Wholesaling Tenant-Occupied Properties in Mississippi

The short answer

Can you assign a contract on a house with a tenant in Hattiesburg?

Yes. You can contract to buy an occupied house and assign the contract, as long as the lease terms are disclosed and you do not promise the tenant anything. Mississippi has no wholesaler-specific statute that we found, but broker rules can apply. Ask a Mississippi attorney or the MREC.

A sale usually does not end a lease by itself. The new owner steps into the landlord’s role and takes the house with the tenant in it, subject to the lease terms and Mississippi landlord-tenant law in Title 89, chapter 8. That is why your buyer needs the lease, the deposit amount and the rent history before closing. Our tenant-occupied guide gives the checklist.

Do the homework before you sign. Walk through only with the owner’s permission, confirm the lease is real, and ask whether rent is current. A tenant who pays on time makes a house more attractive to a landlord buyer, while a tenant who is behind makes the price lower. Read the cash for keys guide for the case where a buyer wants the house empty.

The opportunity

Why occupied houses sell in Hattiesburg

Hattiesburg is a college and military town. Southern Miss, William Carey and Camp Shelby keep rental demand steady, especially around Midtown and Edgewood. Forrest and Lamar counties both feed the market, with Oak Grove on the Lamar side. A house that already earns rent gives a landlord buyer a ready income stream, and some sellers would rather hand over the lease than evict or renovate.

Lead sources

Where to find tenant-occupied leads in Hattiesburg

• Student rental streets. Look near campus for houses with several cars out front and “for rent” signs that never come down.
• Owners tired of rentals. Landlords who are weary of repairs often sell cheaply. See our motivated seller guide.
• Public records. Property tax records show owners with mailing addresses elsewhere. Our absentee owner leads guide explains the filter.
• Eviction court. Repeated filings against one address signal a landlord who may want out.
• Property managers. Managers know which owners are ready to sell. Build those contacts as described in our off-market guide.

Your exit

Who buys rented houses near campus

Landlords who already own around town buy these houses most often, because they know the rents. They want a real rent roll, not a story. Give them the lease, the ledger and a quick view of repair history, and let them decide.

Show them the cap rate math too, using our cap rate guide. If the buyer plans to sell to a user later, the wholetailing guide explains another way to profit when the house is in decent shape.

Step by step

How to start wholesaling tenant-occupied properties in Mississippi

1. Ask for the lease. Get a copy of the lease, any addendums and the current deposit amount from the owner.
2. Check the rent ledger. Look for late payments, partial payments and any open repair requests.
3. Confirm access rules. Visit only with proper notice and permission, and never promise the tenant anything.
4. Value the house. Use the ARV calculator and the MAO calculator, then adjust for the lease.
5. Write the contract. Include assignment language and attach the lease to the offer.
6. Find the buyer. Match the house to a landlord from your buy box list.
7. Close properly. Handle the deposit transfer and tenant notice with a title company or attorney.

This worked example uses illustrative numbers. An owner in Hattiesburg had a four-bedroom house near campus rented to four students at $1,600 a month. The lease ran through the end of July, and the owner no longer wanted to manage it.

You agreed on $138,000 with a clause that let you assign the contract, and you attached the lease. A landlord who already owned two houses nearby saw the rent and the deposit paperwork and said yes.

That landlord paid $146,000 for the contract, so you made $8,000.

Mississippi rules to know

Lease rules and broker law for occupied houses

Occupied sales raise two legal questions. One is tenancy, covered for residential leases in Title 89, chapter 8 of the Mississippi Code. Check current text for notice periods, deposit handling and eviction steps, because we could not confirm them from an official source. Do not give a tenant legal advice or tell them they must leave.

The other is licensing. Section 73-35-3 can treat advertising or negotiating real estate for pay as brokerage, and 73-35-5(7) exempts bona fide owners with property they own. Section 73-35-31 sets fines, possible jail time and repayment of compensation for violations. State seller disclosure rules in 89-1-501 and following apply only to certain sales through a licensed broker, so confirm how they affect your sale. A 2026 bill on wholesaling did not pass.

Learn it with a mentor

Learn to read a lease before you offer

The lease and rent ledger decide the price on an occupied house. Mentorship students send us theirs, and we show them what a landlord buyer will accept.

FAQ

Tenant-Occupied Properties in Mississippi: common questions

Keep going

More Mississippi wholesaling guides

Read the full Mississippi wholesaling guide or pick another situation below.

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