Rented to Previous Owner

[Willie Marte]

Hello Everyone,

First post here on BP forum, been a fan for a while.

I bought my first Multi-Family property a month ago. The previous owner needed a place to stay for approximately 3 months. Since he slashed 29k off the asking price, I decided to rent it to him for half the market rent price ($650). We did not create a lease and our only reference is an addendum on the sales contract for the house. He paid me three months in full at the day of the closing with a check.

Everything was fine and dandy until he texted me one day saying that I have to curbside his trash. I was so confused because, in my mind, he would be living there just as he normally would before the deal. So I went and curbsided the trash (It’s close to my apartment and I went to pick up my mail which I started forwarding there after the close) then I text him saying that I curbsided the trash and I was wondering why didn’t he want do it himself, after all he’s been doing it all these years? He replied “Are you serious?” And said that the grass need to be cut also.

I was in shock. There were no parameters set before or after the deal, and now we have been going back and forth. He does not want to take out the trash or cut the grass. He also hasn’t given me the keys to his side of the property.

My question is, should I wait the 3 months and see what he does next and curbside his trash? Or should I attempt to evict him or something along those lines before the time comes? Any other strategies that you guys believe I should do?

Thank you