Landlords: tell me about eviction

[garddwr]

We own a home in another state that we have been renting out ever since we moved away 9 years ago. We have a management company that handles the details for us. Our current renters have been consistently late in making their payments, and they don't pay their late fees. Last month's check bounced, so we have not received rent for

February. The management company recommended evicting and I told them to go ahead--I hate the thought of kicking a family out of their home, but we have given these people many, many chances. I'm worried though that the eviction will be messy--I've heard horror stories of tenants tearing a place up because they were being evicted. Please tell me that doesn't usually happen? We're hoping to sell the house once these tenants are out and use the money to pay down our current mortgage.

 

I've never done this before, I guess I just want to know what to expect.

[Remudamom]

Well, the family we evicted destroyed our house, but they were really disgusting people. We later found out that they move every six months or so and ruin everywhere they stay. We had to take them to court and it was a mess.

 

We are tearing down the house asap.

[nono]

My advice is to brush up on landlord/tenant law for the state in which your property is located. Don't assume that the mgmt. co. knows all the ins and outs of the law. The more heads working within the law, the better. Also, can the manangement company go onto the property now and document current condition for you? You may already have a problem on your hands. And you may not. But, it would be good to know where you stand as you go forward.

[KatieJ]

We recently went thru an ugly eviction. Turned out the original 3 renters were gone and there was a squatter living there. There was no damage, just free rent for 4 months.

I think the process is to file paperwork and then post the notice of eviction at the house if the renter won't answer the door. OUr property manger went back several days later with a polic officer who ensured the guy left. The house was then secured ( locks changed) and the squatter was told to contact management company to go back and collect what he had left in the house. He never did, which I guess is pretty normal.

 

If you have a management company they are familiar with the process. Truly we have had much worse damage by renters who were never evicited, just moved out on their own.

 

Don't feel bad. If they don't pay their rent, they don't legally get to live there.

[Tarreymere]

I have a daughter who does this sort of thing. She pays the security deposit and first month's rent and then never pays again. And she leaves damage and messes behind her. It generally takes six months or more to force her out of a place. Make sure you sue, since that is the only way these people learn any kind of a lesson. If you ever rent to anyone again, make sure to check references carefully. Best of luck to you.

[NotSoObvious]

Ask your management company for advice. Our contract states that our management company will take care of it all, and they have great lawyers.

 

Every state is very different.

[Momof3littles]

I'd make sure that the management company handles it consistent with the landlord-tenant law in your state.

[4everHis]

On a good note. We were renters and left the place better than we found it. Of course, we were never late on payments either. Hopefully the two don't go hand in hand.

[Remudamom]

On a good note. We were renters and left the place better than we found it. Of course, we were never late on payments either. Hopefully the two don't go hand in hand.

 

We've had renters that always paid, but we've never had anyone actually care about our houses or take care of things. It's frustrating.

[Impish]

OK dumb ? What do you mean by 'take care of'

 

As renters we make sure that the day to day stuff is tended to....lawns mowed, snow shovelled, that kind of thing. I'm wondering if there's more that is expected. I mean obviously we're not destructive, patch any dings that happen...but being ordered to stain the deck at the mobile def quirked an eyebrow.

[Remudamom]

In a couple of cases there were things we should have been told about, like a leak or whatever. We can't take care of it if we're not told, and when we weren't told it got worse. They were young and just kinda ignored things.

[Mrs Mungo]

We've had renters that always paid, but we've never had anyone actually care about our houses or take care of things. It's frustrating.

 

 

I wonder about this too. Usually the advantage of renting is not paying for maintenance on a home, that usually falls to the homeowner.

 

We do basic maintenance-lawn care, adding salt to the water softener, change a/c filters. We have also done little repairs that we could do ourselves-fix loose cabinets, fix a broken lock, fix a running toilet, etc. But, there have been times when the homeowner seemed to expect us to pay for repairs beyond that-like replace a ceiling fan, replace a leaking sprayer on a kitchen sink or seal the travertine.

 

So, I do wonder what people expect on both sides.

[Impish]

Ah.

We told our current all that the dishwasher leaks water all down the front of the fuse box in the basement.

 

That was in November. Still aren't using the DW.

[garddwr]

Thanks for the replies. Hoping for the best...I will take the advice to brush up myself of landlord/tenant laws in the state in question, I do have confidence that the management company know what they are about. They are well-established in the area and manage quite a few properties. I will ask them to go do a walk-through of the house to document current condition. Our overall experience with these tenants has been OK--they have been in the house for 3 years and aside from the late rent payments have not been problematic.

 

We have actually been renters ourselves for most of our married life. My expectations are that the landlord takes care of repairs and keeps the property in livable condition (i.e., if the AC breaks, they fix it--and quickly!) and the tenants pay their rent and keep up with basic maintenance (i.e. mow the lawn). I don't think tenants are responsible to stain the deck or fix broken appliances.

[Harriet Vane]

Consider offering them money to move. Sounds counter-intuitive, but it may be cheaper in the long run. I have a friend who offered her delinquent renters $200 to be out by the weekend, and they took it.

