All Forum Posts by: Manny Lamarre

@Manny Lamarre at the end of your question you asked if it was worth trying to sue for past rent due or cut your losses short?

Yes, here in my home state of NC at least, here are the options.

1) Send to collections. If you pay a % you can expect to pay 25%-60% of the collected debt.

2) Take to small claims court. Right now, with Covid 19 you might find some difficulties.

3) Negotiate with the former tenant a payment plan in exchange for not doing #1 or #2 above. I have some colleagues that have had the best success with this option. It might look something along the lines of a written document where they pay you 25-50% of the total bill over the course of 12 months in exchange for a signed doc releasing them of their financial obligation.

First and foremost, CONGRATULATIONS! SHE'S GONE!!!  

And, here's the law on tenant abandoned property in Florida:  https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/handling-tenants-abandoned-property-florida.html

The owner/landlord/PM may enter the property, inventory (I recommend photographing) items left behind - and assess damages to your property.  Then send a letter with delivery confirmation /email (you'll need to retain a copy) advising of the items that were abandoned and giving 15 days to retrieve those items at a location of your choice. You may go ahead and ready the unit to rent. Just box up her junk and put it some place safe. After 15 days, note how you disposed of it (donated to Goodwill, threw it away) for your records.

Again, congrats!  You're going to love being paid rent again!!!!

@Manny Lamarre in most cases, you can easily determine if a tenant has abandoned a property just by looking at what they left behind. It's usually junk/broken furniture, some food, and other crap that wouldn't sell at your average garage sale. The clothing is gone, their hygiene products are gone, and there's clearly nobody living there. Most states will allow you to consider it abandoned after a certain amount of time and then you can just toss it.

You've lost thousands from this one renter. As a professional property manager, I would have had her out within 45 days, which would have saved you thousands. You should seriously consider finding a professional that can manage this rental for you because it will save you time, money, and a lot of headaches.

Example: unit rents for $1,000 a month. Tenant failed to pay rent for six months so you've lost $6,000 in rent, $1,000 in utilities, and you spend another $600 on cleaning and maintenance. That's almost $8,000 lost on a property that should produce an income of $12,000 annually. A property manager generally charges 10% which is only $1,200 a year. Even if they charged you $2,000 a year, you would be saving $6,000 just from losses. This doesn't include the amount you would save in time and worry.

Hello Manny,

I hope that all is going well and I hope that I can provide some advice in this matter.

Each state has their own laws regarding abandonment. These laws outline what constitutes abandonment, when you can enter the property, and how to deal with left behind items. 

Really, your best bet is to allude to the state statutes regarding landlord/tenant law. Take a look at the following:

http://www.leg.state.fl.us/sta...

That link outlines how you must notify the previous tenant that you have their property. You must give the tenant an opportunity to reclaim their property.

See also:

http://www.leg.state.fl.us/sta...

That link guides you to Florida's Right of possession upon default in rent; determination of right of possession in action or surrender or abandonment of premises. (Read this one carefully; I caught some wording suggesting it's not for dwellings.)

Those are just two links, but essentially you must figure out when Florida deems that a tenant has "abandoned" your property. You then figure out what process you must take to enter a property deemed abandoned, and you must figure out what you to do upon taking possession of abandoned property. Some states require that you document and itemize every item that you retrieve from the abandoned unit. Some states allow you to sell off the property after giving adequate notice through approved means (again, allude to state-specific statutes outlining the process). Some states require that the local authorities retrieve the property.

I know this doesn't answer everything and I apologize. I am not familiar with Florida law regarding abandonment, but the law is what prevails and if you ignore it or skirt it, you open yourself up to paying hefty fines (to the tenant) should the tenant come back for their things, even if it's many months later.

Welcome to the site @Manny Lamarre, what market are you investing in? 

@Manny Lamarre Hey and welcome! What market are you looking to invest in. BP is an awesome resource that has helped me for my investments.