The correct way to address a Michigan legal notice to a tenant.

3 words that can save you: "And All Occupants".

Some of the best ways to protect your investment are also the simplest.  As a professional property manager, I am sometimes guilty of taking certain things that I do every day for granted.  Often enough, I meet a landlord who has self-managed and made a very basic mistake that came back to haunt them.

An eviction is probably the most dreaded event, aside from property destruction, that faces a rental property investor.  The process takes a lot of time to complete and during the entire process there is usually a lot of animosity between the tenant and landlord or their agent.  What could be worse?

How about getting to court and having the judge dismiss the case?  Or, by some gross administrative error, realize that you cannot remove the entire household from the premises?  Wait, what???

The most common first step in an eviction is serving either the Demand for Possession, "7-day notice" or the Termination of Tenancy, "30-day notice", to the tenant in possession of your rental property or unit.  If this form is not completed correctly it can delay or derail your eviction process adding weeks to an already long process.

To ensure the form is accepted by the court and protects your interest you need to address the form to ALL named lessees (MAKE SURE YOU SPELL THEIR NAME CORRECTLY!) and then, following their names, add the words: AND ALL OCCUPANTS. This simply cannot be overlooked.

I always suggest using an attorney when handling an eviction.  Their experience with the court and the individual judges will help you come out ahead and they will likely spot these clerical errors that can cost you a lot more than an attorney fee.