Corona, CA · Member since 2013 · 11 posts · 0 votes
I am in CA. I served my tenant a 3-day notice and am quite sure he will not have the $$$ to pay in 3 days. My next step would be to get a lawyer and start the eviction process? Being in CA, I know this will take quite a while/months. In the mean time, if he comes up with the $$$, am I obligated to keep him in the house? If so, should I legally expect all late fees associated at the time he pays up? Thank you in advance.
Unless you have officially evicted and received possession of the property by the Marshall, or if the tenant turned over the key, I would stay away from changing locks or taking over the property.
Personally, I've had to deal with a good number of evictions and I would be happy (well, not exactly happy) with a tenant that's voluntarily moving out, instead of making me go through the eviction.
I would call the tenant and ask if you can show it. I would probably not make a big deal out of the extra day in terms of extra rent. But then I have low-income tenants and when they become deadbeat, there's no money to collect anyway ;-)
In NJ, we had a tenant couple who was evicted by court order, but a week before the sheriff came, we decided to check out the house. We texted them that we'd be coming on a certain day, they replied no problem.
When we arrived, they were gone and we found the power had been shut off several days before, the fridge full of rotting food, and most of their stuff (except garbage) gone. I called my attorney, who agreed the property had been abandoned. We took photos and changed the locks, then started the renovation.
Power off, rotting food and no furniture/clothes/personal possessions is good enough in NJ to change the locks. You can also check with the electric company in advance to see if the power has been switched out of that address. They won't tell you where the tenant has requested new service, but check with an attorney to see if that's good enough to define abandonment.
Ask your lawyer will he back you up in court if the tenant sues you. You should have waited for sheriff to come out and then the sheriff will give you the property back. How did you know the power been of several days? You jump the gun, but I hope it works out for you.
Tenant recommendation letter? You gotta be kidding. Now he wants you to lie for him?
Lets hope you don't have a "professional tenant." I'm always a little suspicious of people who have lied to me. Once they have either bent the truth or told the big lie, it's the same; I can't rely on their word(s).
Concern #2: tenant may be waiting for you to screw up the process and catch you with your legal pants down in low grass and no bushes.
My practice is to refer the U/D to an attorney specializing in same (try Liddle & Liddle in Glendora), pay them $100 to serve the 3day on their letterhead with process server, and I get out of the way. Gets me out of the way and sends a strong message to tenant who thinks they'll outsmart me. All contact then is made thru the attorney.
If they've vacated by the weekend, they can sign a release at the attorney's office. Frees you up to do deals or surf!
My vote is to file the U/D now. It'll cost you about $900. If they play games, you're already ahead. You're loosing rent at the rate of about $50-100/day anyway. Yes, his credit will be affected. He'll be able to rent a dingbat house in Quail Valley (aka Buzzard Gulch). Tough love.
Power off, rotting food and no furniture/clothes/personal possessions.
Yep been there in days of old.
Then we inherited one who was resisting eviction. But we found a lot of electronics with School System Inventory tags. Called the Sheriff & it was fun to watch as he came back to retrieve the stolen loot.
These bottom feeders may have an inherent streak of stupidity, but they certainly know how to play the system & they ALWAYS find another Landlord to screw over.
Absolutely @Pat L.! Good story. And Joe, our psychic abilities about the power weren't working that day, so we actually called the utility company ;) And yes, our lawyer backed us up all the way through obtaining a judgment. Using a lawyer means taking their advice...at least that's how it works in NJ.