How can we avoid an eviction here?

Question

Hey BP community, looking for your thoughts here on this matter

We have a buy & hold, 2-family under contract finally at a price where everything makes sense for us.

1 unit is vacant, 1 unit is occupied.

We are still waiting to see the current lease agreement (if there is one) for the occupied unit.

During our walk-through we took pictures of everything and when my business partner was reviewing the photos he found a picture with a safe, a drug scale, and some other tool apparently used for measuring drugs in the tenants bedroom.

We are expecting some trouble getting the existing tenants out but wanted to gather advice to see our options here.

Is eviction our only real way out? If so, any recommendations for people to talk to in CT or an attorney you have used?

Can we call the cops in advance to see how they can help us here?

Any thoughts or advice is appreciated, thanks in advance

Kevin S. · Answer

@Ryan Luby why not make having both unit's vacant part of your agreement to close on the property? That way the seller is the one having to deal with getting rid of the current tenant?

Matthew Irish-Jones · Answer

@Ryan Luby cash for keys is sometimes the best options.  Faster and cheaper than an eviction.

Chad Gaddie · Answer

@Ryan Luby I’d try to negotiate an easy buy-out first. If that doesn’t work, casually mention that your brother is a cop that will be spending a lot of off-duty time at the property working on repairs.  As a bonus, he will also be making sure that his other cop buddies keep an eye on the place too - just so nothing gets stolen during the renovation.....

Charles Kao · Answer

@Ryan Luby

Make current owner get rid of tenants or budget between 1500-5000 to get rid of them.  Coos aren't going to do anything unless they are caught on camera.  I had a voicemail where they admitted to dealing drugs and still

had to go to civil court instead of

criminal.

Caleb Heimsoth · Answer

@Ryan Luby honesty id just do non renewal of lease and give them notice to vacate.  You probably don’t want to interact with this individual.  If they don’t pay you rent, file for eviction but as long as they keep paying I’d probably just let them move out.  I have a feeling you will have a hard time evicting them if they are paying rent and they have a lease, especially if CT is as tenant friendly as I’m guessing.

Ed Matson · Answer

And if all fails and you need an attorney, call Venoal Fountain at Hirsch Levy, & Fountain in Fairfield.

Kim Meredith Hampton · Answer

Hey Ryan,

I would first find out about the lease or is he month to month, then you will need to check your landlord tenant laws in the state where you are purchasing and see the process of giving a non renewal of the lease agreement if it has expired on the month to month. Usually 30 days is sufficient for non renewal, but hard to say in your state. I would worry about the other, just worry about getting him out legally with your states requirements. If he is in fact in the middle of a lease, then you could give him some sort of legal 7 or 8 day notice for breach of lease agreement for drug paraphernalia.

Quincy Lockett · Answer

@Ryan Luby

I doubt the police will remove them based on those items in a picture. I’d review the leases 1st. If the lease doesn’t expire within 60 days I’d try to negotiate a cash for keys situation. I’d tell the tenant I need the unit for a family member and offer a premium ($1,000) plus security deposit to move within 30 days. Other than that, you’re stuck with them until the lease ends.

Ryan Luby · Answer

Thanks everyone!

I will update this forum with the outcome just in case someone else comes across a similar situation

Ryan Luby · Answer

@Kevin S.

Thanks for the quick response, I know it's a bad excuse but mainly because we didn't think to do this in advance and the seller is very hands off, for these reasons I don't feel confident the seller would comply.

We are now late in the game, we have adjusted the price due to findings, and signed a new contract twice, and the seller basically doesn't do anything with the property and just wants to sell right away.

Originally, we foolishly saw it as helpful that we could keep the tenant in place just during the rehab period, then boost their rent to get them out once we had the other unit rented. (Wishful thinking.. lol)

Going forward this is certainly what we will do though to avoid this problem, thanks for the input

How can we avoid an eviction here?

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