Terminating a lease

[Chris Herrera]

I'm about to close on a property end of May and one of the tenants that I don't want to rent to has their year long lease end the last day of June. I think Illinois law states you need to give a tenant on a fixed lease 60 day notice. Since I won't even have the property for 60 days before the lease, should I just wait for the lease to end and let them know once it goes month to month? 

[Account Closed]

I would play it by ear.  

If you send them a non-renewal of lease letter (say that three times real fast), and these units have just been upgraded, you can take it to the bank that it won't look so updated by the time they are through. 

When I took over properties from a seller, I introduced myself to them (tenants) via letter and in person, and I gradually didn't renew leases for those I thought should go, one at a time, not in mass chaos.  I first evicted tenants that had to go, (that came first), and then the others that didn't comply to my new rules, came next by me not renewing their leases. But once again, I did it slowly.  

Remember this though.  The mission of a landlord is to keep tenants long term.  

Tenants need stability.  Once you put into play rules, leases, security deposits, stuff they need to do and know, and you promise to take care of their emergency repairs IMMEDIATELY, and their general repairs in the order they are received, you may have tenants that will never want to leave.  Because they know what is expected of them.  

Don't give them all the stuff they should do without giving them the stuff that they can EXPECT YOU to do as well.  That philosophy goes a long way to make a good landlord/tenant relationship.

And don't be a bully trying to sway them over to new rules.  Be understanding, give them proper notices of the new rules, be patient a little bit regarding the  new rental rates, what is expected of them, and then if they think your rules stink, they'll move, or then you will have to get rid of them. 

But play everything by ear for the first few months.  You will be living there and you will get to know who are the "keepers" and the "losers". 

Don't cut off your nose to spite your face.  (Gosh who ever thought of that phrase)

Good Luck!

Nancy Neville