When The Only Word Left To Say Is Eviction - Know How To Use It!

Thanks for the advice. We had a situation once where we had to get an attorney and lots of manuvering later, the tenant was evicted. Then we had some fairly big expenses to fix the damage. It's a headache.

Gretchen

Great advice and thanks for posting. It's true the law is on the side of tenants and laws vary from state to state.  I can't imagine an owner changing the locks on a tenant who hasn't paid rent. Wow...

Hi Gabrielle - I think I've told you before, but we own and rent out residential property and have experienced many nightmares - that why we have good lawyers. ONe our tenants put a garbage bag on top of the stove which was still hot and burned down most of the house! Congrats on the feature!

Teddy used to say "speak softly and carry a big stick."  I'd say that works, or you could always support your local red & white in Tucson.  I'd rely on them for an effective eviction before the law any day.

Cheers, A.

Even long term tenants who pay on time can be a major problem if you don't check out the place periodically. They can do lots of damage that's not visible from the outside.

I don't know if I would go the eviction notice on the first being late, but I do agree the sooner the better if it looks like a bad pattern.  Here in California tenants know they can drag the process to six months.

Wasn't there a movie landlord/tenant movie, pacific heights or something like that.  A must watch flick for the new landlord.

So many fond landlord memories, the days in housing court, the visits from the board of health, the barter offers in exchange for rent, and the dramatic threatening conversations.

Great advice Gabrielle.  Know the eviction process in your city/town.

This is good advice for landlords. I always suggest they talk to an attorney .

The list of things you want to do is so tantalizing to do because evicting a tenant is never fun.  Understanding the process and how to go about it as quickly as possibly is going to take a little bit of experience but its so important.

Throwing their stuff on the lawn sounds like it is going to be satisfying but that is surely going to create a war between you and the tenant at that point. 

Communication is key. If they've been good tenants, it doesn't make any sense to serve them with eviction notice on day one or even week one. If something has changed in their life where they will no longer be able to afford the rent amount, you have options that might work out better for both. ( possibly lower monthly rent until they can recover, let them skip a month and make it up later, help them find another place they can afford before the situation gets too far out of control, release them from the lease, and yes, even return their security deposit if they haven't done any damage, etc.) Of course, if the tenants just want to be difficult and have indicated they are not going to try to work something out with landlard, then the eviction process might be best. Procedures vary county to county.

I was a landlord at one point (renting out a single family home) and my tenants stopped paying rent; I sent them notice that they needed to pay by such & such a date with fines, but no payment.  As I was getting prepared for the next step (leading to eviction) they disappeared in the middle of the night, leaving a mess and unpaid bills.  I sold the place - at that time in my life, it was much too difficult and since that was the FIRST tenant, I figured they might all be like that!  It's good to hear that this isn't the case, and that there are swifter ways to deal with delinquent tenants.

Thanks for posting!

Very good advice Gabrielle.  There are many "accidental" landlords out there these days who thought they were choosing a great route to getting some cash flow on the property that they were unable to sell.

Little did they expect the tenant to be trashing their home, sabotaging the owner's attempt to sell it and then making it very difficult to remove them....all the while watching their property decresase in value. 

This is not always the case, but being a landlord is not for the faint of heart.

On renting...I listen and examine every potential renter circumstance. I do not want their problems to become mine however. I actually want to solve my client's (the landlord) problem of a vacancy, and then help everyone else if I can. Here, in my neck of the woods, it takes several months to evict. Knowing that, extra effort and deposits may kick in on questionable situations. The economy does not help this subject along as everyone has issues that disqualify or minimize...Rentals are a lot of work now a days

Hi Gabrielle, renters seem to have more rights than landlords. If you are a landlord, its good to be on top of the local laws. 

Still amazing as to what people think they can do. after all they own it. My tenants pay the rent on time and get a taret csrd for $50 every 6 months. Now we are dealing with so many renters that have never rented before.

Gabrielle,

Congrats on the well-deserved Gold Star! It is a great post that we all learned from.

Gabrielle, my biggest stress was renters who were slobs and didn't care how the property looked. I'd rather have renters who were regularly late in paying then those who let the property look like I was a slum lord.