Tenant Passed Background Screen, but on Felony Bond House Arrest

General Landlording & Rental Properties
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Tenant Passed Background Screen, but on Felony Bond House Arrest

Kenneth N.
IT Consultant / Web Designer · Tomball, TX · Member since 2015 · 4 posts · 2 votes

I own a 4-plex in Texas and recently leased a unit to 19-year-old. He indicated that he had NOT been convicted of a felony on his application and the background screen came through clean.

It’s been less than a month and I just found out that he’s out of jail on a $30k felony bond for assault with a deadly weapon. Evidently, he skipped out on a recent court date and was reissued a higher bond with an ankle tracking device.

I am not comfortable with him continuing to live in the building and am concerned about the safety of the other tenants as well as myself. Technically he did not lie on his application and the screening is correct since he has not yet been convicted.

There have also been several noise complaints from the other tenants. One complained of loud sex in the early evening when she comes in from work with her young son. Others of late-night parting with his friends.

I’m looking for a way to get him out of the building. Any suggestions?

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Clifford Paul
Rental Property Investor · Member since 2018 · 483 posts · 956 votes
6y

In Texas you can bail out of jail through a bails bondsman for 10% of the bond. They also have payment plans with little down like 1%, so he could have paid as little as $300 to get out of jail. My buddy is a bondsman and he loves taking title of houses and cars to get someone's perfect little child out of jail. 

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  • Scott Mac
    Austin, TX · Member since 2019 · 5k+ posts · 5k+ votes
    6y

    Well he found $30,000 somewhere to bond out--he must have a pretty good job to cover that.

    Not a lot of renters can tap $30,000 like that.

    0Reply
  • Matt R.
    Blue Springs, MO · Member since 2015 · 481 posts · 313 votes
    6y

    I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice.

    Does your lease have anything like a "crime-free" provision in it?  Mine has a "crime-free addendum" that the tenants sign.  Essentially, it says if they do crimes while living there, they can be evicted, even if they are complying with the rest of the lease.  The fact that he hasn't been convicted yet might keep you from enforcing those terms, though.

    Other than that, start documenting all the complaints from the other tenants.  If you get enough of them that show he is violating the terms of the lease, and you give him notice as specified in the lease, the lease should allow you to start an eviction.

    Keep in mind that ADW doesn't necessarily mean he ran up to somebody and pointed a rifle or pistol at them.  If he was in his car, his girlfriend was standing some distance in front of the car arguing with him, and he drove forward a little and then stopped without hitting her, sometimes that's enough for an ADW charge.  You still might not want him in your property, though.

    @Scott Mac He could have posted a cash bond for $30K, but he also could have gotten a bail bondsman to post bond for him for much less than that, maybe around $3K to $5K.  The bondsman may have wanted some other collateral, but it doesn't have to be all cash.

    I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice.@Scott Mac

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  • Kenneth N.
    OP
    IT Consultant / Web Designer · Tomball, TX · Member since 2015 · 4 posts · 2 votes
    6y

    Thank you Matt.  The guy actually did shoot someone.  It was kind of big story that I was unfortunately unaware.  I'll definitely be modifying my lease agreements moving forward to include questions about pending cases and add the crime-free addendum you mentioned.  Although, I would think a decent background screening would pick up on pending cases.

    2Reply
  • Clifford Paul
    Rental Property Investor · Member since 2018 · 483 posts · 956 votes
    6y

    In Texas you can bail out of jail through a bails bondsman for 10% of the bond. They also have payment plans with little down like 1%, so he could have paid as little as $300 to get out of jail. My buddy is a bondsman and he loves taking title of houses and cars to get someone's perfect little child out of jail. 

    4Reply
  • Anthony Wick
    Rental Property Investor · Ankeny, IA · Member since 2017 · 2k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    6y

    @Kenneth N.

    How long is your lease? MTM? Terminate lease. Longer? Give notice that he is violating some term of the lease.

