I was in eviction court last week in Hennepin County.  I love sitting and listening to the other court cases.  Sometimes it is a little like a case of Cops or Judge Judy!  It is good entertainment to hear what the landlord and tenant say about why they are in court today.

This last week I just about fell out of my chair.  As part of the court process, the judge reads the eviction complaint:  ”According to the complaint the tenant resides at XXXxx.  The lease is from xxxx to xxxx and the rent is $800 per month.  Currently they owe rent for August through March.”  Wow.  This landlord let that tenant live in the property for almost 9 months!  This tenant owes the landlord about $7k.

This landlord probably blew all of his cash flow for 2-3 years by not evicting this tenant quicker.  Let’s talk plain here, this is a business, not a charity.  That tenant that is not paying their rent is taking money out of your pocket, food off your family’s plate.

Most landlords (me included), don’t pull the trigger quick enough to evict a tenant.  I have found that virtually no tenants can recover from being more than 1 month behind in rent.  If they can’t pay rent by the 15th of the month, it is highly unlikely (unless they are getting government assistance) to get caught up and then also make the rent for the next month.

I have said this before, but I will say it again, you need to pick a deadline in your mind for filing the eviction and sticking to it.  It may be the 6th of the month, it may be the 15th.  Just pick a date and stick to it.  Evictions are a stressful, but necessary part of being a landlord.

Get that eviction started today.

I get a lot of questions about tenant evictions.  I suppose it is like any job, it is the one thing that landlords have in common across all investment properties.  Here is a recent note I received:

I have a renter who’s lease expired in September so she is on a month-to-month lease currently. She has not paid November and Decembers rent. I spoke with her in November [2 weeks after she was late on her rent] and she told me she would pay and I said apparently you cannot afford to live there and maybe you should move out. Then I gave her [on November 27] an ‘unofficial” eviction letter telling her she needed to be out by today Dec 28th. Do I have the right to lock the doors tomorrow if she has all or her stuff or most of her stuff moved out??? I was in the property yesterday and there is damage to the property so I really don’t want anymore damage at this point. Just want to know what my options are.

This is a very common scenario.  Here are some thoughts about what she did right and wrong:

• This landlord did a good job of proactively getting in to speak to the tenant and assessing the situation.  Many times landlords want to quarterback from their cell phone and just leave messages.  She also succeeded by not waiting another 30 days to ask the tenant to move out.  She dealt with it in the same month.
• Despite that, I would have recommended that she proceed with an eviction instead of a letter to move out.  This landlord runs the risk of that tenant not being out by December 28.  Ultimately the tenant did move by December 28, but if she did not, the landlord would have then been forced to start the eviction process, which would have taken until mid-January before this tenant was out.  Starting the eviction on November 27, would have had this tenant gone by December 15th or so.
• In response to her question “Do I have the right to lock the doors tomorrow if she has all or her stuff or most of her stuff moved out??” That is a judgement call.  If you truly believe that the tenant has vacated the property by either giving you verbal confirmation or by removing all their stuff and leaving the keys, then yes, change the locks.  Alternatively, if there is a lot of stuff in the apartment, you may want to change the locks, post a notice on the door, and wait a week to see if the tenant returns looking for their stuff, just to be safe.

There is no right answer when dealing with evictions and non-paying tenants.  My best recommendation is to move quickly and decisively as every day they stay  is one more day without income.

Everyone knows the drill, you take a rental application and you call the previous landlords to see what this person was like as a renter.  Surprisingly, despite the number of tenants I go through in a year, I rarely get those calls.  When I do, I am happy to tell the caller what I think of that tenant, good or bad.  I will answer their questions.  Do I have any concerns about being sued if I give a bad reference?

****Disclaimer:  I am not an attorney and this is not legal advice, just my opinion*******

Yes and No.

