Investor · Bronx, NY · Member since 2014 · 115 posts · 37 votes
Hello BP Family,
Has anyone had to evict a military family? After two months of tenancy, I've decided to evict my tenants, a military family for non payment of rent & unfit living conditions. During a site visit of the premises, I observed hoarding conditions of my newly renovated unit. After giving them a notice to vacate premises, they have repeatedly called/texted me with which I believe are erroneous claims. For example water leaking from upstairs. I sent someone to assess the condition and they would not allow them inside. I refuse to answer any calls from them or respond to their texts.
I blame myself for not doing a better job of tenant due diligence & screening. I have filed papers for summary ejectment. I believe they are professional tenants! Someone suggested that I reached out to the JAG Millitary Headquarters about this situation and possible reimbursement for damages. Has anyone reached out to the Military regarding their difficult tenant, non payment of rent and property damages.
Rental Property Investor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2018 · 176 posts · 83 votes
8y
@Bridget Smith-Osbourne Sorry you have to deal with it. I'd use that leave and earnings statement against him. Get in touch with his Commanding officer or Senior Enlisted Advisor to step in. His command should be listed on his earnings statement in case you don't know where to begin to get in touch with the Commanding Officer.
Investor · FL · Member since 2016 · 332 posts · 388 votes
8y
@Bridget Smith-Osbourne. Also, in the future look to renr to NCOs (E-5 and up) or officers. This weeds out 99% of problem childs, because they have matured by that point and wouldn't pull this.
Real Estate Agent · Mesa, AZ · Member since 2017 · 230 posts · 169 votes
8y
@Bridget Smith-Osbourne find out what unit he is in and google their “staff duty” call that number and tell them the tenant name and that they are not paying rent. That’ll solve the problem. The staff dut is open 24 hours and they’ll sort it out by getting his chain of command involved.
Real Estate Agent · Chattanooga, TN · Member since 2018 · 258 posts · 136 votes
8y
@Bridget Smith-Osbourne Did you ever get contact info for their command? Contacting their chain of command will get that taken care of real quick as they can actually face punishment within the military under the UCMJ for that as well.
Okinawa, Japan · Member since 2017 · 4 posts · 6 votes
8y
As an Marine Officer, I've been on the receiving end of a phone call from my Commanding Officer that one of my Marines was having issues (ranges from late/no payment on credit cards, rents, etc). It's made clear to me that I need to look further into the situation and find out the root cause. Some of the comments in this thread mentioned that the CO/unit only looks into it for the benefit of the military member. While on some level, that's true and I agree with that statement. However, we do dive deeper into the situation because it typically uncovers an issue that needs dealt with further. Late rent is typically a symptom of a more serious issue. If we can assist the military member deal with the more serious issue, the symptoms typically are alleviated. Not only does that help the military member, but it increases mission readiness and will also help the landlord receive their due rent payment.
Rental Property Investor · Washington, DC · Member since 2015 · 88 posts · 45 votes
8y
@Bridget Smith-Osbourne I hear people referring to the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act and most of it is correct, but it usually only is affect if they are on a deployment.
Personally, what i would do (and this is coming from my experience as a former NCO, who dealt with things like this) is contact the CO of the command. They will more than likely make them sign a form called a "page 13", which is a written counseling session and then force them to get a on a payment plan with you.
BAH is an untaxed benefit expressly for housing and living expenses. The CO should take it away and force him to live on base as the soldier has obvious difficulty managing finances.
Columbus, GA · Member since 2017 · 88 posts · 115 votes
8y
To offer some insight, I've been the commanding officer in a few different organizations, and dealt with debt collectors in various molds on a regular basis (probably once a week). Here's what we normally did:
-dove into the service member's finances. That includes figuring out all their bills, debts, and income. Then worked to establish a feasible budget for him.
-if there was an unexpected expense (such as a car repair or family emergency) that the service member didn't have the cash or credit to pay for, we would arrange for a certain military charity to offer a no-interest loan (or sometimes grant) to get him by for a couple months.
