Question for Landlords?

[eliza61]

I was chatting on the other thread and it got me wondering.
If you own rental property, how easy is it for you to evict tenants?
I live in NJ and it's not that easy. I mean I just can't roll up and say you've got 30 days to get out. Even if the tenant's rent is past due.
Here eviction processes takes some time and if the tenant lawyers up it could be worse.

So how difficult is the eviction process where you live? Do you have certain guidelines you have to follow?

 

[luvmarypoppins]

I was chatting on the other thread and it got me wondering.
If you own rental property, how easy is it for you to evict tenants?
I live in NJ and it's not that easy. I mean I just can't roll up and say you've got 30 days to get out. Even if the tenant's rent is past due.
Here eviction processes takes some time and if the tenant lawyers up it could be worse.

So how difficult is the eviction process where you live? Do you have certain guidelines you have to follow?

I hear you loud and clear. We livein NY and own property in NJ. We were in the process of selling it and had to get the 1 tenant out. The lawyer told us to just "pay them some cash" to move or else it would be tied up in court etc. Plus his fee of $200 an hour. So that is what we did. Now we have another tenant. This guy has a history of being dificult to evict, but since the sale of the property is not going through now we are o.k. for the present.

When we lived in Texas and rented our house out here in NY too, the lawyer told us to pay them off to get them out. We gave them the old washer, dryer, forgave the last months rent, gave them back the whole security etc.

I wouldnt recommend this for everyone, but we were in a financial position that we could do it.

In Texas I heard its really easy. You just file some papers and the sherrif etc. comes.

I hate being a landlord.

 

[mistysue]

In Michigan here-
We had one tenant who we actually bought a $500 trailer for because it was easier than eviction. This was after they had already not paid for over a month and had been given notices. It cost less than the court fees. Now, it has been 14 months and last week they managed to get their old electrical bill put into my dad's name! They actually called and got it transferred to him, which means one of them called and pretended to be him and to be ok with it!

A couple of years ago we also had a "lease to own" on a store building. They ripped the entire thing apart- did over $20,000 in damage then didn't pay rent and it took 6 months to get them out! Cost us $9,000 in lost rent, plus the damages plus court fees. We took them to court and they have an order to pay it but a minimum of $100/month. It expires after I think it was 7 or 10 years, so we will not really see any of our money. It was for a second location and they changed their minds after tearing the building apart. They still have the first location, which is very successful. It's sort of a sore spot that we watch them prosper while managing to get out of having to pay for what they did.

The one couple with the trailer actually tried to explain to me how we were scamming them by charging rent- because they have less money than us and since we own a building we should just let them live there. It was "unfair" to the wife that we "got" to own a building and they didn't.

 

[seashoreCM]

Massachusetts: Very difficult
New Hampshire: Moderately difficult.

Moral of the story: Screen your prospective tenants, checking references. It is okay to pass up one applicant in favor of another depending on how quickly you can contact references.

Better yet, add to the above the fetching of credit reports. Requires a permission slip in your rental application that the prospective tenant must sign.

You have the right to get the tenant's social security number, and decline his application if he refuses.

I would decline a tenant who gets huffy or short with me.

... they managed to get their old electrical bill put into my dad's name! They actually called and got it transferred to him, which means one of them called and pretended to be him and to be ok with it!

This is identity theft. Immediately file a dispute with the electric company and don't pay any part of it.

Disney hints: http://www.cockam.com/disney.htm

 

[mistysue]

This is identity theft. Immediately file a dispute with the electric company and don't pay any part of it.

Don't worry, we did. My dad almost just paid it to get rid of it, but then I let him know that they can't do that.

 

[eliza61]

Whew, I thought it was just me. I cringe when I read post saying "just evict". I wish to heaven it was that easy.
I know a women who rented her house out in Jacksonville Florida to a professional football player who then trashed it in a drunken rage and it took almost a year to evict him.
I have 1 building with 3 apartments. 2 of my tenants are absolute gems. I love them, been in the building for 5-7 years. My dh laughs because every holiday I give them a turkey for being such great tenants. Then there is that last apartment, I swear it must be a small verzion of the Amityville horror because each and every tenant who's moved in has been pure evil.

 

[Heidict]

In CT it can be tough. Lots of court dates and it will take months.

My current landlord is hysterical. Well, after he has had a few drinks. He was telling us horror stories of some the idiots he has rented to.

He didn't feel like going through the eviction process with one of them, so he just had their water shut off. Now, this is totally illegal and he could have gotten into trouble, but he didn't care. He just wanted them out.

Of course, they continued to live there for a week with no water and even continued using the toilets. He said it was disgusting, but worth it because they were gone!

 

[MEM]

Its very, very difficult here in Massachusetts. The tenants have more rights than the landlords. When DH first bought his house, he was told it would be empty - however, the tenants on the first and second floors refused to move out (despite having several months notice) and then stopped paying rent. They also stopped paying utilities and instead sent their bills to DH. He had to pay the water and electricity but did not have to pay for their heating oil. When they ran out of oil, the tenants were surprised that DH refused to fill their tank. Both sets of tenants soon moved out because it was the middle of winter. I never want to be a landlord.

 

[riley2008]

Not sure how legal this is, but a few years ago DH's coworker had 2 small homes with renters more than 6 months past due on rent. When he went to file eviction paperwork, he reported that one of the tenants was saying she was 6 wks pregnant. The sheriff explained somewhere in county (state?) law that forbid evictions until 6 months after the birth of the child, but did let him know that things like doors and windows, if not specified in the lease agreement, could be taken off the house immediately while the paperwork was filed.

Yep, DH and three other men drove up and took off the front and back doors, while the lady (supposed to be pregnant) sat on the couch and smoked pot. DH said she never got up, just rolled her eyes at them. It took another week for them to leave! (The other house had already moved out - and took everything including the hot water heater and ceiling fans.)

Another house I know of in a small town was just burned down after a very large family of renters moved out. The owner opened the doors for anyone to see the filth and then burned it down, along with a barn that next Saturday. The local volunteer fire department was happy to help.

 

[sjms71]

We had a house in NJ we built and then my DH got a job transfer to NC. We decided to rent our house. We ended up renting it for two years. The second year we spelled out to our tenant that we would be selling our home and she was all agreeable at the signing of the lease. We spelled everything out in writing. Anyway, she made it very difficult. We went to our attorney and he was like she's paid her rent always just offer to let her out of her lease early so you can sell your home. Essentially, tenants have more rights than landlords at least in NJ. Luckily for us she paid the rent and our house was fairly well cared for. We just couldn't sell it until she was out completly.