Investor · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2017 · 58 posts · 18 votes
Hello Everyone,
I just purchased a duplex in December. One of the tenants does not have a lease in place and she has not responded nor signed the one I sent. Additionally, she has been late paying her rent every month. The property is in Tennessee. What is the best way to get her out? Serve a 30 day vacate notice? Start an eviction?
This is where you need to get counsel from a local eviction lawyer to see what are your rights are and what steps you should be taking to evict the tenant. Do not try to work with her. Just evict. If you are starting on a bad foot with this tenant, its only going to get worse. Nip it at the bud.
This is where you need to get counsel from a local eviction lawyer to see what are your rights are and what steps you should be taking to evict the tenant. Do not try to work with her. Just evict. If you are starting on a bad foot with this tenant, its only going to get worse. Nip it at the bud.
Sacramento, CA · Member since 2014 · 513 posts · 319 votes
7y
@Christy Holt, if there is no lease in place, I would hire a lawyer experienced in evictions. Ask some members here in your area for a referral. Also educate yourself on the landlord tenant law and your rights as a landlord. You don't know the circumstances of the original tenancy and any newbie landlord mistakes you make can potentially cost you thousands. Get advice now.
You should have served a notice to cure when she did not sign the lease as required and definatly the day after she was first late with rent. You need to evict now.
If you are going to avoid future evictions you need to tighten up your business practices and start training your tenants from the get go. When they pay late the day after it is due you must send a cure or quit notice. Never allow tenants to pay late without immediately sending a notice and inform them if they pay late again you will be forced to evict. You should be putting new tenants on M2M until they prove themselves. This will make it much easier to control their behaviour.
You need to study your state landlord tenant codes.
Investor · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2017 · 58 posts · 18 votes
7y
@ Thomas S. I already sent notice when she was FIRST late with the rent. I just completed the Notice to Vacate. I was just hoping to see what others have done if in this position. I know what I need to do...
Developer · Birmingham Alabama · Member since 2019 · 20 posts · 12 votes
7y
@Christy Holt I would give her some money to move. If filing an eviction cost say $2500 then offer her $1000 to move within 72hrs. It saves her from having an eviction on her record plus saves you money. I’ve done this with just offering their full deposit back.
Rental Property Investor · Tampa, FL · Member since 2018 · 73 posts · 35 votes
7y
Without a signed lease, you have the option of raising her rent with official notice to whatever you want. Send her certified mail with the new rental rate painful enough to grab her attention and I bet she will respond to you quickly. If you don’t hear from her within a few days of her receiving it, work with a local real estate attorney to have her evicted or reach out to her to possibly to pay her a couple hundred dollars for her to vacate within 10 days which would be a less expensive and time-consuming option.
Rental Property Investor · Indiana...mostly · Member since 2019 · 468 posts · 245 votes
7y
This is a new situation for me to hear about. When i've bought rentals with existing tenants there has always been a lease. I have on relative who has a lease now with a landlord whose lease is completely and fully contained on one 5"x7" piece of paper. My relative shared it w/me because he knew it would give me a chuckle. I've never seen a lease so brief.
Anyway I regret I don't really know what exactly I'd do in this situation. I'm going to see if I can follow the thread. Please let us know how it turns out.
I'd be curious to know why the previous owner didn't have a lease in place if they told you?
Investor · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2017 · 58 posts · 18 votes
7y
Yes - me too @Scott P. I've never purchased a property without the tenants having a current lease. I'm sending a notice to vacate and I'm contacting an attorney. Thanks for responding!
Investor · Chattanooga, TN · Member since 2009 · 1k+ posts · 903 votes
7y
I strongly disagree with the cash for keys approach instead of eviction. While I understand the logic and expense rationale behind it, what those landlords are doing is allowing someone to go back out and potentially take advantage of another landlord because the defaulting tenant will have no record of eviction/collection on their record. I'm not criticizing those who practice that method. To each their own, but wouldn't you as a landlord want to know something like that?
@Christy Holt with you being out of state you may have to make the trip out for the eviction hearing if the tenant demands a trial, which is their right. Since you've already served the non renewal notice you may have to wait the thirty days before evicting. TN has a 30 day cure period unless specific notice is waived (something you want to make sure you have in your written lease) since the tenant has already defaulted (even without a written lease) by paying late, you could most likely terminate the lease 14 days after a second default. So if she's late again it's important you serve a second notice terminating the lease for non performance.
Real Estate Agent · Salt Lake City, UT · Member since 2014 · 473 posts · 230 votes
7y
@Christy Holt
I’d go the cash for keys route first. I understand what the one guy is saying about doing the eviction so that it follows this tenant on their record. However, chances are this tenant has plenty of other red flags that would keep them from meeting proper screening criteria (not hitting 3x income to rent, poor credit, etc...).
Plus the eviction route is much more costly to you and takes longer.
There’s a good chance they’ll ignore your cash offer, but it’s worth a shot.
Rental Property Investor · Sioux Falls, SD · Member since 2015 · 9k+ posts · 18k+ votes
7y
I totally agree with @Brian Levredge that giving cash for keys instead of eviction is the wrong choice. No professionally management company will use cash for keys, because it is not a legally binding removal method. The truth is that most tenants will leave prior to going to eviction court. The reason is they don't want an eviction on their record. Only a small percentage fight it and the majority lose in court.
