Landlord Evicting Soldier Story
Isn't it amazing that right off the bat, without hearing the other side of the story we are quick to judge the Landlord and see him as the Dastardly Landlord.
I am a strict conservative and my son enlisted in the army three times and was awarded the Audie Murphy Award. So I have nothing but great respect for our military men.
What we don't seem to see in between the lines of this story, (I haven't read it, just heard bits and pieces of it), is that it takes time to evict someone. The Soldier just didn't come home, and the landlord tossed them out into the streets just like that! We should know better than this being landlords ourselves!
It takes time to evict for non payment of rent or a termination of tenancy. Court dates take time to hear our cases as it is. Time to plead the case, Court time for tenant to evict, and then a Writ of Restitution to remove the tenant from the premises if they do not leave. The tenant can postpone, claim hardship, claim repairs not made, and delay the eviction process for up to 6 months.
Pregnancy, babies, holidays, the court takes into consideration all of this, and usually will not evict or remove someone until AFTER THE HOLIDAYS. So there is something fishy about this story. (I started an eviction in September on one occasion and it took until the middle of January to get her out because of all the above reasons)
If the woman and her child were actually evicted, actually removed from the premises, it didn't happen over night. It took at least two months to get them out, depending on the state. The woman had to be way behind in rent, or be a health hazard to be removed immediately. This is just a good Scrooge around Christmas time story.
Why are we so quick to Judge our fellow landlords and sympathize with the media instead of standing up for our fellow investors/landlords when it comes to these matters?
The landlord is also trying to make ends meet. Has a family, I 'm sure. Christmas, and bills to pay. So because we have a pregnant woman, and a soldier to be respected, the landlord must put his own families needs aside because of what others may think of him because he also needs his pay check.
How would you feel if your boss decided to take your paycheck and give it to a needy person because they felt that you didn't need your paycheck, but the needy person needed it more. Would that be okay? Would you mind if the Media did a story on you if you objected and said, hey I worked hard for that money. I need it too. I care about the needy people, but I need the money too. I can't afford to give it to that needy person right now. It Christmas!
Our rents are our income! It pays our bills.
So unless we have absolute evidence that the Landlord was a real S.O.B., and just had to evict that soldier, because he just plain simply loves to be mean, then I will stand with everyone and say he should be ashamed of himself. But somehow I don't feel that is the case, because as I said, it takes months to get a tenant out of your rental units. And, quite frankly, I'm tired of the media, the courts and even fellow landlords bashing other landlords who are just trying to make a living like everyone else.
So, until I hear the full story, I stick with what I have written here today!
Nancy Neville