Help with removing a problem tenant

Help with removing a problem tenant

Investor · Huntsville , AL · Member since 2015 · 17 posts · 1 vote

Hi everyone, and thank you in advance for your help. I am also sorry for the long post. 

I am actually asking this on behalf of my MIL, but I am very familiar with the situation and... help please!

My MIL rented her home in Autauga County, Alabama last September to a newly married couple. She lives in AZ. She is a bit naive and this was her first foray into renting, and she did not do any background checks, other than calling the numbers the couple gave her as references. They did sign an application stating no felonies, etc., but my MIL did not know how to perform a background check. My husband and I thought she had, but turns out she had not. The tenants signed a one year lease, Oct 1 2015- Sep 30, 2016. 

 There have been problems from the get-go. There have been many MANY issues, attempted cons and scams, etc., but the biggest problem is that shortly after they moved in my husband and I discovered that the male is a registered sex offender, meaning that he lied on his signed application. He does not know that we know, as my MIL did not want to go through the hassle of evicting and having them possibly destroy the house as long as rent was still being paid. She felt it would be better to have an ace in hand if she ever needed to evict them than to acknowledge that she knows and allow them to stay anyway. 

 Yesterday he contacted my MIL to say that he and his wife are now getting divorced. He tried to sweet talk her into lowering his rent, as he lost half of his income, but thankfully she is not willing to do so. She wants to end the lease as peacefully as possible, believing this man to be the type to vindictively steal appliances or otherwise trash the home. 

 Allowing this man to stay is not an option. He cannot pay the rent on his own and has admitted as much, and is a manipulative con man. We thought about having her say that he would need to qualify on his own, but that would mean actually running background checks, which of course would bring up his offender status, which means having to actually evict. 

Our current plan is to have her give him a polite 30 day notice, and say something like "Per the lease you will forfeit your deposit and owe an additional month's rent in order to end your lease early, however I am aware of your situation and am willing to allow a lease break without the additional month's rent". He won't pay the extra month anyway, and hopefully that will keep him "nice". But since he is an offender I don't know where he'll go, and I'm worried that an actual eviction will be required anyway, which would then allow him to stay there for 2 months- the first 30 day notice and the 30 day eviction period. 

  Does anyone have any insight into this? Any ideas on what to do? Is a 30 day notice a good idea, or should she go straight to eviction? Does she have to wait until the beginning of March when the rent isn't paid? Both this man and his wife are on the lease, but the wife has moved out and is not returning messages left by my MIL. 

Thank you SO MUCH for your help. 

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Real Estate Agent · Buena Park, CA · Member since 2016 · 743 posts · 424 votes
10y
The answer is purely intellectual.....Money.Have your MIL offer cash for keys by telling him she will forgive the rent and return the deposit in full if he will vacate the property as soon as possible and without any trouble.If necessary,offer more money on top of the deposit return to help him pay for moving and into another place.This clown is a ticking time bomb with nothing to lose and will destroy the property if challenged harshly so tell her to smile big and be sympathetic to his divorce troubles and help him get the hell out asap.
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  • Real Estate Agent · Buena Park, CA · Member since 2016 · 743 posts · 424 votes
    10y
    The answer is purely intellectual.....Money.Have your MIL offer cash for keys by telling him she will forgive the rent and return the deposit in full if he will vacate the property as soon as possible and without any trouble.If necessary,offer more money on top of the deposit return to help him pay for moving and into another place.This clown is a ticking time bomb with nothing to lose and will destroy the property if challenged harshly so tell her to smile big and be sympathetic to his divorce troubles and help him get the hell out asap.
  • Investor · Huntsville , AL · Member since 2015 · 17 posts · 1 vote
    10y

    Well, as much as I don't want to hear that you make a good point. Ugg. Scumbags with nothing to lose are pretty sucky tenants.  

  • Mobile and Baldwin, AL · Member since 2016 · 11 posts · 2 votes
    10y

    I've had a few very similar situations... since you  do NOT want them there....and you want them out without damage to property etc.. ...what I have been in the past  is spend time explaining how hard it will be to continue paying the rent under their circumstances etc.... and that you want to be able to let them OUT of this  deal....  I would consider Tell the tenant  you will give back his deposit  as long as everything is  left  undamaged and clean and  rent thru the day he leaves  is paid and that it would be great if he could give you as much notice as possible and he could still use you as a reference.  This way it doesn't go against his credit.  Being really nice about the notice and deposit  has save me big time  because they left with a little "jingle" and didn't stay 2 more months before I could get them evicted. Good Luck

  • Developer · New Orleans, LA · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 898 votes
    10y

    @Brenna SullivanI agree with the others.  MIL should take to the tenant and offer the full deposit if he moves out peacefully and in short order, i.e. cash for keys.  Even if the tenant owes money, it not likely your MIL will ever see that.  Threatening to keep the deposit and go after them for more money is a mistake.

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