Newbie: Tenant management help

[Matt Dickens]

Hi all, 

I am a new landlord -currently house-hacking. I bought a duplex last year with a tenant in place and rehabbed the other unit, which I now live in. I can say with confidence that I have made mistakes in landlording already, but its been an invaluable learning experience nonetheless. The tenant, ("M"), is a single person with two dependent children and works in the service industry. Since I took over the lease, my tenant has trained me to chase rent (one of the aforementioned mistakes). While M has only been late on rent once (after Christmas), M rarely pays on the first day of the month -usually 2-3 days and has otherwise paid in full. This month, M was laid off and after some chasing and a 3 day notice served, M has sent a furious message stating that M is $100 short but otherwise has the money. My dilemma is as follows:

Just as I have failed in being an efficient landlord, M has failed to be a good tenant and neighbor.

- Noise:  M and her kids routinely come in and out of the house at 1 am or later (any day of the week) and slam the front door. Additionally, the family routinely plays music and yells at these hours. 

- Weed: I believe M is smoking weed in or around the unit. Some nights I come home and the smell fills the air. Sometimes I smell it even within my own unit. M denies. 

- Trash: M does not pay for a trash service. M claims to toss trash in the neighborhood gas station dumpster instead of paying for the service. Upon inspection this month (which I will address later), I found 4 or 5 bags of trash in the backyard. In my area, it not mandated that the landlord do so. The lease states both that the tenant will keep the premise free of trash and rubbish, and that the tenant shall pay for all utilities. But it does not explicitly say trash. I inherited the lease too. 

- Dog: M has a large dog, which is a very sweet dog, but as dogs do, it digs holes and does its business in the backyard. Not a problem, that is dog ownership. Tenant M neither picks up the waste nor fills in the holes. 

- Scrap: Since M's dog's waste fills the yard, which was almost entirely dirt and weeds to begin with, I decided to kill the grass as mowing was impossible. As such, I failed to inspect the backyard over the past three months. Upon inspection, M has accumulated 4-5 bags of trash, a 3-4ft tall stack of scrapped furniture wood, and an amalgamation of scrap metals, including what appears to be a commercial oven or perhaps ice maker. 

Its a mess and its largely my fault for failing to manage this tenant. I served the 3 day notice last week (which puts tomorrow as the deadline for full payment). Tenant M has offered partial rent of $100 less than full rent. There is presently a suspension on evictions for non payment in my state, for 45 days, however I don't think M knows this. M messaged me today asking if I want M out and if they should start looking for a new place. I am considering the following options:

1. Proceed and get them out of the unit via the 3 day notice to pay or quit. With this, I cannot file an eviction claim for 45 days and I'd have to rely that M would leave if asked to do so. 

2. Accept partial rent with service of a 7 day notice to remedy the above issues.

Seeking any advice you all may have to offer. I don't feel like I own this tenant anything, as they have been bad neighbors above all else, but I am troubled by the idea of putting a single parent (who is out of work) in this situation. I know I've failed here but constructive criticism is valued -please don't just tell me I'm an idiot (lol I know that).

[Larry Melton]

Good grief buddy!!! 2 thoughts; 1 - get a lawyer. 2 - Get a property Management company. (or both) I know it sound like over kill ("it's just one unit right?!) but, if things go south (and they could EASILY go south from what you have describe) 
Better to be safe than sorry (right?!) 
Blessings, (welcome to the Landloard club... after you've been through a few of these, you wont have to lawyer up) 
-Larry (fellow duplex owner)