Tenant demanding $3000 to move out

OP

New to Real Estate · South TX · Member since 2013 · 45 posts · 15 votes

6y

@Aaron K. Thank you for your response. I was considering asking the PM about their E&O insurance. I just think $3000 is a bit excessive.

1 Reply

Nicholas L.Pro Member

Flipper/Rehabber · Pittsburgh · Member since 2018 · 6k+ posts · 5k+ votes

6y

Hi @Asia Jones - can you try to delay closing so that it's after the move-out date in the 60-day notice, just in case the negotiation of the amount for the move-out goes past 2/2?

1 Reply

Jaron WallingPro Member

Rental Property Investor · Indianapolis, IN · Member since 2018 · 4k+ posts · 4k+ votes

6y

I'd offer the difference in months rent which is about 5 months. If he doesn't take that it's time to call a lawyer.

He told my realtor “everyone is getting something out of this but me”

Cry me a river! It's unfortunate there was confusion by the property management company but your cousin shouldn't be looking at the situation like that. You're offering him hundreds of dollars to find another place to live.

Peter Sanchez

Real Estate Investor · Washington, DC · Member since 2014 · 236 posts · 328 votes

6y

This is why you'll never rent to family again.

My idiot brother (who is a realtor) rented my mom's apartment to a cousin who is late with the rent ALL the time! It sucks that your cousin is a dirtbag who is trying to get money from you for your hard work, but you offered $1k and he asked for $3k. See if you can meet in the middle. Even at $3k it's probably not worth losing a house sale over. So try to talk it down, then take the hit and move on and make some more money. That loser will probably never have $3k again in his hands again his whole life. So you win at life!

11 Reply

Theresa HarrisPro Member

Member since 2019 · 15k+ posts · 11k+ votes

6y

@Asia Jones Do the new owners want to move in or could they use it as a rental for 2.5 months? I'm not sure why your cousin thinks he's owed anything, I'm sure you gave him a good deal with the rent-mention that to him. Find out when he's home and stop by-bring another family member along.

I know you've sold it, but for future reference, you don't need his permission to enter, you just need to give him the proper notice-usually 24 hours.

5 Reply

Filipe Pereira

Property Manager · Windsor Locks, CT · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes

6y

Originally posted by @Asia Jones:

I need Help!!! Just a heads up long post.

I had to move for work and was debating on renting my house out. In Jan 2019 I made an agreement with text message proof “not sure if that means anything “ with my cousin that he could stay in the my home and rent it out until 02/01/2020. I hired a property management company and they provided the tenant with the wrong move out date “05/19/2020” on the lease agreement. On my original contact between me and the property management company I set the move out date to be 02/01/2020. I informed the tenant that the date was an error and that it would be updated.

Now fast forward to Dec 2019 and I am listing the house for sale due to unforeseen circumstances. My “tenant” refused to allow the house to be shown and demanded I pay $3000 for him to move out by 02/02/2020. Somehow my realtor sweet talked him and he only allowed the house to be shown on a Friday and Sunday. After few hours he cancelled the rest of the showings for the day and that Sunday. Thankfully I got a buyer. I’m set to close on 02/14/2020 with no idea if he is going to move out. I even offered him $1,000 cash for keys and he refused saying that was not enough and he wants $3,000 to move. My PM company did provide him with a 60 day notice that is set to expire 02/19/2020.

My PM company has been trying to contact him for a little over a month with no response. I have been trying to contact him as well and no response. He told my realtor “everyone is getting something out of this but me”.

What should I do? I really could use any type of advice.

It's unfortunate that so far you haven't been able to see eye to eye with your cousin. I am going to second the position above of contacting your property manager. A quality property manager should carry Errors and Omissions insurance, and that would be the first person I would "go after". This is coming from someone who owns a property management company in Connecticut myself.

Also - you mentioned that the date would be updated on the lease - was this ever done? Did you have an amendment signed?

Short of your PM paying up for it, (or perhaps paying 50/50 with your PM's help) you may just have to fork it over to get the house sold.

OP

New to Real Estate · South TX · Member since 2013 · 45 posts · 15 votes

6y

@Nicholas Leach thank you for your response. I just spoke with my realtor and the buyer needs to be in the home by the end of February.

OP

New to Real Estate · South TX · Member since 2013 · 45 posts · 15 votes

6y

@Jaron Walling thanks for the response that is an option I’m thinking about being that he is getting a under market rental rate anyway.

