All Forum Posts by: Deisy P.

Well y'all.  That sucked, but it is done.

Met the sheriff's deputy at quarter to nine.  Only a pair of the crew of five I had lined up showed up, so my son and I had put in some serious labor this morning.

I had installed a keypad deadbolt the last time this unit turned over with a lock with a physical key mounted on the porch.  Only I have the code to the lockbox and the tenant can change the deadbolt to whatever they like.  Used the key to unlock the premises.  Asked the sheriff's deputy if he should go first, but he indicated I should go ahead.  He's the one with the bulletproof vest, but whatever.  He swept through each room of the home and then told me we had two hours to move all possessions onto the front lawn.  I change the deadbolt code & the locks are now effectively changed.

The tenant had packed and moved NOTHING.  He and his girlfriend simply locked ups and went to work this morning. It was as if they had zero understanding that they wouldn't return back to their home in spite of being served with the paperwork by the court and then the sheriff's deputy.

We worked our tails off to get a full house out onto the lawn.  The laborers as well as my son and I were super careful with all of their things.  This is someone's life after all.  Christmas tree.  Holiday decorations.  Dishes in the sink.  Food in the fridge. Makeup on the vanity.  Bedding on the beds.  Clothes in the closets.  All of the souvenir's from trips (including photos and swag from a Vegas trip in October.  Unmounted a 60' big screen TV, mounted shelves, workout equipment, desks.  Beautifully decorated and the home was in great shape.

Seriff's Deputy asked how long I wanted to give him to remove his stuff.  Hell, I don't know?  I ask what's standard.  He says he legally cannot give any guidance.  I said 24 hours.  So he wrote it up and said if tenants are on premises after 9:00 am tomorrow, then call the cops for criminal trespass.

I notify the tenant to please remove his things, pick up their dog in the back yard and get the gear from the back yard since I didn't want to mess with what looked like a friendly St. Bernard, but taking no chances.  

Tenant pleads with me to take $2,000 toward getting caught up and let him move his stuff back in.  I listen.  I'm polite and professional, but tell him that he had cut off all communication for three months when I offered to work out payment plans or amicably allowing him to leave without an eviction.  He must come get his belongings & that I cannot help him.

He calls my maintenance person to ask them to lobby on his behalf to let him back into the home and not evict.  Says he has nowhere else to go.  I ask them to respond that he needs to remove his stuff from the lawn.

He asks for more time to remove his stuff & I give him an additional 24 hours.  Sheriff says that I'm responsible for his possessions until they're removed.  That doesn't bring me comfort.

I will head back over there tomorrow afternoon to ensure everything is gone and get to work on replacing some blinds and doing some light touch up to the house and then decide whether to put the home up for sale or list it for rent again.

I've asked two or three tenants to move out when they got behind.  All complied.  I've even done a cash for keys with one tenant that looked like they wanted to go the court process.  This is the first one where we put stuff on the lawn.  I guess this is part of being a mom & pop landlord during tough times. 

Thanks for the advice and the support. Better days ahead for all of us I hope.
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Wow, Brad. I can't imagine this being me in a couple of weeks! I hope they get all their stuff packed up before this happens. You laid out everything I was fearing. I have decided to sell. I can't do this anymore. First and only time and it has been enough for me to realize that this isn't for me. I'm going to pivot to short term rentals but honestly I'm going to take myself and go isolate in Mexico somewhere warm (this does not mean a beach. *i'm in chicago) away from all this for a while before I get going again. It has been so exhausting.  

@Deisy P.

You're very welcome. Of course, it's easier for you as a Mexican citizen but kudos to you to take advantage of the investment opportunities offered by your beautiful country of origin. Not everybody does.

Foreigners aren't allowed to own property in their own name in the Forbidden Zone, meaning within 62 miles of the international borders and 31 miles from the coasts. Yet, they can enjoy all the rights and responsibilities of a property owners by setting up a bank trust (fideicomiso) or through a Mexican corporation. Because of the administration involved, the corporation is only worth it if you at least own two properties.

The cost of setting up a fideicomiso is included in the closing costs, which represent around 5% of the price of the property. The annual maintenance fee is between $500 and $600. The fideicomiso is valid for 50 years and renewable.

Why many people misunderstand and therefore have issues with the fideicomiso, it's actually a plus, as it provides "free" asset protection because it's the name of the bank that's on the title.

It's noteworthy that, if ever the bank you chose to do the fideicomiso was was filing for bankruptcy, your property will fall out of the bankruptcy and you're therefore protected against that risk.

In order to not be a evicted, a tenant must sign a sworn affidavit stating that they have been paying a little all along and making their best effort.  You can learn more about it at cdc.gov