    For my potential tenants I also look at open source

    Documents on the Internet, like state court system, google, Facebook, etc. Gives you insight in addition to conviction docs.

    1Reply
  • Matt R.
    Blue Springs, MO · Member since 2015 · 481 posts · 313 votes
    6y

    @Kenneth N. Like @Anthony Wick said, sometimes searching the city/county/state court records yourself can be useful.  Usually searching is free, and certified copies of the records cost money; some of the more broke jurisdictions try to charge you for searching.  If you're in a big metro area, you might have to check several cities and counties in the area.  It's better to go directly to the government's web site to do the search, because there are a lot of fake "search all public records" sites that will always tell you that they found 387 entries, and then try to charge you to see the results.

    If you do this, it's also on you to make sure you find the right records - a lot of the public search sites will only let you search by name or address, and not SSN.  If the person has a relatively uncommon name, you're in good shape, but if it's John Smith, you have to narrow it down a little more.  It's also probably a good idea to do the same searches on all your applicants, to avoid discrimination concerns.

    0Reply
  • Greg H.Pro Member
    Moderator
    Broker/Flipper · Austin, TX · Member since 2013 · 4k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    6y

    The reality is, while Texas is considered a landlord friendly state, evictions for anything other than non-payment of rent is difficult at best

    You approved him and he is current on the rent.  The "I don't feel comfortable" just doesn't fly.  Texas does not require any reason to be given to not renew, so feel free to terminate at that time.   

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  • James Mc Ree
    Rental Property Investor · Malvern, PA · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 936 votes
    6y

    Texas may be giving your tenant a new home shortly with no action on your part.  Make sure your tenant gets his property out of the house before he "relocates" so you don't have to deal with it.

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  • Joe SplitrockPro Member
    Moderator
    Rental Property Investor · Sioux Falls, SD · Member since 2015 · 9k+ posts · 18k+ votes
    6y
    Originally posted by @Joe Splitrock:
    Originally posted by @Kenneth N.:

    Thank you Matt.  The guy actually did shoot someone.  It was kind of big story that I was unfortunately unaware.  I'll definitely be modifying my lease agreements moving forward to include questions about pending cases and add the crime-free addendum you mentioned.  Although, I would think a decent background screening would pick up on pending cases.

    You can't evict someone because you didn't properly screen them. Part of due diligence is doing a simple Google search on their name. My guess is that would pull up news stories. You can also check state and county jail records which show if someone is out on bond. That is free and I do it before I even show someone a property.

    1Reply
  • Kenneth N.
    OP
    IT Consultant / Web Designer · Tomball, TX · Member since 2015 · 4 posts · 2 votes
    6y

    Yesterday I confronted the tenant with my findings and calmly explained my concerns. I asked that he release me from the lease agreement and move out within 10 days in exchange for $1000. After some negotiation, we agreed to nullify the original lease and put another in place for only 2 months and no cash.  If he can keep from shooting anyone for 60 days - I'll consider it a win and another good landlording lesson.  Do anyone see any issues with this arrangement?

    0Reply
  • Karl B.
    Rental Property Investor · Erie, PA · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    6y

    I don't know if Texas has this but in PA I can check the PA Docket Sheets online for free (for criminal and civil records recorded within PA). It's been super useful to weed out potential renters. 

    2Reply
  • Dave FosterBusiness Member
    Qualified Intermediary for 1031 Exchanges · St. Petersburg, FL · Member since 2013 · 9k+ posts · 9k+ votes
    6y

    Thank heavens it was TX so you could "open carry" to your meeting with him . Nothing could go wrong with that scenario :)

    The 1031 Investor5137 Reviews
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  • Josue Vargas
    Real Estate Agent · San Antonio, TX · Member since 2017 · 814 posts · 466 votes
    6y

    @Kenneth N.

    Did you ran a background on him?

    Stick to your contract.

    Apparently he has a good lawyer.

    Good luck!

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