All Forum Posts by: Tina Dupart

Hey everyone, 

I wanted everyone following this post to hear our update:

Our renter spent the last 3 months paying us back all of her backpay for rent!  Then this month she moved out.  We couldn't be happier.  Now we are in the process of finding contractors to fix up our house for sale.  If anyone knows of some good contractors in the Albany area, please let us know.  As a recap, because of Covid, there was nothing we could do to collect our rent due to the tenant laws surrounding Covid. However, we got lucky with this one. She did pay up prior to moving out. Wow!

@Ryan Vienneau Thanks for your comments. I agree with you. They will never pay us the 10k. It is ******** and they are just stalling. Yes, I did serve a 30 day notice and subsequently a Notice of Cure/Quit.  So, that is all in place. I am not doing fixed-lease renewals anymore. Too risky. Just MTM. I really appreciate your contact info for a eviction attorney. So kind of you.

@Susan M. Mr. Landlord looks like a great resource. On occasion I have hired attorney's but lately I have relied on our Property Manager's attorneys. I can see that there is some exposure in doing this, however, I am currently unemployed due to Covid. That said, you are right. Every real estate investor needs to have a team of experts as a moat around their castle, as well as, entity formulation, etc.  I completely agree that you can't be too careful in our litigious environment. Paying 1k to move out, could be the linchpin to get her out. I will keep that in my tool box, if she doesn't pay me the 10k, which is more likely than not. We will know soon. Thanks for your great info. 

@Dan L. You are absolutely right on. This is exactly what we are going to do. We refuse to sign a lease. We want to get paid and be rid of her. We did increase the rent to 5% more starting Dec. 1st. I will let everyone know how this situation resolves. 

@Account Closed Thanks for your kind words. As of now, I am not paying for an attorney. I am working through the Property Manager who has attorneys that they work with. My husband and I are trying to avoid paying for an attorney since we are unemployed due to Covid. All is not lost. We are working on building some other income streams in our down time. The world throws us a curve ball and we just have to find a way to hit it out of the park or, at least, hit a line drive!

@Account Closed. Our property manager served our tenant and her co-signer an eviction notice back in February, resulting in the tenant paying-in-full. Then March came and Covid became a big thing and our tenant lost her job. The PM has served eviction paperwork to both the tenant and co-signer since then but you CANNOT EVICT A TENANT UNTIL JANUARY 1, 2020. The PM's lawyer is requesting our 10k. There is going to be another court date in December. We most likely will not be able to get her out, but we will try because we have been told that some judges look at each case differently. We have asked our PM to get proof of the 10k of funds. This will show the court that she actually has the money to pay us. Also, the tenant told our PM that she now has a job again. So, we are hoping that the judge will ask them to pay up. As far as conflict of interest rules, I did tell our PM that the whole, 'We won't pay you your 10k unless you sign a 12 month lease', sounded like blackmail and it does not sound legal. At that point the PM said, 'Well, I rephrased it to you that way, but they were REQUESTING another 12 month lease.'  Either way, we want to collect our 10k backpay first and see where this story takes us. We absolutely want her out, but we don't want to be sued big time for breaking New York State Covid Moratorium rules. Thanks for your feedback.

I cannot thank everyone enough for your valuable responses and your expertise. @Tim Herman  The co-signer is unreachable by our property manager.  The co-signer is not returning his calls. And, yes, I will call our property manager tomorrow to make sure that a notice to cure has been sent to both the tenant and co-signer. I would think they don't want their credit to be messed with. @Ryan B. Appreciate your advice on the protocols that attorneys must follow. I now have a better understanding why attny's want tenant info prior to conversing. @Mary M. @Michael Noto Out of curiosity, since tenants get free tenant advocacy advice, is there such a thing for landlords that are unemployed because of Covid? Many landlords have full time jobs that they have lost due to the pandemic. I am one of them. I can't afford a lawyer! I also can't afford to be sued because I asked someone to leave at the end of their lease during a pandemic, like Mary M.  The laws in NY are interesting. If a tenant stays beyond their lease, then you have to evict them with a 10 day Notice to Quit. It is important to send this notice because you don't want the tenant to be classified as a "squatter". The dig is this: You can't evict a tenant during Covid in New York until after January 1, 2020. Our property manager is claiming the outcome is all about which judge you get in front of.  I am wondering if Cuomo is also going to extend that moratorium, since there is now an 80% rise in covid cases across the country. When Biden takes over, his first priority will be to get the pandemic under control. This may also result in an extension of the eviction moratorium. I completely understand intellectually. People assume that the word, Landlord, means wealth. It seems like they are categorized as a group that would not need to have advocates to protect them. @Dan L. It is a Catch 22.  I don't have to sign the lease, but I may be facing a lawsuit if I try to evict her before Jan 1, 2020, because of Covid laws in NY. I will NOT sign the lease until we get our 10k. That is for sure. I like. your idea to get proof of funds. That proof could be fodder later. 

