Please Help! Tenant Passed Away, Family Can't Agree On Anything

Please Help! Tenant Passed Away, Family Can't Agree On Anything

Member since 2021 · 16 posts · 5 votes

Hello BiggerPockets Community, I am having an issue with one of my rental units in Indiana. Keeping the story short, a tenant passed away in the unit a couple months ago. They had no will. There are four family members that are claiming rights to the tenant's property. The tenant was a hoarder and the property is filled with junk, but the family still wants it. Problem is, the family does not get along. There is no power of attorney and thus they want to take this to court. Obviously, this can take a long time. Meanwhile, I can't turn the unit or rent it. It would cost me considerable time and money to move and store the junk, not to mention concerns with trash and bugs.

What are my options? Since we can't just throw everything away since family is claiming property rights, property management is saying we have to now go through an attorney which is going to cost me a lot of money. Property management is also saying since there's no power of attorney or will, I can't bill back the family for lost rent or cost of this. Even if the court does grant an executor to state, they're saying it would likely be an uphill battle recouping costs. Is it really this complicated? Many thanks.

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Jeff CopelandBusiness Member
Real Estate Broker · Tampa Bay/St Petersburg, FL · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
4y

1. Hire an attorney. It will be much cheaper than the lost rent, vacancy, and turnover costs you'll eat if you get this wrong. 

2. What does the lease say abut being "binding upon the heirs, executors, administrators, and successors" or something to that effect?

3. (Depending on the answer to #2) - If the heirs are claiming the lease is still in effect and they are keeping possession of your property under the terms of the lease, then the estate will be paying you rent under the terms of the lease. They can't have it both ways, and they can't keep possession of your property without paying rent. 

4. A reasonable compromise is perhaps to put their stuff in storage while the estate hashes it out. But make sure this is done correctly with an inventory, etc. You don't want the heirs claiming you stole the estate's $50,000 diamond tiara. Your attorney should be able to help coordinate this. 

5. Hire an attorney. It will be much cheaper than the lost rent, vacancy, and turnover costs you'll eat if you get this wrong.

6. Hire an attorney. 

Copeland Morgan LLC4.770 Reviews
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  • Jeff CopelandBusiness Member
    Real Estate Broker · Tampa Bay/St Petersburg, FL · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    4y

    1. Hire an attorney. It will be much cheaper than the lost rent, vacancy, and turnover costs you'll eat if you get this wrong. 

    2. What does the lease say abut being "binding upon the heirs, executors, administrators, and successors" or something to that effect?

    3. (Depending on the answer to #2) - If the heirs are claiming the lease is still in effect and they are keeping possession of your property under the terms of the lease, then the estate will be paying you rent under the terms of the lease. They can't have it both ways, and they can't keep possession of your property without paying rent. 

    4. A reasonable compromise is perhaps to put their stuff in storage while the estate hashes it out. But make sure this is done correctly with an inventory, etc. You don't want the heirs claiming you stole the estate's $50,000 diamond tiara. Your attorney should be able to help coordinate this. 

    5. Hire an attorney. It will be much cheaper than the lost rent, vacancy, and turnover costs you'll eat if you get this wrong.

    6. Hire an attorney. 

    Copeland Morgan LLC4.770 Reviews
  • Drew SygitBusiness Member
    Property Manager · Royal Oak, MI · Member since 2012 · 12k+ posts · 9k+ votes
    4y

    @Dave Jackson start the eviction process!

    This will give the family a deadline to remove what possessions they want and allow you to get possession of the property (legally) and get it rented again.

  • Dave SpoonerPro Member
    Rental Property Investor · Cincinnati, OH · Member since 2020 · 869 posts · 823 votes
    4y
    Quote from @Jeff Copeland:

    1. Hire an attorney. It will be much cheaper than the lost rent, vacancy, and turnover costs you'll eat if you get this wrong. 

    2. What does the lease say abut being "binding upon the heirs, executors, administrators, and successors" or something to that effect?

    3. (Depending on the answer to #2) - If the heirs are claiming the lease is still in effect and they are keeping possession of your property under the terms of the lease, then the estate will be paying you rent under the terms of the lease. They can't have it both ways, and they can't keep possession of your property without paying rent. 

    4. A reasonable compromise is perhaps to put their stuff in storage while the estate hashes it out. But make sure this is done correctly with an inventory, etc. You don't want the heirs claiming you stole the estate's $50,000 diamond tiara. Your attorney should be able to help coordinate this. 

    5. Hire an attorney. It will be much cheaper than the lost rent, vacancy, and turnover costs you'll eat if you get this wrong.

    6. Hire an attorney. 

     Agreed with what Jeff is saying!

    I hope you're able to figure this out soon @Dave Jackson

  • Investor · Dallas, TX · Member since 2016 · 887 posts · 1k+ votes
    4y

    Perhaps you can propose to the family that you'll do all the work to clean everything out and put it in a storage unit. Try to phrase it as "I know you have a ton going on, I feel really bad for you, let me help you out with this". If they're open to that you can get a crew to move everything to a storage unit and start to get the property ready to rent. Just make sure the family gets the storage unit and are on the hook for the monthly. 

    Hopefully you can deduct cost to move everything from the deposit. If not that just might be the cost to get it back on the market quickly. If nothing else you'll be able to use the deposit to correct any damages & cleaning. 

  • Rental Property Investor · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2017 · 2k+ posts · 5k+ votes
    4y

    Since you didn't give us the location of the unit, no one can give you accurate advice. We can't tell you if the lease terminated at death or continues with the estate liable. 

    Generically: 

    1) Do not let any family member into the unit. You have an obligation to secure the unit and its possessions. 

    2) Hire an attorney to guide you. You may need to evict, but some places allow simpler and faster proceedings if the tenant dies. The attorney can tell you if you can remove and store the possessions and for how long.

    3) Require tenants to list a person they authorize to release possessions to in case of death/incapacitation/incarceration. 

    4) Don't wait a couple of months to figure it out when the cash stops flowing. 

  • Nathan GesnerBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes
    4y

    Your rental agreement is with the deceased, not the family. You have a couple choices:

    1. Move everything to a storage facility immediately. Notify the family that everything is stored. If they want it, they have to pay the moving/storage costs until they figure out who gets to pick it up. If they fail to pay, follow your state lien laws and auction the storage unit to recover what you can, then wash your hands of it.

    2. Eviction. File for eviction on the deceased to legally terminate, then the property will be considered "abandoned" and can be dealt with according to law. I don't like this option.

    I recommend you talk to an attorney quickly. The last thing you want to do is leave the belongings in your rental and continue losing money.

    The DIY Landlord Book4.7248 Reviews
  • Member since 2021 · 16 posts · 5 votes
    4y

    Thank you everyone for the advice. I am having an attorney handle this now.

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