I’m a first time home buyer looking in Oakland. A tenant already living there has a minimal lease (lacking details), which I have reviewed. It makes no mention of parking a car in the driveway or using the garage as storage.
I’m glad to have them stay, as they have been paying on time, but I want to park my car and use the garage. I’m flexible on paying for a storage unit, but don’t want to leave it to the chance that they turn down that compromise.
I chatted with the tenant (saw them when I was stopping by to check out the property). and he said it’d be fine to share the kitchen - as long as I paid for the gas. Would that be something I could get in writing too? When I asked about the parking and garage, he kinda shrugged and said “yeah that’s an issue, I have a lot of stuff and parking around here is tough”.
Can these be things that are made explicit in the estoppel? Can I make my offer contingent on these?
Any suggestions about how to proceed (or just walk away) are appreciated.
You could ask the tenant to sign an estoppel that includes the following:
The tenant agrees to share the kitchen with you, as long as you pay for the gas.
The tenant agrees to let you park your car in the driveway and use the garage for storage. If the tenant is not willing to agree to this, you could offer to pay for a storage unit for them.
The tenant agrees to vacate the property by a certain date, if you decide to sell the property.
Once the tenant has signed the estoppel, you can make your offer to purchase the property contingent on the tenant agreeing to the terms of the estoppel. If the tenant does not agree to the terms of the estoppel, you can walk away from the deal.