• I have recently had a couple people send me emails (and I had one guy send me something on FaceBook) asking for a referral on a tenant.  I won’t answer those questions in any written format.  I will only discuss tenants verbally.  One less risk point that an email or fax could fall into the wrong hands and it could be used as proof at a trial.
• No, I don’t expect a tenant to sue me for liable.  I am mostly just stating the facts when asked questions.  Facts are facts.  If I evicted them, then that is public info.  No hiding that fact.  If the paid late, they paid late, while not public info, it is a fact.
• I can’t imagine any tenant having the energy, money, or guts to sue.  And for what?  Are they going to sue for $1 million cause I said they always paid late?  If yes, then get in line.
• While I do recommend you give factual information, I would refrain from hearsay and your opinion as much as possible.  I would expect that those opinions are what get you in trouble.
• There was a website going around that was asking for landlords to rate tenants to help each other.  While it sounds like an awesome idea, it will be plagued with issues if it gets widely used.

Using some common sense and taking the conservative road should keep you out of the courtroom.

So everyone knows what a high maintenance person is.  In fact, some of us have dated (or are married to ) some (not you honey)!  These are people that just can’t seem to be satisfied with anything despite how good it is.  When you get one of these as a tenant, watch out.  They can be very frustrating as they are often not making problems themselves, but they want to complain about everything.  Often also, their complaints or requests are legit, but maybe they are a little oversensitive about things.

I had a new tenant in one of my townhouses.  This empty nester couple were a relocation from Memphis and had lots of cash in the bank from selling their home.  She liked the unit, but she said she smelled cigarette smoke.  I am pretty sure the current tenants did not smoke in the house, but out on the back patio.  No doubt that some of that smoke came in the house and I am sure it was on their clothes and other belongings.    They were going to be great tenants, but she insisted that I not only shampoo the carpet, but I have the ducts cleaned.  This unit was only 2 years old, but I agreed.  I paid the $250 to have the duct cleaned.  She was satisfied.  I go over there a month after they move in only to find out that she is a smoker.  Huh?

So what do you do if you have a tenant that seems to call you over every little repair and/or every little neighbor problem?  Are you spending 80% of your management/maintenance time on this one tenant?  Unfortunately, because their requests are often reasonable and legitimate, it may take you a while to identify that this is a high maintenance tenant.  So what do you do once you identify this?

• Start pushing back on their requests.  Question if it really needs to be done.  At first this may be difficult to do, because you know the work may need to be done or the place is not perfect.  Most rental units are not perfect and were probably never represented as perfect.  They have to live with some defects.
• Ask the tenant to put together a punch list and then agree that you are going to go in and do all the work one time and you are not coming back except for an emergency for 6 months.  While this may be difficult, it could get them to see that the property is just fine.
• Harder still, but I know many landlords do this, is to simply tell them that  you are not fixing it.  Period.
• Lastly, move them out.  If they continue to be a thorn in your side, tell them:  “Look, it sounds like you are just not satisfied with this property.  I don’t believe I will ever be able to get it to the level of maintenance/repair/beauty you want.  Maybe we should just break the lease at the end of next month and you should find another place that you are more satisfied with”.  This statement right there may be enough to shut them down.  Many people when presented with an ultimatum or take away will back down.

Having a high maintenance building is tough enough to deal with if you are a part-time landlord.  I would say that high maintenance tenants are probably worse as the building is not calling you on the phone at 7pm saying the door handle is loose!

I have written several times about how much joy I get in having to store a tenant’s stuff after they move out.  This is really a kick in the teeth if I have to store it after I just evicted them.  Not only do they owe me money, they probably didn’t clean the place at all, and now I have to take care of their stuff!

Previously, a landlord would have to store the tenant’s “Abandoned Personal Property” for 60 days.  This should be inventoried and stored somewhere secure. I often will leave it in a bedroom in the unit if possible or at least in the basement.  Still, I have to move it and ultimately I have to dispose of it (as tenants never come back for it).

A new law that went into affect on August 1, 2010 reduces the retention period to only 28 days.  Much easier and nicer.  While I don’t like to store their stuff ever, at least this way I can get rid of it a month earlier.

