I'm the landlord. I want to terminate the lease early.

[Scott K.]

I have a property in Hawaii which I've rented to some tenants who are making a mess of it, upsetting the neighbors, and incurring violations with the homeowners association. The lease ends November 30th this year, about 6 more months.

I want to take the property back, repair the damages they've done, clean it, and put it up for sale.

My lease is a fixed-date termination lease agreement without any provision for early termination without cause.

The tenants don't really like living in the neighborhood because they feel they are being "looked at under a microscope" and "walking on eggshells". I'm giving them my sympathy and encouraging them to find a place where they would like better, and I'd be willing to terminate the lease early. But the rental market is extremely tight, and I don't think they are going to try and find another place until the lease ends in November.

But I want to take my property back and sell it. With them as tenants, selling it as tenant-occupied with all their mess and clutter will only negatively affect my sales price. I want to sell it like it used to be -- vacant, furnished, and pristine like a 5-star resort hotel room that it used to look like. Right now, it looks like the set for Sanford & Son.

What can I do? Remember, this is Hawaii where the laws favor tenants, and tenants are known to squat because they know it can take months to get an eviction.

[Richard C.]

Well, I suspect you know what you can do. They have something valuable (possession under a valid lease agreement.) What do you usually do in order to get someone to give up something valuable?

Get out your checkbook.