The risk in giving someone cash is that they either don't leave or they leave and come back. Then you are still stuck evicting them. Eviction gives you legal rights to the property and if they come back, the sheriff will escort them away.
To those who say, "I have given people cash and they left". My response is, of course they did!! If someone offered me cash to avoid an eviction, I would jump at that deal. My point is that they would have left anyways and all you are doing is rewarding them.
@Christy Holt it sounds like you are managing this property from out of state. Do you have anyone local who can go to the property? When you serve notice to vacate, make sure the notice is either delivered certified mail with signature or better yet have a process server deliver it. A process server will hand deliver and sign an affidavit stating the tenant received it. Process server can also post on the door and you have third party verification it was done, otherwise tenant can dispute. You need proof of delivery if you are going to court.
My advice is get rid of the tenant. If they are ignoring you, then it will only get worse over time.
REALTOR® · Brockport, NY · Member since 2015 · 3k+ posts · 4k+ votes
7y
I agree with @Brian Levredge and @Joe Splitrock when it comes to the cash for keys. My reasons aren't even about rewarding the tenant or protecting other landlords. I have done it before but to me it is a last resort. In this case a tenant is late on rent and has not signed a new lease. Two very common items that every landlord deals with many times throughout their career if not just in a year. Immediately throwing all the profit of a unit out the window while allowing them to leave it in shambles are other big concerns. I see it on the boards here all the time. "My tenant has a ripped screen should I..... Cash for keys"... "My tenant got a dog..... Cash for keys"..... "My tenant allowed their boy/girlfriend to move in..... Cash for keys". "My tenant is demanding new carpet before lease renewal...... Cash for keys".
If the management style is "profit be damned" then yes the simplest solution (as well as most costly) solution is to pay them to leave. A formal eviction letter may straighten them right up and not another peep for the next 10 years. If you offer them $1000, what do you do when they say "It's going to take $2400 for a deposit on a new place and first months rent, can you help me with that much?". It's still cheaper than the $2500, of course don't expect even close to broom clean in either instance. My solution would be to simply follow the process that is laid out with the local law anyway. They have already put the blueprint in place, don't try and outsmart it.
At any time during that process the tenant can come to you and you can settle on your terms. Cash for keys when she is ignoring you is just begging her to please talk to you and she has all of the control.
Investor · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2017 · 58 posts · 18 votes
7y
@Mike Cumbie@Brian Levredge@Joe Splitrock@Taylor Chiu@Ian Walsh Thank you all for your responses. I have someone that will go by today and either serve her or leave the notice taped to her door. I'm also sending the letters via certified mail and regular mail.
Investor · Chattanooga, TN · Member since 2009 · 1k+ posts · 903 votes
7y
Something else to keep in mind is that there are two types of process service: Money judgement and post for possession. The former requires a private process server be utilized. The latter is handled by the sheriff. Private service is almost always faster but if they can't serve the tenant you'll have to go through the sheriff, which can take weeks to get done. If you have a low likelihood of collecting any monetary damages you'll need to consider this all on a time basis. In Hamilton County (Chattanooga) the whole eviction process takes 6-8 weeks generally, beginning to end. And you'll need to have four people present at the set out to remove the belongings from the unit.
@Mike Cumbie@Brian Levredge@Joe Splitrock@Taylor Chiu@Ian Walsh Thank you all for your responses. I have someone that will go by today and either serve her or leave the notice taped to her door. I'm also sending the letters via certified mail and regular mail.
If it is not a process server, have them take a photo of the notice on the door. One of the biggest ways tenants avoid eviction is by claiming they were not properly served.
Yes - me too @Scott P. I've never purchased a property without the tenants having a current lease. I'm sending a notice to vacate and I'm contacting an attorney. Thanks for responding!
I was just under contract for two duplexes, fully occupied, where the seller didn't have leases for ANY of the units! It was a key question for me because the units were being rented severely under market, ie $500/mo. vs. $1150/mo. He swore they were all month-to-month and implied there were leases at some point but they've been there "so long, it was many years ago".
During the inspections, I had the 3/4 tenants fill out estoppal letters to verify their rent, their security deposit, and that they were month-to-month (they were). The 4th tenant wasn't at the inspection.
In the end, the deals fell apart after the inspections. I expected very heavy wear and tear and many minor/medium repairs from obvious deferred maintenance and based my offers with that in mind. But, alas, there were multiple major system failures also and the seller wouldn't play ball with my counteroffer.
Rental Property Investor · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2016 · 325 posts · 253 votes
7y
@Sejj Jackson, I don’t believe in offering money to leave. This sets the bad precedent and encourages tenants to expect move out bonus. Eviction in GA is less than $200, with results in less than 30 days, very landlord friendly state. Duplex rent can’t be more than $1000 in the state OP is referring to. I would recommend to pursue eviction as it will go tenants permanent record, so in most cases they leave as soon as they get served by the sheriff because they realize that the landlord is not playing around. I don’t like trading tenants to get money to move as it makes them seasoned and cause issues for future fellow landlord.