All Forum Posts by: Alyssa Lebetsamer

Thanks @Bill Larsen. I appreciate the recommendation.

My Pay or Quit notice will expire on Thursday. This is my first eviction experience. I'm still hoping this guy just elects to leave quietly, but assuming I need to go all the way, does anyone have a lawyer they can recommend? I'm in the Los Angeles area (South Bay area). Thanks in advance.

My Pay or Quit notice will expire on Thursday. This is my first eviction experience. I'm still hoping this guy just elects to leave quietly, but assuming I need to go all the way, does anyone have a lawyer they can recommend? I'm in the Los Angeles area (South Bay area). Thanks in advance.

Thank you everyone for your responses... i have an update and if possible could use more advice.

He promised me last night that he was going to pay me in full today. SWORE. Obviously I have my doubts, so I told him I would be serving him with the 3 day Pay or Quit notice this morning. If he paid me today like he said he would then no problem, right? So I served the notice first thing this morning. Sure enough, a few hours late I get a text from him saying he doesn't have the money. It's not his fault. It's "never" his fault. He acknowledges receipt of the Pay or Quit notice, and swears (again) he will have payment in full for me by Thursday, which is the final day he has.

Obviously I have very little faith that this money is going to appear. So here is my question: what happens on Thursday night? When I have no money and he hasn't moved out? I know I can move forward with legal proceedings. But those look expensive. Is there any merit at all in taking one day (Friday) and seeing if I can convince him to move out on his own? Without involving the courts? Is that even a thing? I have no rent at all, and no security deposit from this guy. Adding in legal fees feels like salt in the wound. Though I can see it might be very necessary. Especially if he did indeed do all this on purpose. Which he very well may have done.

Is there a yard? If there is, do you need to hire a gardener? Can you get a quote on how much it would be to get insurance? How much do you pay now for the water bill for the upper and lower units? A $300 profit margin BEFORE yard maintenance, insurance, and water could be tight... you want to be enough in the black each month to be putting some aside for a fund for when a toilet breaks, or when you have to do repairs in between tenants. You aren't going to be wanting to pay for those things out of your own savings. Do you think you could get higher rents? Numbers are always flexible... you just have to play around with them until you find something that works. Good luck!!!

Trust your gut! Without seeing any of the numbers, it's hard to give any sort of actual advice. But you aren't super new to this, and it sounds like you want all three properties. I say go for it. 

Yes, @Marcia Maynard that's correct.

1. Yes, we did the whole background check and application process. He was less than the ideal candidate, but we took him on. His credit is low, but he's in the middle of a divorce and convinced me to take a risk. We didn't have any other interested applicants and he had a good solid income. Mistake #1. 

2. No on all accounts. But if he pays me tomorrow I'm going to get all this info for myself in case this ever happens again. 

3. The security deposit bounced as well. UGH!!!!!

4. Thank goodness, we do have a rental agreement signed by us and him, dated, and all set. 

5. Yes, he is subject to a NSF check fee and a late rent fee. He is agreeing to pay both without any argument.

6. We have been texting, talking on the phone and speaking in person so far. I just started with putting everything in writing. 

I have someone in town who is a realtor and a landlord who can help me with this a little more. I think a phone call is in order in the morning. To be honest, I'm so embarrassed I didn't want to reach out to him before. But putting it off much longer isn't going to do much good. I have the Notice to Pay Rent or Quit filled out and ready to be served tomorrow morning, first thing. Thank you so much for all your advice! The learning curve on this process has been steep.

@Marcia Maynard

Tenant hasn't paid rent. Or rather, he paid us rent. And then his check bounced. And he hasn't been able to come up with the money for the rent yet. It's been over ten days, and excuse after excuse after excuse. He swears he will have the money for me tomorrow. And I would LOVE it if he did. But he has been promising me that he will have the money for me "tomorrow" for four days now, and something has always come up. This tenant JUST moved in. It was a newbie error on my part not getting the first month's rent in the form of a cashier's check. It worked out fine last time. It's only my second tenant. :(

It looks like I am going to have to evict one of my tenants very soon. fingers crossed a miracle pulls through, but assuming it doesn't....

For those of you that have been through this before - do renter's ever receive their pay or quit notices and actually leave? Or does it always end up going to lawsuit and getting messy? I am terrified of all these legal hoops that I am going to have to jump through!

That's a tough one. Just my personal experience: I bought a new stove and a new refrigerator and they have lasted through two tenants, and over 5 years (they are still in use). I bought a used dryer and washer, they lasted less than three each. So there is an element of you get what you pay for. That being said if you simply do not have the money right now, a nice looking, functional, used appliance can buy your come time until you save up the money for a new appliance. 

Also, I don't provide microwaves, so if you want to cut a corner that might be one to cut. I used to provide the washer and dryer units, but for the first time recently I did NOT, and the unit rented just fine with just the hook ups. It was a single family home, though. Again, just my experiences. 

Good luck!