-sometimes Soldiers would buy a car they couldn't afford (with a 22% interest rate), or would have marital problems that forced them to downsize and move into smaller apartments. In those cases, we would work with the Soldier to sell the car, or beg the landlord to break the lease. Sometimes the landlord was sympathetic, and realized a painful eviction was coming...sometimes the Soldier moved out and paid a hefty fee to break the lease.
-I did have one Soldier get evicted. We simply oversaw that he found a cheaper place to live.
I mention the above because this is a real estate investing forum. If you'll notice, I didn't mention at any time attempting to work with the debt collectors to satisfy the debts, or compel a Soldier to pay his bills. There's a large level of personal responsibility here. I think it's important to know that from the military side, our focus is on taking care of the service member. If you choose to get the chain of command involved, understand what you're doing is really highlighting a problem, and not necessarily making leeway towards getting them to pay you...which isn't a bad thing. It's in our best interest to have our service members satisfy their debts, but we really only have the legal authority to lead the proverbial horse to water...not make him drink. Nor do we have time to babysit and personally oversee every financial transaction a Soldier makes. Some service members are just a real pain to deal with...for both the chain of command and their landlords.
My opinions aren't the same for every commanding officer, but I would say the vast majority hold the same view. Hope this helps to understand the situation a bit more.
Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2017 · 9 posts · 7 votes
8y
@Bridget Smith-Osbourne
Try contacting their CO. As a former service member that's the last thing you want to happen is to have your CO contacted over a civil matter. This will bring you some resolution.
Tough situation. I'm a former military officer and ran into a similar issue with one of my soldiers (he had pet ferrets running around loose in his trailer and practiced amateur chainsaw sculpting on logs inside).
You want to get in touch with his company commander or even better his First Sergeant. It may take some digging to track this down, but it's definitely possible. During business hours his company will have a clerk or somebody sitting at a desk answering the phone, I wouldn't give any specifics to the clerk because they may tip off your tenant, but they can probably connect you with the CO or First Sergeant.
Have a paper trail prepared when you speak with the company leadership (CO & First Sergeant). This will make it much easier for them to follow-up with garnishing wages or any legal steps.
In cases like this a soldier who cannot manage his house probably doesn't just get it together and turn in to a high-speed troop on the ride into work. Most likely, the leadership will call a 'counseling session' during which they will melt the face off of the service member and everyone in his chain of command (some poor 22 year old lieutenant and his platoon sergeant and squad leader). If my assumptions are correct they will appreciate your help getting this soldier out of their unit. Those proceedings take time, but the CO will have formal and informal steps to help make things right including some form of wage garnishment for the former and having the soldier's squad leadership perform home inspections for the latter.
I hope this helps and wasn't too jargon heavy. If you need any explanations shoot me a message.
Realtor, General Contractor, and Developer · Redding, CA · Member since 2009 · 7k+ posts · 4k+ votes
8y
@Bridget Smith-Osbourne Hoarding is often a symptom of some type of mental illness. Aside from contacting the military to help with the eviction, they may need to see if the military member is having health issues and needing help.
Investor · Bronx, NY · Member since 2014 · 115 posts · 37 votes
8y
@Ryan McKelvey..... The waiver of rights form is a good idea! This is the first I am hearing about it. Is this form something you've created yourself?
My tenant is active duty but is not deployed. I verified his status via SCRA. This is a requirement for all summary ejectments in Cumberland County, Fayetteville, NC. It may be for the entire state, I am just not sure.
Investor · Bronx, NY · Member since 2014 · 115 posts · 37 votes
8y
@Jeremy Roberts....Thanks for the feedback. I just got off the the phone with my tenant 1SG and things sounds promising. She informed me that tenant is on a medical leave and will be by in a week or two. She said she would have a resolution for me by then on how I will get my rent and tenant transitioning out of unit. I will definitely keep you in mind if things go south.
Rental Property Investor · Norfolk, VA · Member since 2017 · 142 posts · 76 votes
8y
@Matthew R Curcio That sounds nice when dealing with a situation like this but that’s not how it works. CO’s don’t have the authority to take away BAH nor are they going to take away his BAH because he is married. What they can do is garnish wages and even that I’m not 100% sure about in this circumstance.