My long time reader, John Gall, shot me a question that is a great post that many other landlords can probably benefit from.  Here is what he asked:

I’d be interested to hear your thoughts on painting walls between tenants.  Seems like the bedroom walls always get scuffed up, dirty etc.  I could almost paint between tenants each time.  I stopped and just allow them to paint if they want, some do and some don’t. 

1:  Do you paint between tenants?

2:  If you’ve painted between tenants and after they ones move out the paint is scuffed, dirty and generally worn do you charge them for the repaint from the deposit?

3:  Why do tenants always seem to dirty the paint?  I’ve been in my house 10 years and nothing needs painting.  I don’t get what goes on.  I’m not even talking about trashing the place, the paint just seems to be “wearing” in the bedrooms.

Great questions.  Here are my answers:

1. Do you paint between tenants? Yes, typically.  I rarely just do touch up, I will repaint the walls.  The ceilings get done every 4-5 years depending if I have smokers.  As your follow on questions show, I rarely have a unit that is perfect enough to be rented as is.  Plus, I want to put my best foot forward with the new tenant. 
   • Because I use the same paint color on all my units (a darker beige color) it is pretty easy to roll the walls and not have to cut in.
   • The amount of time I have during my turnover may also determine how well I paint or if I do.  If my handyman has time, I will often have him roll the walls as necessary.  If there are other rehab or maintenance to do, again, it may change the amount of paint we are doing at the turn.
   • I do have some friends that paint their walls dark tan and the woodwork (when painted) very dark brown to hide dirt.  They will often not have to repaint, but maybe wash the walls in places or touch up such as where the couch was.
2. If you’ve painted between tenants and after they ones move out the paint is scuffed, dirty and generally worn do you charge them for the repaint from the deposit? That depends.  Your lease does state, normal wear and tear.  I know that even in my own house, I personally dinged the wall when I was moving something, plus the wall behind my computer desk gets marked occasionally by me sliding something around on my desk.
   • If the apartment is otherwise perfectly clean when they move out and it appears they were trying to be careful and do the best they could, then NO, I don’t charge them.  Alternatively, I know other landlords that want the unit in the same perfect condition as when the tenant moved in and will charge the tenant for any marks.  You need to find your happy medium.  Remember you should document your charges with pictures in case the tenant takes you to court claiming foul.
3. Why do tenants always seem to dirty the paint?  I’ve been in my house 10 years and nothing needs painting.  I don’t get what goes on.  I’m not even talking about trashing the place, the pant just seems to be “wearing” in the bedrooms. Wow!  I knew the answer to that, I would screen for the people that were not going to wear everything out!  I think everyone just has a different standard of living. 
   • My kids rooms are occasionally messy and they always have a toy or two in the family room at my house.  I can’t stand it and it drives me crazy.  When I complain about it, my wife has said that our house is perfect compared to some friends of hers that have toys and stuff ankle deep on their entire main floor.
   • It is no surprise that each community or neighborhood draws a different tenant profile.  This is driven by nearby jobs, schools, bus lines, rent amounts, and many other socioeconomic facts.  Your rental properties will attract the typically resident for that neighborhood.  Your experiences as a landlord for cleanliness, upkeep, paying rent, politeness, etc of your tenants is simply a byproduct of where your property is located.

It is not impossible to have a tenant that treats your rental like you treat your own home, but you need to search.  One option you do have when screening tenants, is to require an on-site inspection of their existing apartment.  Write up a 100 point scoring system to keep it completely legit and legal.  When you walk through, give them points for how clean the stove is (is it full of grease or is clean), how clean in the bathroom, are there clothes everywhere, what do the walls look like?  Using this scoring system and more importantly, getting into their current rental will tell you loads about how they will maintain your place.

You will be surprised at what a tenant calls “I just cleaned my apartment” and what you may call it.  Hopefully you are pleasantly surprised like my friend who’s tenant tells him to take off his shoes if he is coming in the door!