bethel, CT · Member since 2015 · 335 posts · 57 votes
Hi BP, need some help here about a tenant im evicting .. short story she lies about paying rent and constantly late. There is always a major catastrophe in her life. Anyway got a lawyer involved and the decision was she has to be out by September 30th 2018.. today she calls me up asking for a extension because she cannot find a place. I tell her sorry I cannot and there is a agreement in place.
After that she tells me goodluck and see you in court again. Next her husband calls me up and tells me he doesn't like the way I'm treating his wife. Keep in mind this is the same husband who just got out of jail for trying to kill her... same guy who broke her jaw and same guy she pleaded with me to change her locks which I went half on. So with all that said if she's not out by the 30th what will the court do?
When is enough enough with this kind of tenants?
How should I handle future interactions with this tenant and her husband?
The house is in a real nice area just got a real bad tenant .
Thanks!
Ryan
Plymouth, MI · Member since 2013 · 13k+ posts · 19k+ votes
8y
This is going to sound a little off the wall, but if it didn't, it wouldn't come from me. LOL.
This is something I would recommend every REI do before they buy into a market for a rental(s):
1 - Find out the day the court is doing evictions (usually it's an all day thing...and the same day(s) every week/month.
2 - Clear your schedule for the day
3 - Go to the court, bright and early that day
4 - Bring a pad of paper and pen (remember how those worked...they still do), because most courts won't let you bring your tablet, laptop, phone...into court.
Investor · Oklahoma City, OK · Member since 2017 · 23 posts · 7 votes
8y
@Bob B.
Agree. I wouldn’t even take calls from them either. Just let it go to voicemail, so you have documentation, or correspond over text for same reason.
But let your lawyer handle it, if he’s being paid to do so. He’s definitely not going to bill you any less for doing unnecessary work on your own.
@James Wise the picture of the crib is how I know I’ll always need to use PMs! I’m too soft! I’ll get better but in this case the maxim “know thyself” applies.
I always say you've got to put your aces in their places. Knowing what you are good at and not good at is half the battle. Property Management is a savage business. Evictions are tough on everyone from the owner of the property to the tenants to the employees of the Property Management company. We've lost employees within days of their 1st evictions. It's just not for everyone.
There is nothing wrong with loosing sleep at night when you've tossed a babies crib in the street in the morning. I'd argue that that's probably the more appropriate way a person should react in said situation. No room for that in Property Management. So unless you can sleep like a baby after that morning's eviction you need to outsource that stuff because you won't be able to make the right financial decisions when all of your heart strings are being pulled at daily.
In Cleveland we have to come back and take everything that wasn't picked up by the tenant or stolen by the neighbors by 5pm. We then have to store it for 30 days then can dispose of it. It's a $500 fine to the landlord if you leave it there.
Oh wow! You have to store it? That blows. In Akron, the bailiff will call for a trash pick up for the next morning and the city picks up everything left.
That's pretty cool. I've never done an eviction down in Akron. Who pays for the trash pick up? Is that a city provided service or something the landlord is billed for?
In Cleveland we have to come back and take everything that wasn't picked up by the tenant or stolen by the neighbors by 5pm. We then have to store it for 30 days then can dispose of it. It's a $500 fine to the landlord if you leave it there.
Oh wow! You have to store it? That blows. In Akron, the bailiff will call for a trash pick up for the next morning and the city picks up everything left.
That's pretty cool. I've never done an eviction down in Akron. Who pays for the trash pick up? Is that a city provided service or something the landlord is billed for?
The property is a duplex where I pay for the regular trash service, Akron trash service is awesome and large trash pickup is part of the regular service-- so I guess I pay for it but there was no additional charge for the large off-schedule post-eviction pickup and it was nice that the bailiff made the call for the extra pickup.
Rental Property Investor · Larkspur, CO · Member since 2018 · 198 posts · 179 votes
8y
@Timothy Daniels Are you writing that two month check AND returning the deposit or keeping it in that scenario?? I can see two months if you’re holding on to the deposit, but that’s quite a gift otherwise. It’s akin to paying up in a hostage situation; tough call and it’s fair to say if it becomes a standard practice it’ll become a common practice. I get it though....
I'm an old man now in my 70s with well over 100 tenants both residential and commercial. After buying into tenant's sad stories for far too many years one day I finally realized that stories don't matter so I stopped listening to them. First of the month you're given the rent or a story__right? If given rent, I say "thank you." If offered a story I interrupt and begin eviction process. However, in time you learn to screen prospective tenants and eventually rent collection becomes a rare issue. It's all about saying "No" in the beginning before allowing marginal folks in the door. Good luck!
Rental Property Investor · Friday Harbor, WA · Member since 2015 · 66 posts · 30 votes
8y
@David Smit WA State law prohibits use of security for anything but damage (i.e. can't use it for unpaid rent). So I treat the deposit as a separate issue...if they have damaged anything I will keep those funds. If not, I return it. No loss, as I never considered it my money to begin with.
The amount you offer the tenant must be compelling/incentivizing. I have always found the lawyer to cost more, and be less time-effective. And my desire to remove the tenant from the property is usually greater than my desire to save some money.
In Cleveland we have to come back and take everything that wasn't picked up by the tenant or stolen by the neighbors by 5pm. We then have to store it for 30 days then can dispose of it. It's a $500 fine to the landlord if you leave it there.
Oh wow! You have to store it? That blows. In Akron, the bailiff will call for a trash pick up for the next morning and the city picks up everything left.
That's pretty cool. I've never done an eviction down in Akron. Who pays for the trash pick up? Is that a city provided service or something the landlord is billed for?
The property is a duplex where I pay for the regular trash service, Akron trash service is awesome and large trash pickup is part of the regular service-- so I guess I pay for it but there was no additional charge for the large off-schedule post-eviction pickup and it was nice that the bailiff made the call for the extra pickup.
Nice, that's pretty convenient. Maybe one day I'll be lucky enough to evict as many Akron residents as I do Cleveland residents.