What can I do to obtain my money back

Question

Good day,

I'm new to this and need suggestions. I am a landlord and I renting a property to a couple about 2 yrs ago, everything was fine at the beginning and they were paying their rent on time. But everything changed about a year ago when they started to slack and pay late and now they have not paid any rent in the last 9 months. What can I do? I don't want to take them to court because I don't have time for that.

What do you guys suggest?

Andrew B. · Answer

Hire a lawyer and evict them. Then IMMEDIATELY hire a real estate agent and sell. You allowed these tenants to live for free for 9 months without doing anything. You are not a landlord.

Matt Anderson · Answer

It’s very hard to collect on rent when so much time has gone by. What changed between when they were paying on time and when they stopped? Are they good people or not? If good then try and get them on a payment plan. If not good luck collecting! If no luck with payment plan yourself might as well turn them over to a collection agency(lawyer on contingency might be an option too)and if they collect something great. The reality is you should never have let them get more than a month out. Hindsight is 20/20. Sounds like you just learned an expensive lesson! You mentioned time...if you don’t have time to manage your property then hire someone to do it. This is one way that I end up with my management clients. It’s not funny but the reality is that if you don’t know what you are doing it’s common to end up in situations like this and that is when I hear about the real estate horror stories.  In the future feel free to private message message me when you run into a situation and don’t know what to do...sooner than later.

Nathan Platter · Answer

Hey @Rosa Hopkins ,

Landlord laws are governed by the state the property is located, there is a plethora of information online once we know where the property is located.

As it stands, you're essentially paying them to occupy your property. You pay the taxes and insurance and maintenance costs, and a profitable investment pays you to own it.

At the moment, you have 3 options.

• Ask them nicely to pay you their 9 months of late rent
• Initiate the eviction process and make time for getting them out
• Do nothing and ignore their delinquency

@Michael Tempel is a professional Property Manager in my hometown Minneapolis, Minnesota. He's a great resource and could help provide some input to your situation.

I vote option 2 and initiate the eviction process.

Hillary Rodriguez · Answer

Are the tenants still living on the premises? If not, you can contact a collection agency ad have them go after the renters. I did business with Accounts Receivable for a similar situation and they came to a settlement with the renter for me. They got the job done. AccountsReceivable.com

If you give them a call, inquire about their affiliate program. It's great because you get commissions off of the people you refer. http://accountsreceivable.postaffiliatepro.com/affiliates/signup.php?a_aid=5a81a5bfab60b

Hope this helps

Jason Luongo · Answer

Like @Brad Schaeppi said above. You must treat your real estate investments like a business. Are they refusing to leave, or just refusing to pay? If they are refusing to leave, the "cash for keys" is an option you might want to explore. If that doesn't work, I would HIGHLY recommend initiating the eviction process ASAP! Do not pay for someone to live in your property. Treat you investments like a business, and right now business is bad for you. I hope you are able to solve your issue in a timely manner.

Brad Schaeppi · Answer

@Rosa Hopkins owning investment properties is a business.  Landlords offer housing for a fee.  You are not getting the benefit of the bargain.  Given you don't want to get involved, hire an attorney to evict for non-payment of rent.  The eviction will likely be in the county of the property.  Find an attorney who will due it for a flat fee and call around.  Good luck.

Rosa Hopkins · Answer

The tenants are no longer in the premises, they left without notice and now I'm trying to collect on what's owed to me. Thank you all for your suggestions.

David Zheng · Answer

Cash for keys is your other option. Pay them off and tell them to leave. As soon as they give you the keys and are out the door, change the locks.

What can I do to obtain my money back

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