All Forum Posts by: Douglas Snook

Bankruptcy is a Federal issue and has their own courts and judges (as well as Rules etc.)

Many people file Bankruptcy minutes before a foreclosure. Then an Automatic Stay goes into effect that stops the foreclosure without a court OK.

Depending on which Chapter of Bakruptcy is filed, the mortgage holder has a few options some as set out above.

A sale of the property would have to be reviewed by the court as to price and if it is in the best interest of the "estate" (debtor's bankruptcy)

What did you mean by "It sounds like the possibility of getting the property goes down the tubes when either of these bankruptcies are filed. "? Did you think that there would be some kind of distress or discount sale of the real estate? What are/were you trying to accomplish?

It varies state by state, hopefully someone from your area can tell you more exactly.

How long were the tenants there? Is it time to renovate the bathroom anyway?

I would say the water damage to the cabinets sounds more like they have reached the end of their life but how old are they? how many other tenants have used them?

Same with the baseboards. Are they so bad that you would replace them rather then just paint them? How much is it going to cost to just replace the missing peice? May not be worth while to withold it and then have the tenant turn around and sue you for not returning it.

Just my two cents

Sorry Charlie, as they say, it is an automatic triple damages without the 93A letter by law even in small claims. 

Helped  a girlfriend get triple her deposit back. Sued for the triple damages (no 93A letter) landlord sent her the deposit back and then got mad when she would not dimiss the case and wanted her day in court. Clerk Magistrate (they hear the small claims) told the landlord too bad too late automatic triple damages pay her the rest of the money

I have to disagree somewhat with Charlie MacPherson. The landlord has 30 days to send a letter to the former tenant returning the deposit or explaining why he is retaining it or a portion of it. If this is not done it is an automatic triple damages.

I would not bother with a 93A letter to the landlord as you just have to wait another 30 days for him to respond. If your friend does not get the full deposit back in 30 days I would go to small claims court (and the lowest filing fee is $50 and then scales up from there). I agree that unless it can be shown that your friend some how damaged the compressor he should get the full amount back (assuming there are no other issues with the condition of the apartment) Let the court decide whether he is responsible or not. Be sure to have him fill out the form for the triple amount to begin with.

The $300 "cleaning fee" is troubling. You can collect only 4 things at the start of the tenancy - $25 for a lock/key change; first months rent, last months rent and security deposit.

Is the current landlord holding that cleaning fee in a separate interest bearing account like a security deposit? Is this cleaning fee mentioned in the leases? If the current lanlord has not treated the cleaning fee like a security deposit you may have to take the money and set it up as one your self or return it to the tenants and get it in writing it has been returned. 

How long has the current owner owned the property? Doesn't sound like they know what they are really doing

@Dan Smith is right on about the estoppel agreements! 

Also you have the right to inspect the rent rolls and be assurred that the tenants have been paying on time. Also you want to know if there are any security deposits and/or ;last months rents that need to be transferred to you as you can bet that if the tenant leaves they will claim they gave the previous landlord both of these items! (It should also bementioned in the lease if there are any deposits) If the lease says no and you get the estoppel agreements that confimr it you should be all set. You also wnat to get something in writing from the seller confirming that there are or are not any deposits and that he will be liable after the sale if the tenat proves otherwise. The seller should be working with you to get the estoppel agreements.

You can add these things as an addendum to the P & S (the requirement that the seller provide the estoppel agreements)

Not for nothing but your agent should be assisting you with this

I see a potential problem in suing in GA as opposed to going where the debtor is. You may get the judgment in GA but how are you going to enforce it? The debtor and any assets he has is now in TN. You would end up in TN to enforce the judgment and end up filing in TN anyway.

On the flip side to that, if you get a GA judgment and then go to TN to enforce it, TN generally won't over rule the GA judgment and should tell the tenant that if he has an issue with the judgment (such as he doesn't owe it or was not responsible for that much damage) TN should tell him he has to go back to GA and litigate the issue there.

You could just file in GA, get the judg,ment and then sit on it, hope it shows up on his credit and some day he wants to do something about it.

Either way could be more expensive and trouble then it is worth in this particular case.

Is the sheriff telling you there is only one licensed and bonded moving company available? I could see if if it was the end of the month and a lot of people were moving and the company had legit customers. Sounds strange to me. Also you do not necessarily need the sheriff. You can use a constable. Perhaps a local constable that is familiar with move outs has a moving company that is not so booked.

Also if she is there under section 8 are they not still paying their share (so you are only losing her $250?)

But yes, cash for keys seems like a possibility

Just my two cents worth

Did you buy a three family or are they roommates. If each tenant has their own unit you do not need to evict the on that is paying.

If you have to honor the current lease with the one that is paying, when does it expire? What information do you have about him? You may want to think about sending him a non-renewal notice unless he completes your application and passes your criteria.

May want to contact a local landlord attorney to help get you on the right path as well as do this first eviction.

I will give you a quick simplified over view. The process can vary by state.

When a bank/lender is not paid on the mortgage/loan after a certain amount of time, they will declare a default. To recover the money loaned they will move to foreclose on the property. This is usually done by advertised auction. Generally anyone can bid at the auction and the announcement will set out the terms (be present with a $10,000 check  to be eligible to bid, no inspections, close in 30 days etc.)

Most cases, especially if the value of the house is less then the mortgage/loan the bank is the high bidder and takes title to the property. A deed and other documents are filed at the registry of deeds. Now the banks wants money/cash not real estate. They usually turn around and sell the property. Some times they list it with a local real estate agent just like you would if you were selling your home. Other times they will auction the property through sites like HUBZU. It may go for auction several times until their reserve is meet.

If someone other then the bank is the high bidder at the foreclosure auction then they own it. Any amount over what the bank is owed (plus various fees of course) is given to the former home owner.

You asked about contacting the home owner and negotiating a sale. Yes it can be done but it can be difficult to work with the bank to stop or postpone the auction. Just because you have a P&S signed with the owner may not be enough. The bank is going to want to be paid in full for what they are owed. You would have to try to convince them that it would be better to have the owner sell then have it go to foreclosure. The bank will have their own appraisal done for starters. They may require you to work with their own favorite local broker.

Hope that answered your questions to some degree. Feel free to contact me if you want a further explanation.