Evicting former owner

[Megan M.]

Hi all, my husband and I are getting ready to close on our first investment property, an REO we purchased on auction.com The property is currently occupied by the former owner and I was wondering if anyone had advice on how to proceed with eviction. Should we knock on the door and try cash for keys, or stay out of it and let our attorney handle it? Thank you!

[Steve Babiak]

I think @Nicole A. has the right idea but maybe the wrong sequence. Filing the eviction immediately could harm the occupants' chances of getting a rental unit; they have been through foreclosure already so credit rating will be terrible, and eviction is frequently an automatic rejection for landlords. And that is something you can actually use to your advantage when talking to them, assuming they are calm, reasonable and rational when you try to talk to them.

You explain that you have an attorney on retainer prepared to file eviction, but would prefer to allow them some time to locate alternative rental housing first since the eviction filing could hurt their chances of acceptance with most landlords. They might need some relocation assistance (AKA cash for keys), so be prepared for that by having a low starting dollar amount as well as a maximum not to be exceeded amount.  Should they not respond with something you find acceptable, then proceed to evict.