OP

New to Real Estate · South TX · Member since 2013 · 45 posts · 15 votes

6y

@Jaron Walling I agree thank you for your response I really appreciate it.

OP

New to Real Estate · South TX · Member since 2013 · 45 posts · 15 votes

6y

@Peter Sanchez this has ruined anything dealing with rentals and family ever again. I proposed $1000 and was waiting on his response to my offer but he is ignoring all my calls, emails and texts. Thank you for your response and advice.

OP

New to Real Estate · South TX · Member since 2013 · 45 posts · 15 votes

6y

@Theresa Harris thanks for the response. I’m just taken back by this whole thing and he feels as if he’s owed anything. Yes he is getting below market rent for the house. Unfortunately the buyer needs to move in by the end of February they have their apartment a move out date to reflect the end of the month.

Thanks for the tip on the 24hrs notice. I thought that was the case but my realtor told me I couldn’t do that because he has a right to peace at his home.

OP

New to Real Estate · South TX · Member since 2013 · 45 posts · 15 votes

6y

@Filipe Pereira yes the property management company sent out an updated lease agreement for him to sign reflecting the correct move out date but he refused to sign it. They have been trying to contact him for a little over a month and he won’t respond. He won’t respond to me either. At this point I believe it might just be worth it to give him the $3000. Thank you for your response.

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BOB CRANEY

HIGHLAND, MD · Member since 2011 · 160 posts · 141 votes

6y

@Asia Jones

If he is related to you, how about using the family connection to apply some pressure to cooperate with your situation.

He is technically under no obligation to sign a new lease changing his lease end date and I don’t see a way you could evict if he has been paying on time and is not violating the lease in some way. Any court is not going to uphold a 60 day notice to cancel a lease before it ends under these circumstances.

You may have pulled the trigger on your sale a bit quick since you didn’t have this monkey wrench worked out first. Maybe offering to help find a new place and pay the first months rent and security will ease the cousin out of your place and into another, so you can close on your preferred date. You can entice more bees to leave the hive with honey than vinegar. 😂

3 Reply

Scott TrenchPro Member

Rental Property Investor · Denver, CO · Member since 2014 · 2k+ posts · 6k+ votes

6y

Cash for keys and other leniency with tenants is great with reasonable people who just can't keep up with the rent.

I had tenants a while back who were just unable to keep up with the rent, and had got gotten themselves into more housing than they could sustain. We talked it over and were able to part ways amicably. I kept the security deposit to cover some of the unpaid rent, and rather than file for eviction and claim the rent that I was due, let them off the hook for about $1,000 in unpaid rent. This was cheaper and faster than eviction for me, left me with a clean and rent-ready unit, and saved their credit.

If they had demanded $3,000 in cash, in addition to being let off the hook for unpaid rent, and the return of their security deposit, then I would fear that I had developed a soft reputation and I would fear that I was becoming a target for professional tenants.

I think in that situation, rather than pay what I view as nothing short of extortion, that I would buckle down, get comfortable with the eviction process, evict, sue them for the rent and any damages owed, and draw a hard line as appropriate in all other areas of dealing with them.

6 Reply

Alan Dunlap

Rental Property Investor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2018 · 89 posts · 77 votes

6y

@Asia Jones

If you pay cousin 3k What assurance do you have they’ll move out?

Maybe you show up with 3000 and now they want 4000

If they’re willing to shakedown blood relatives, then I have little confidence they’ll be gone in February.

Property management made the mistake and somehow didn’t recognize it until a month ago. They shouldn’t call - they need to show up daily and figure this out. You shouldn’t have to handle cash for keys from out of state.

8 Reply

Account Closed

Member since 2019 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes

6y

Good news is you’ve hired a pm co, and this is their mistake to fix. They should be taking a MUCH harder line with this loser tenant. House is sold, leave by sheriff or on your own, but you’re getting nothing big fella. Pm insurance will cover the cost but it’ll mean their premiums go up (which is likely why they haven’t stepped up to solve the problem already).

Adam Harris

Member since 2019 · 13 posts · 6 votes

6y

@Asia Jones Give your other cousin $700 and have him take him out for a weekend. While out, empty the house, change the locks and give his sorry, greedy, lazy, no-good butt a shaming he won't soon forget.

Go over your contract with PM and see where they would be responsible for errors of this type. He was given legal notice to vacate, so ensure that the move-in is AFTER that date.