@Bridget Smith-Osbourne sorry to hear about your situation. It is really upsetting to see military personnel behave this way. I am active duty myself and this is not the type if behavior of the majority of us.
Few things I suggest:
1. Let him know in writing that you will be contacting his/her parent command to inform them about the situation and the unfit living conditions. Especially if they have children, the command will take special interest.
2. Contact the parent command. On the lease agreement he should have listed a contact number for work or for his supervisor.
3. Get a hold of base legal. Depending on the branch of service, the name could be a little different but it should all have similar functions.
I hope this helps!
Saint Louis, MO · Member since 2018 · 16 posts · 18 votes
8y
In the Air Force the each unit appoints a First Sergeant that is responsible for disciplinary issues that occur outside of normal duty hours. I am sure each branch of active duty has this official position, but I do not know what they are called in other branches. This is a special duty and is their only assignment during their time as First Sergeant.
Coppell, TX · Member since 2015 · 485 posts · 310 votes
8y
this is a long thread, but I have to ask are they really military or did they lie in the application? how to verify? and yes proceed with the eviction.
"Also, in the future look to rent to NCOs (E-5 and up) or officers. This weeds out 99% of problem children, because they have matured by that point and wouldn't pull this."
Actually, NCOs are E-4 (corporal) and up, but I agree, limit one's renting to NCOs or even staff NCOs (E-6) and higher and the problem will disappear.
Rental Property Investor · Denver, CO · Member since 2017 · 9 posts · 10 votes
8y
@Adam Odom thats right a active duty persons check can be garnished ! Also keep in mind when they're married and have children they get a BEQ allowance which can more than triple there regular pay
Has anyone had to evict a military family? After two months of tenancy, I've decided to evict my tenants, a military family for non payment of rent & unfit living conditions. During a site visit of the premises, I observed hoarding conditions of my newly renovated unit. After giving them a notice to vacate premises, they have repeatedly called/texted me with which I believe are erroneous claims. For example water leaking from upstairs. I sent someone to assess the condition and they would not allow them inside. I refuse to answer any calls from them or respond to their texts.
I blame myself for not doing a better job of tenant due diligence & screening. I have filed papers for summary ejectment. I believe they are professional tenants! Someone suggested that I reached out to the JAG Millitary Headquarters about this situation and possible reimbursement for damages. Has anyone reached out to the Military regarding their difficult tenant, non payment of rent and property damages.
Thank You
Bridget
I haven't read the replies yet but your subject should be "Help evicting a non paying renter".
Lots of 'good people' stop paying rent for all sorts of reasons. Military, fire fighters, teachers, etc. But if they don't pay their rent, I can't pay my mortgage, pay my property taxes, pay my insurance, pay my managers, my workers, etc. My staff and my family are good people and need to be paid so they can pay their rent and eat.
So when someone doesn't pay rent, we evict them. Period.
Are they active duty? The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act provides special protections to active duty military. The law allows courts to postpone for up to three months and sometimes longer at the judge's discretion, some evictions for nonpayment of rent.
The law does not prohibit evictions, and the tenant is still responsible for the rent they owe, but the landlord is required to inform the court of the tenant’s active duty status. The judge would then decide if the tenant's military service affects their ability to pay the rent, and whether to stay the eviction or allow it. Landlords who do not follow the law can be hit with fines and/or jail time.
As always, don't trust the internet, seek professional advice. Good Luck!
What's sad about "protections" for military (or any group) is they tend to backfire. The harder you make it to evict someone due to X, the more likely someone is going to not rent to X. Sure you can say "Well we'll make using X illegal as a rental criteria", but guess what, apartments are rented by humans and its easy enough to get the tenants you want.
The law should treat people by their most tiny minority status: The individual. No minority group is smaller. So treat everyone *THE SAME*. If they pay and keep up their unit? Good. If they don't, bad. Who cares about anything else.
We rented to a lady (man? Who knows) who identifies as a lizard. Not kidding. She has horns and a split tongue and everything . But wtf do I care. She pays her rent so she's cool w/ me.