So, here’s the deal – I’m dealing with a messy situation in Los Angeles. The owner of a 6-unit building I’m listing is a terrible landlord who lives out of state. His local property manager is just a stressed-out employee, not a real estate pro. Last time I sold a 4-unit building for this guy, it was a total disaster. I had to rush it onto the market and deal with stubborn tenants left and right during the sale. I made a ton of mistakes because I was in a hurry, and I don’t want to repeat that mess this time around. The property manager can’t even locate the lease contracts or keys, blaming the person before her. All the tenants have been living in this run-down building for over a decade. It’s not pretty, and it will probably only attract investors looking to kick the tenants out and renovate the whole place.
Now, I’m brainstorming some solutions. One idea I had was to leave a note for each tenant, politely asking for a copy of their key and lease. But let’s be real, I don’t expect them to be super cooperative. So, I’m thinking about getting the owner’s permission to hire a locksmith to change all the locks and give new keys to the tenants. I’d rather not go down that road, but I might have to drop that bomb in the note if they don’t respond quickly.
I also considered offering to draft new lease contracts for each tenant and the owner. But let’s face it, that sounds like a legal nightmare waiting to happen, so I’ll probably steer clear of that idea.
What do you think? Got any suggestions on how to handle this sticky situation?