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Landlord Call to Action: Don’t Wait to Start The Eviction(7) 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. |
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Eviction Woes(4) 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:
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. |
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Can You Be Liable for Comments About Tenants?(1) 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.
Using some common sense and taking the conservative road should keep you out of the courtroom. |
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High Maintenance Tenants(3) 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?
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! |
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Storing Your Tenant’s Stuff(3) 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. |
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Painting Between Tenants(4) 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:
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! |
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Copyright, Scott Ficek-2011 Re/Max Advantage Plus MN Real Estate Team 17850 Kenwood Trail Lakeville, Mn 55044 952-898-5800
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