Move to evict or wait for rental assistance

[Amber G.]

HI all,

I have a tenant that received MERA (Montana emergency Rental Assistance) Covid funds to pay rent January-June of this year. After getting verification from the state that they would pay the rent difference, she moved into a larger house with a significant rent increase in April. However, the state required her to reapply for the assistance as it was a new address. The tenant thought she had submitted the application after the move, but turns out she hadn't. She finally (after I had to tell her it wasn't in the system) successfully submitted mid-June only for it to be rejected the end of August as she didn't include the required documents AND she didn't respond to their request for the docs within the allowed time. Here we are in September with the state saying she needs to start a new application with the same 6+ week wait and the tenant hasn't even gotten her paperwork together. Tenant takes great care of the property, but seems to have NO sense of urgency 5 months later. I sent a 3-day notice last week and can file for eviction starting Monday. Collecting on a judgement for the now $6700 in back rent may take a while, but I think it could be done OR I can risk the tenant messing up her application (or no longer being eligible) a 3rd time and waiting another 6+ weeks (and another month or two of missed rent) for nothing. I have a list of qualified potential tenants eager to move into this property so filling any resulting vacancy would not be an issue.  

Thoughts on waiting a 3rd time or getting the eviction started next week?

[Jonathan Hankins]

I made a similar mistake when I moved out of my first home in Las Vegas and put a "friend" in as a tenant - so this is literally just the advice I wish someone had given me.

You need a property manager immediately - because you are headed for a world of trouble. Your tenant is NOT going to pay you. The state is not going to write a check to someone who significantly upgraded their home in the middle of a crisis - and your tenant knows that. They didn't just accidentally mess up their forms AND forget to fix the issue. They like living in your home without paying. 

You WILL have to evict the tenant. They WILL be angry with you, even though you will have essentially given them $10,000 out of your own pocket to subsidize their lifestyle. Just get them out, and let someone with less emotional involvement deal with the property moving forward.

Congratulations on learning such a painful and expensive lesson in Real Estate Investing! Don't let it sour you on future projects, and things will be better in the future!