[KatieJ]

OK dumb ? What do you mean by 'take care of'

 

As renters we make sure that the day to day stuff is tended to....lawns mowed, snow shovelled, that kind of thing. I'm wondering if there's more that is expected. I mean obviously we're not destructive, patch any dings that happen...but being ordered to stain the deck at the mobile def quirked an eyebrow.

 

I too am a landlord and I understand what Redmundo means. There are renters and we have had plenty who treat the place as if the whole thing is disposable and somebody will come in behind them and fix and clean and patch and put down new carpet and refinish the hardwood floors.

When we put in the lease that you are required to do yard work it means weekly, and not once a summer.

it means not putting in a firepit and burning the lazy boy recliner in it.

It means not turning the garage and back patio into a gated area for your dog, leaving holes in the concrete, garage door cut in half and holes in the window screen of the house where the dog tried to climb in.

 

I do expect that as a landlord you will get a freshly painted, clean home to move into. There will be blinds on all the windows and when you move out I expect they will still be there. I don't expect to have to replace them every year and with every tenant. I would never expect or even want a tenant to restain my deck if I had a deck. In our experience we prefer to do the painting ourselves ( or thru our management company.)

The very first renter we had offered to paint. We thought great. They painted around the curtains, around the TV, around the couch..so as soon as you moved any piece of furniture..well, you get the picture. We now paint pretty much every time the house turns over and then it's not an issue.

 

I would love to have pretty much any of you on the Hive as my renters!

[PrairieSong]

 

I would love to have pretty much any of you on the Hive as my renters!

 

 

Me too!!! We've had destructive renters. The worst ones moved out about 15 months ago. She had paid September's rent and half of October's. She kept lying and telling us she would pay but didn't. We had to evict them in late November. They protested, giving them another week till our court date. The judge ordered them out immediately. On our way out of the court room, she asked me if they could have a few more days!!! But she didn't have a penny to give me, and was already 2.5 months behind on rent. I'm not heartless, but I didn't have any trouble telling her, "No, you didn't pay us."

 

Court officers met me at the property. They left behind junk they didn't want, and urine-stained carpet in EVERY room, with dog piles in one room. Truly nasty. Holes in the wall. We ripped the reeking carpet out ourselves. I cleaned the sub floor with a special enzyme cleaner and painted it with Kilz before the new carpet was installed.

 

We try to do our part. I call immediately for a repair person whenever a tenant reports something not working. It is so frustrating to deal with people who lie and cheat to get away with anything they possibly can.

 

Check your state's laws!! I hired a friend who runs an eviction business. They had an attorney accompany me to court. Also, do background checks and credit checks!

[garddwr]

Ok, note to self, don't EVER become a landlord.

 

 

It's not for the faint of heart. We've been fairly fortunate overall with renters, but we only got ourselves into the business because we were moving to a very high-cost housing area and knew we couldn't afford to buy a home. I liked the idea of owning real property somewhere, so we held onto the home we had as a rental while we lived in an apartment in our new location. Now that we've moved again and purchased a home, I'd just as soon let the rental go (which we plan to do as soon as we get the current situation sorted out.)

[windmillmarie]

I don't understand what goes though people's minds. We've rented for years, and I would feel terrible just treating a home like it's disposable. Even if it's not mine, I can still be respectful, you know what I mean? I hope you can get them out without a lot of damage.

[*Michelle*]

Ok, note to self, don't EVER become a landlord.

 

We're probably going to have to move under military orders soon and, for some reason, our mortgage company doesn't understand why we would rather be foreclosed on than rent out our house and come back to it when my husband retires. :001_rolleyes:

[KatieJ]

 

It's not for the faint of heart.

 

I have 25 years of stories I could tell. I haven't even begun to scratch the surface of bad renters and their antics. THink college party house, and illegal renters who smoke in bed......those are good stories.

To be fair, we have had some good renters over the years and I believe we have great renters right now in both houses. Our management company was a huge part of the problem. As an owner you have to be vigilant in watching over those properties at least once a year, twice if you have the opportunity to. Go visit them and walk thru them. It tells a story of the current renter, but also of the management companies maintenance quality. We have had to fire several PMs. I am hopeful we have a good one again now. But as my DH says, they all look good in the beginning.

[KatieJ]

 

We're probably going to have to move under military orders soon and, for some reason, our mortgage company doesn't understand why we would rather be foreclosed on than rent out our house and come back to it when my husband retires. :001_rolleyes:

I gave up wanted to return to either of these homes many years ago. If somethingn changed and I ended up living in that town again, I would sell them and buy something different.

[garddwr]

I don't understand what goes though people's minds. We've rented for years, and I would feel terrible just treating a home like it's disposable. Even if it's not mine, I can still be respectful, you know what I mean? I hope you can get them out without a lot of damage.

 

I think if you are generally responsible person it is difficult to fathom people who just don't feel that obligation. I don't understand either.

[abacus2]

Consider offering them money to move. Sounds counter-intuitive, but it may be cheaper in the long run. I have a friend who offered her delinquent renters $200 to be out by the weekend, and they took it.

 

My in-laws do this with problem renters. The renters are happy to be getting money. It is way cheaper than eviction. My in-laws also sometimes offer to help the renter move their stuff.

[Susan C.]

When is the lease up? If soon, then don't renew it.