finally got my right to evict my "tenant" and guess what???

Question

Hi anyone can help! After my tenant not paying since day 1 in January 2020 ,  I had an eviction and lockout scheduled for beginning of March 2020. Tenant filed for extension and lockout was scheduled for March 16th 2020, which on that day courts closed and evictions were halted. After waiting 19 months my layer was finally able to restart our eviction. lockout was scheduled last tuesday. When the officer and locksmith came down at 1030 am they were informed by court that my tenant filed for a stay and dropped in mailbox after court was closed Mon nite. My lawyer right away objected but until judge looked at in on Friday and denied her stay, we had to reschedule lockout for following thursday which is tomorrow the 4th of november. lockout scheduled for 10 am tomorow after not apying almost 2 years with balance of $70,000, and boom, right before closed tonite she runs in and requests a stay AGAIN!!!!!!!  She knows court will deny but she will keep doing because each time she does that the judge has to read it which takes a few days and by then the officer is not available for another few days. She will keep on doing this forever!!! What can I do to prevent this!!! The court system is corrupt allowing people to stay rent free forever and ever!!! And btw if makes a difference I am in New Jersey

Eliott Rose · Answer

Thanks y'all. We got them out!!!!!!! They have a ton of clutter they still need to come back and get. What a surprise, we got the sheriff down right after they got denied extension so they not make more trouble. Now the problem is, house reeeeeeks. Was beautiful house but they had 2 dogs and 7 cats. How do we get rid of smell. There is only one carpet in house which we will pull out but besides from that, is there any way to eliminate this disgusting smell?

Eliott Rose · Answer

Thanks the officer says he will try to schedule me asap after hearing... but he is often booked due to the amount of evictions beginning now. I just do not understand how justice in our country became so corrupt.

Scott M. · Answer

Try and get direct access to the court officer / bailiff / sheriff (whomever performs your evictions) and get on their schedule in advance if you can.  We had this happen many years ago, way before COVID and the tenant was always filing stays at the last second.  We have a bailiff that we use all the time, know him and told him what was going on and he agreed that his team would be at the property before the hearing and the moment he got a signed writ of eviction he would call his team and they would do the eviction.  Was all 100% legal, no funny business, just needed to find a way to get around the game.  Talk with the court officer and see if they are willing to assist you.

Hope it doesn't last 20 years like this house in NY  NY man dodges eviction for 20 years, living in foreclosed house - NEWS BRIG

Greg M. · Answer

Because as more and more mom & pop landlords say this and exit the business, there is less supply but the same amount of demand. Rents rise. The more anti-landlord laws enacted, the higher the rents go. Every single time something pro-tenant or anti-landlord is enacted, rents rise to compensate for this risk. You just need to be smart and navigate the minefield.

As for urine smell, I recommend Nature’s Miracle Urine Destroyer. I believe they have a different version for cats and dogs.

Nathan Gesner · Answer

You are absolutely correct that the justice system is no longer just. There's nothing you can do about that. We accept the risk when we invest in real estate, particularly in states like New Jersey.

Ridding the home of odor requires diligence. Remove all carpet, curtains, etc. You can use a black light to find areas the cats were spraying walls, baseboard, cabinets, etc. Personally, I wipe everything down with a vinegar solution. Paint the floor with an oil-based primer, then put new flooring in after you've confirmed the odor is gone.

I've seen some pretty bad houses where cats were spraying against the wall. Owner wiped everything down but couldn't remove the smell. Turns out the cat urine had dripped down behind the baseboards. Once she removed those and cleaned behind them, the odor was gone.

Lindsay Op de Coul · Answer

Hey @Eliott Rose!  I am not sure how all the legal stuff works and requesting stays and such.  Our lawyers though have helped us with evictions and locks out recently even with all this pandemic craziness.  It may be worth just chatting with another lawyer?  I can provide you a couple to check out.

Scott M. · Answer

Cat odor is the absolute worst to get rid of.  Even months after you think you got it all out, it can come back.  That first summer after will be a good test for you.  Do not question an item.  Meaning if you think it might be causing odor because of cat urine just get rid of it.  Not worth saving a few bucks on a gamble.  Ozone machines are good too but they will never get rid of the source.  Once you get the source out Ozone machines can be good.

Had to rip up a subfloor in one home, treat and killz the joists and put new subfloor down.  When this is done you can write a great blog post to inform others.

Bruce Woodruff · Answer

a) You're in New Jersey, what do you expect

b) Getting rid of smells is the hardest thing in this whole business......do it in stages.....first get rid of everything. I've had to sand floors, re-prime all walls, and even have the walls all re-textured one time because the odors (from dogs) had gotten into the drywall....

Good luck!

Steve Vaughan · Answer

Whoa.  Mainly want to say yay finally and sorry for your troubles.

I just attended a free  hour long class a local attorney gave on the new eviction laws in WA.  Had me asking why I'm in this biz anymore.

I'm under contract on a sale now and may exchange to a more landlord friendly state or at least get into a commercial or industrial asset class.  Something nobody is living in.

With smells, gotta strip and seal everything, including  subfloors.  Remove drywall up 2 feet.

Hit the mistints at Sherwin Williams.  Get a few gallons of super paint for $1 for the subfloors, Kilz Premium for the walls.  Get a black light and forever have nightmares in the dark.  It will show the concentrations.

Ishmael Johnson · Answer

@Lindsay Op de Coul can you send me those as well please

finally got my right to evict my "tenant" and guess what???

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