@Account Closed I appreciate your advice on the C-Signer. You are right. They probably don't want the tenant to end up on their own couch. I am going to talk to my property manager tomorrow to try to get more information and insight on this. Not sure why the co-signer has been "unreachable". 

@E.S. Burrell I am absolutely NOT going to sign a 12 month lease. I appreciate your feedback. 

Based on all your feedback: I feel like the best thing to do is talk to the property manager tomorrow, have the PM ask the tenant for proof of funds such as a bank statement, get the funds in hand prior to signing a 90 day month to month lease. This will get me past the Covid moratorium issue and possible exposure. (unless it is extended due to the rampant increase in winter Covid numbers).  Then, if she doesn't leave after my 30 day notice (end of 90 day, month to month lease), then, send a 10 day, Notice to Quit (Notice to Cure). If she then doesn't leave, then have my PM evict her through the Albany court system, using US Marshall. 

If the moratorium is extended and my tenant just won't leave and never pays her rent. Well, maybe I can file for some kind of relief through a Landlord advocacy group or "small businesses affected by Covid'' relief, stimulus program, if the Senate approves it depending on Jan 5th runoff results.  

Meanwhile: TWO BIG LESSONS LEARNED 

==> 1. Build multiple income streams that are resistant to pandemics. 

==> 2. Keep a sense of humor because bad things don't last and they create lessons learned!

Ha, Ha. 
 

Thanks for all your replies. They are helpful.  @Ryan B. @Felipe Pereira @Theresa Harris You make a lot of sense. I did not know that asking for our tenant's name is standard practice for all attorneys. Appreciate you enlightening me. 

Yes, I will NOT extend the lease without money in hand. I don't want to extend the lease, but I think I may give her a 90 day month-to-month to get us past the Jan 1, 2021 eviction moratorium in New York. This would ONLY happen if I get my backpay first. I have given 30 days notice, but with Covid-19, landlords' rights in New York seem to be shaky at best.  Giving the tenant 90 days to get past the Holidays and get us past the Covid eviction moratorium might be the safest way to go. But, again, I  want to be paid my backpay first before i would even give her 90 more days!  Thanks everyone. I appreciate ALL your thoughts!

Danny, Thanks. That is a real good idea. I will contact the Cohoes or Albany Bar association.

Thank you, Theresa.  I am scared that our tenant can claim Covid as a reason to squat in our house without paying even though her lease is up.  I tried to call an attorney but before he would talk to me, he asked for the name and address of my tenant for 'conflict' reasons. I declined to give him my tenant information. It felt like a great way for him to get new clients in case we didn't decide to work together. When I search all over the Web, it says very little about landord protection and everything about tenant protection. I am wondering how my tenant was able to hire a lawyer when she can't pay me for rent at all. Do you know of a resource to find lawyers?  Thanks again for getting back to me!  Tina

Cohoes, New York:  My tenant (and her co-signer) owes me 10k in backpay for rent. Her lease is up at the end of November. (This month) Our property manager said that the tenant's attorney wants me to renew our lease for another year, and, in return, she would pay all her backpay. I don't want to renew her lease. She will continue to not pay me.

Does anyone know the best way to get this tenant out of my house without getting sued by her and/or the State of New York because of Covid-19?  Do I have any exposure legally?  I gave her 30 days notice to leave since the lease is up at the end of November. Should I be hiring a lawyer? If so, does anyone know of a good, honest attorney from Albany area in New York?  If Covid is an issue, should we consider giving her a 90 month to month lease while telling her attorney that she must pay 10k first before we will accept the 90 day month to month lease. I will not extend her lease past 90 days.  The BEST scenario is if she can move out end of this month. I will forego the 10k. I just want to be rid of her and her so called "co-signer".