Buffalo - Need Help with Eviction Advice

[Matthew Pfeiffer]

My fiance's grandfather owns property in Black Rock and currently has a tenant that has been in the hospital for at least a month now. He went to check in on the residence recently and discovered a complete disaster; complete filth and garbage littered throughout the house, cat urine and feces all over etc. It goes without saying that he has never been a very attentive landlord, however the big issue is all of his properties were recently signed over to his son (my father-in-law) and we're looking at potential future issues for him. 

For this particular property we're looking for some guidance on the appropriate steps to take in order to have this guy evicted. This is a short list of the information we have so far:

• - He's on government assistance
• - Month-to-month rent agreement (need to confirm) 
• - Case worker from a past incident told him that she was familiar with this particular tenant and that he will be an issue to evict, so we're looking at a potential dragged out process  

My fiance and I are fairly new to real estate and only own one property so far but have never had to deal with a situation like this. We would like to be able to help out her father & grandfather and also learn the process along the way. I've attached pictures to this post to show the magnitude. 

Any information or point in the right direction is greatly appreciated!

[Kyle A.]

First: They recently changed the eviction laws in NY so you will want to read up on that or consult a lawyer. Go to the county court building and get the paperwork from the housing court office. 

As I understand it (but don't take my word for it), since it's a long-term tenant I believe under the new law he has to give 90 days notice so do it before Jan 1 as the 90 days doesn't start until the 1st of the next month so if you do it after Jan 1 it doesn't start until Feb 1. You need to post the notice on the door, get a photo of the notice posted as evidence, and send a notice first class mail with the receipt as evidence. 

With evicting anyone, there's always the chance they will trash your place. Not much you can do about it unfortunately. Which leads me to my second point: don't buy houses in crappy areas. Some people make a killing in lower income areas but I do not personally own any houses that I wouldn't live in myself. You are taking a huge risk buying in some of these areas so I'm always surprised when I see people on here doing it. I know your father-in-law is inheriting these so it's not his fault but if there is an opportunity to 1031 exchange them for a nicer place I would definitely do it asap.

Good luck!