Investor · Peachtree Corners, GA · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
I recently had a court date in Fulton County, GA, probably one of the most tenant friendly jurisdictions in a landlord friendly state. Obviously, that is all relative.
My tenant's lawyer was a few hours late and I was able to witness several eviction (disp.) cases. I won't get into the nitty gritty details of any of those cases, but I had one huge take away. Come prepared.
Have your paperwork in order. Make extra copies for the judge and the opposing side.
Present your case in a coherent and concise way. Stick to the point.
Invariably, the person who was the most prepared won their cases, even when it seemed as though the losing side had valid, but undocumented, arguments.
Fortunately I was prepared, but observing those cases underscored the importance of preparedness.
Real Estate Investor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2008 · 1k+ posts · 218 votes
12y
@Cal C. having the heart.. so very true. This is a business. You have bills to pay and people that work for you or depend on you need that income. Would you go to work every day if your boss stopped paying? Probably not.
While a tenant may have a sob story. Maybe they lost their job because of something out of their control. It stinks for them, but at the same time, if you let them live there, others will be losing their jobs because you won't be able to pay your bills.
In the end, if a customer entered a restaurant and ate a meal at $30 cost each day, then ran out and didn't pay. Would you let them keep eating for free each day?
Developer · Garland, TX · Member since 2008 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes
12y
I was in eviction court yesterday on a hotly contested case. I knew it would be, so I had full documentation prepared. The defendant had told me he had full documentation of his defense, however, he brought it all on his smart phone. He referred to tn repeatedly during the proceeding, but only showed the JP a single email.
I had time line, voice mail transcripts, text transcripts, lease, lease app, accounting statements of all income and expenses, and utility statements.
The trial lasted 70 minutes! My longest in the past was only 10 minutes. I presented in 3-4 minutes, and the defendant went on and on about peripheral items not related to the case. When the JP addressed each issue, the defendant would go on to a new one. He went back to repeat old ones again a few times. I answered JP questions briefly without opinion. She had extreme patience in my opinion. Eventually she awarded me the judgment, and the defendant immediately wanted to appeal. Don't know if he will or not, he has 5 days.
If you haven't been to eviction court, I highly recommend you go and observe. You absolutely want to be the most prepared and knowledgeable.
I'm surprised the JP let the tenant go on and on. The judges I have seen in action here certainly wouldn't have tolerated it. But great point about having transcripts of voice mail and texts.
Cincinnati, OH · Member since 2013 · 292 posts · 81 votes
12y
@Jon Klaus I'm surprised about the patience, too. The magistrates I've seen at work don't hesitate to cut off a party who goes off on a tangent or isn't concise. They've seen it all...can't say that I envy their job!
Investor · Vancouver, WA · Member since 2013 · 3k+ posts · 4k+ votes
12y
@Jon Klaus Extraordinary patience.... she obviously was not Judge Judy. Was the tenant entertaining and captivating? Well, good job on your part! Gives me some ideas what to have in my folio, should I need to prepare for court. Thanks!
Investor · Southeast, MI · Member since 2012 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
12y
Lots of good advice here. I agree that you should be early and dress nice.
One thing I've noticed is that judges tend to be very logical, much like cops. If you answer the questions briefly, but to the point, you will have a good shot at winning. The tenants usually are very hyper and nervous and act all crazy. Judges don't like this.
One tip I will give has really worked for me. It sounds stupid, but try it. Use the word "baffled". Your honor, I'm baffled as to why the defendant hasn't paid when I gave every opportunity to do so. Then shut up. The tenant will go on with a bunch of their personal problems that the judge has no interest in hearing. It has worked for me many times.
Thanks @Cal C., very informative. My husband and I have rentals in 2 states, NJ and FL. In NJ, if you own the properties in an LLC (we do), only an attorney can represent you in court, so I never saw the proceedings for the 2 evictions we had. In both cases of non payment, we won.
We are evicting a tenant in FL now for non payment. Our lease includes late fees and court costs as "additional rent". It didn't always, and our last eviction filing did not result in late fees being awarded. An attorney had written that lease - we found a new attorney.
K. Marie, you are exactly right. Every tenant that has not paid rent and been served the Pay or Quit, or made it to eviction court, has that attitude. They truly believe the landlord should support them until they can pay. They are shocked and angry when they learn that's not the case, and the rental unit will reflect that when they finally leave.
A friend had an inexperienced attorney handle an eviction for them. It took nearly 4 months after they filed, which was already after a couple of months with no rent. It's critical to use an attorney who specializes in landlord/tenant law, not divorce, car accidents, or personal injury. That's the mistake I see with landlords - not filing an immediate Pay or Quit, and using a One Size Fits All attorney.
Would it be possible to pass on the name of your NJ attorney? Hopefully I will never need to use one but its best to be prepared. Thanks
Investor · Middletown, NJ · Member since 2008 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
12y
Joe's staff is great. Very reassuring when one is anxious about an eviction. When I first met with them 6 years ago, they were doing 40 evictions a week in Trenton. They are the experts. Have them review your lease as well. They gave me my first lease at no cost; they knew I'd be a client eventually ;)
Investor · Peachtree Corners, GA · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
12y
This saga is ongoing. The resident, not my tenant, tried to file an appeal of the eviction, but was denied. That happened on the 27th of Feb, when I called back a few days later they couldn't find the judge's decision. This went on for two week until they finally decided that I could give them a copy of the decision from my files. They had previously refused, because they said that paperwork could not possibly be lost and if they took a copy from me then there would be all sorts of problems because of duplicate paperwork. As of yesterday however, they had still not submitted the paperwork to the Marshall's office.
Thus far it has been 3 months since I filed for eviction and it may still be another few weeks until the Marshall shows up at their door. It is going to have to be a screaming deal before I buy in Fulton County again.