Perhaps also get your other family members to shame him out. Put him on blast and he'll back down. Plus, perhaps line up some other living arrangements for him.

Don't give in to his greedy lazy no-good butt. #bringtheBOOT

Cedric Marlow

Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2017 · 9 posts · 7 votes

6y

@Asia Jones pay the $3k but get it in writing that he will be out by 02/01/20 or call your call in the goon squad. Don't make the buyer wait you could lose them.

3 Reply

Kimberly Kesterke

Investor · Marietta, GA · Member since 2016 · 98 posts · 168 votes

6y

@Adam Harris @Asia Jones

Adam has great advice here. Legally all he needs is a 60 day notice to vacate. I wouldn’t want to pay him a penny out of principle. If that doesn’t work then take other measures- the next having the property management company rectify their mistake.

Good luck

1 Reply

Joe SplitrockPro Member

Moderator

Rental Property Investor · Sioux Falls, SD · Member since 2015 · 9k+ posts · 18k+ votes

6y

@Asia Jones honestly this is one of the reasons I hate cash for keys. You are basically rewarding bad behavior and in this case he gets greedy and asks for more. Once he smelled the blood of desperation, he got greedy. It happens all the time once people start offering money for people to leave.

Unfortunately the lease gives him rights to the property until 5/19/2020, so unless he is violating the lease, you cannot force him out before then. The fact that your property manager made a mistake doesn't matter, the lease is binding if it was fully executed. Even if you tried to evict him at this point, it would be very hard to have him out by the end of February. You would need to serve him notice and if he contested in court, he could end up getting more time or even awarded damages if your eviction wasn't legal. If you have legitimate cause, you may be able to serve him notice and get him out, but you need to move quickly.

I hate to say this, but paying him the $3000 is probably your best option if you want to close with this buyer. I doubt anyone would close on the property if it was occupied and even if they did, the lease transfers to the new buyer.

I may try negotiating some other dollar amount. Do you have any leverage within the family? Like maybe your aunt or uncle could talk to him and tell him to stop being such an a-hole about it. Knowing how these things work, the parents are probably just as bad...

Bad situation. Sometimes family is worse than strangers.

5 Reply

Matt P.

Investor · Columbus, OH · Member since 2015 · 625 posts · 601 votes

6y

@Asia Jones Do you have another male cousin that could go knock some sense into this knuckle head?

6 Reply

Theresa HarrisPro Member

Member since 2019 · 15k+ posts · 11k+ votes

6y

@Asia Jones I like the suggestion of using the family to get him out. If you do pay him. tell him he gets NOTHING until he has moved out all of his stuff AND you have inspected the place. I'd then be tempted to give him a cheque that you've put a hold on so he can't cash it :)

3 Reply

OP

New to Real Estate · South TX · Member since 2013 · 45 posts · 15 votes

6y

@BOB CRANEY that’s actually pretty good idea and to get another family member to help out. Lol I see that now because at first I was definitely trying to entice bees with vinegar when he cancelled all my showings.

@Scott Trench that really sucks with the tenants. That is a fear of mine too. Even though this is a blood relative I fear that I will possibly become a target for professional tenants in the future. He has violated 3 different things within the lease so I might have leverage there.

@Alan Dunlap I agree if I did decide to pay him I was thinking about having a RE lawyer draft it up and not pay him until he moves out and the house is inspected.

@Kris H that’s what I was thinking. The PM company just seems like they are giving up and not trying to go the extra mile to fix this situation.

OP

New to Real Estate · South TX · Member since 2013 · 45 posts · 15 votes

6y

@Adam Harris although this sounds really good I don’t think I can legally go and change the locks. But lord knows I want to.

@Cedric Marlow unfortunately this is looking like that the only thing that will get him out. My next issue is he isn’t responding to the PM company or me.

@Kimberly Kesterke Thank you for your response especially you being from Marietta. My property is in Lawrenceville. I have my realtor telling me he deserves this and I should pay him more. I will definitely try have the PM company rectify this.

@Joe Splitrock I agree with you, I feel as if I’m paying for your bad behavior. I do believe I can use breach of contract as a way to get him out. He smokes marijuana in the property, made modifications to the unit without my approval and failed to get renters insurance. Hopefully these might hold up. Honestly from all the feedback it’s looking like just paying him might be the way to go. Thank you for your response.