Rental Property Investor · Bedminster, NJ · Member since 2014 · 42 posts · 5 votes
Hi all,
I have a situation where a tenant of 3 months has not paid his November rent. Our property manager has called, emailed, and shown up at the door trying to hunt him down to get an answer but got no response. A note is on the door to call the property manager immediately. The tenant did not pay on the first of the month, and then gave an excuse and a promise to pay last Friday, but never showed up with the money and has now not responded to us.
We'd like to file an eviction. The property manager told us that if we file a ten day notice to pay rent or quit, we could then file with the court.
However, due to the holidays approaching, the first hearing would be December 3rd. After that, there is a moratorium until after the holdiays, and eviction could not be performed until January 2015. We can handle the attorney fees, but we want to give the tenant as little time as possible to destroy the property.
Question is, do we post the ten day notice now and proceed to evict? Or, do we wait until January, hope to collect for November and December, and eat the loss? Any other options, like paying the tenant to leave?
FYI, the tenant doesn't have great credit history and gave us problems on the first month citing a water issue as to why he withheld rent. We want him out, help!
This does not sound like a tenancy that can be saved, so don't delay. Post the pay or quit notice now. Also, at the same time, post a legal notice to enter the unit... for "maintenance". I always do that, especially when a tenant is avoiding me. It forces a face-to-face and gives you a look at the unit. If you want to try cash-for-keys and your tenant goes for it, you might have him out by the end of this month. Otherwise keep your eye on the property and your eye on the goal. You will still have some time after you serve the pay or quit notice to try to convince the tenant to pay rent and the notice itself sometimes will kick-start a tenant into paying. But the reality is, once it has passed mid-month rarely will you see a tenant catch up on rent.
It is a bad idea to hand a resident cash to leave. They will move on to the next place without a mark on their record and with a feeling that they can get over on people. Start the eviction process early. Ding their credit and leave them with a judgment. This will stop them from continuing this process as the new landlord should not take them if they have judgments and evictions on their record.
As landlords we need to be professional with our processes. This helps the machine move in a smoother fashion.
Professionalism in the context of landlording means making business decisions on the basis of what makes financial sense.
Then we end up sending people on with no eviction record to give the next landlord problems.
This would not happen if the landlord does his job properly. He is supposed to run credit check and check landlord references. If I see that they've had a credit checked by a landlord but they don't list that landlord - their application becomes suspicious. And I ask them for the landlord's phone. If I call you and you don't tell me that you gave them cash-4-keys than you are not honest and the same thing can happen to you too.
In my lease it states that the rent is due on first and late on 3rd. On 4th I serve them with a 3 day to pay or quit notice. When I get called on that, I explain to them that this is a business and as such it is managed as a business and if I don't do it my investors would be mad at me. I believe them that XXX is true and if I receive my rent check by the EoD on 7th I am not going to file for eviction with the court on 8th.
I explain to them that filing is a very expensive procedure (in 2010 it was $140 + $35 for each of the summons) and they will be charged for that. Usually I get a full rent by EoD on 7th.
This is what your manager should have done instead of waiting over two weeks. I would fire him right away.
As a landlord myself, I have had the unfortunate experience of evicting tenants, and it's never fun, but you have to protect yourself and do what's in the best interests of the company. I support the other comments to file the eviction now, don't wait another day and don't give the tenant any other alternatives. They aren't paying and they aren't planning on paying. Make sure you send them a letter clearly informing them of the eviction and the date they need to vacate the premises.