tenant death

[Jerry N.]

Anyone ever have a tenant die on them with no heirs or with no heirs who want to do anything about it?  Happened in Cook County, IL.  The local police and a state representative were at one point involved but no more.  Wondering if anyone has been through something like this.  If so, what was your experience and how did it resolve?

Thanks for reading and for any insights.

[Mark Ainley]

@Jerry N.  We have actually had this happen a few times over the years and here is the couple of scenarios we had.  Our ultimate goal was to get possession back the easiest & most economic way possible.  Be sure to check with your own attorney on what ever route you chose to go.  These were all in Cook County, Chicago.

Example 1 - We had a tenant that had heirs that didn't want anything to do with it so we paid them to come and take possession of it all after proving their relationship as the son of the deceased.  I think it cost us $1000 for them to haul it all away and take possession of the deceased belongings.  Every heir has a price.

Example 2 - Similar to example 1 and happened after example 1 we paid a heir to come sign a waiver that they don't want the belongings and that they recognize all items will be donated to Goodwill or thrown in the garbage.  We paid the heir $50 or $100 to sign off on this letter we had our attorney review after we drafted it.  

Example 3 - Tenant had minimum belongings so we posted notice that "We deeded this property to be abandoned and we will be taking possession over in 7 days".  After 7 days we took their belongings and placed them into storage we had in another building(had to pay our guys to do it).  We took pics and placed them in a basement in another building we have.  

Check with your attorney and this situation will cost you something but I imagine you are losing $30-$60 a day in rent right now.