that, conventional lenders tend to turn-away from rooming house, particularly in the environs of a university.Where you have kitchens in both the upper and lower unit and have fire-separated the ceiling of the lower unit have you formally separated them into a duplex (as a way to avoid an occupancy by-law)?

Also, there's a place called gross pointe which borders the east side of Detroit; cross 1 street and you go from burned out husks and grey concrete to green boulevards and $2m houses. 

Since we are just ending a month to month, I'm wondering what, if any formal steps we are required to take or if its as simple as just putting a letter in the mailbox that gives them 30 days to find a new place.

You now have formal short sale approval, and you need to secure short term financing to close the sale?

I've lived in multiple locations in Saint Paul but this is actually Roseville bordering Minneapolis.

I think you are getting some great advice in here.I agree with most of what @Rob Belandand @Ray H. have said.Won't regurgitate all the same stuff so will just add a few details and places where I have different thoughts.Yes you can ask for leases with proper notice, or ask for formal TAW agreements to be signed and either of those can include a rent increase if you are inclined to do that.One thing to keep in mind for notice is that it is 1 month or 30 days, whichever is longer.  

If you think that the agent told the seller to try to get out of the contract so she could list it I would put in a formal complaint.If you want the deal I would (or have your attorney) get in touch with her Broker and inform him/her that you already have a contract on the property and this agent relisted it and presumably has a new buyer for it.  

The current owner didn't use a formal walk through check list, but said he looked for clean when tenants vacated. 

The current owner didn't use a formal walk through check list, but said he looked for clean when tenants vacated. 

Lately, however,  I've come across quite a few pieces of property that don't have legal egress and are completely bordered by parcels owned by other private owners.