All Forum Posts by: Andy Ballew

@Andy Ballew

You can't just go straight to eviction. There is a process first before...giving tenants formal notices of lease violations. You also can't just evict someone just because they pay rent late and you don't like that...

Evictions are a last resort as they cost money and time.

My advice in this case would be to first talk it out with your tenant and ask them to move out. If they have a lease in place you have to honor it. If that doesn't work, offer cash for keys....

Hopefully, your lease has something in that states no one that is not on the lease can live at the house without landlords consent. In that case they have violated the lease based on the halfway house, and you should serve a formal notice to them about the lease violation. 

If talking through it with your tenant doesn't work, if cash for keys doesn't work, then and only then should you look to evict...assuming you have cause to do so. 

I have been through 2 evictions and they aren't fun. One ended up with the Sheriff present while the tenant was forcefully removed. It's not a pleasant process, and should be avoided if possible. 

This reads a lot like my current situation and I'll tell you what I've done so far. You may consider going through this once with an attorney. You do not have to; it's easy enough to do on your own with some time and trial and error. But dep on where you are and how much time you have and how savvy this tenant is, it may be worth several hundred dollars to do it right and learn. Here's my (similar) story: Habitual late payer, usually finds a repair needed, withholds payment, threatens to call codes, has added another tenant to the unit without notification, a HUGE pain in the butt to the neighbors... (We inherited this guy and his mother when we bought the property. Now his girlfriend lives there too and it is just a total gong show...) We were prepared to evict a few months back when a local church stepped up and actually paid his back rent for Nov AND his next rent check for December to get him current. (Note: I'm not too good to take money from Jesus -- even at Christmas time). He was to attend some work counseling at the church and they would've paid his Feb rent too, but he flaked on them (shocking!) so the church didn't pay and the "we'll have the rent soon" stories started immediately. On Jan 10th (this is the grace period we give this particular set of properties) he didn't have Jan rent. So on the 14th, I sent a 14-day PAY OR QUIT notice. He threatened us for a few days after he received the letter then cooled off and said we'd have the full rent on Feb 1 (today). We know good and well he won't have it when my business partner goes out there today (and even if he does, he won't have Feb rent in the next 10 days and, really, it's long past time and he just needs to GO). But the thing is this: The 14 day pay or quit means pay in 14 days or, if you don't pay, you then have to vacate 16 days after that (30 days total 14+16). So we delivered the notice on the 14th, so he had until the 28th to pay. He didn't. So now (today) he is on day 4 of the 16 days to vacate. If he doesn't vacate, our attorney is locked and loaded to request a detainer warrant with the court. When that happens, the process here in TN is like this (this is not legal advise and may note be complete and here in TN the process varies by county population. These are just notes from my attorney as he went through the process on the phone, do your own due diligence:) We gave him 14 days to cure the problem aka pay the rent due. If he does not perform, he has 16 additional days (30 total) to vacate. If he does not, our attorney files a detainer warrant with the court. The courts will then notify the tenant of a court date at least 6 days in the future. The tenant can come to court and plead his case. If he doesn't show up, we get a judgement by default (we will definitely be there). If he shows and the court agrees with us, the court will tell him he has 10 days to vacate. He can also appeal during this 10 days to drag it out further. If he does not vacate, we ask the sheriff to physically put him and his belongings out. Although I am not happy about paying at least $250 (if it's easy and he doesn't show up to court) and as much as $750 -- plus several court, filing, and sheriff fees -- this is one where the education I get through observation is worth it to me. I am not Jay Z or Jeff Bezos, but I can make up that $750 in no time. For me, it is quite honestly worth the money to save my mental energy and work on acquiring another property or find ways to add value to my existing properties. Much like the demo or renovations at some of my properties, "just because I can do something, or know how to do something, doesn't means I *should* do it." Keep the thread updated and let me know how you proceed and how it turns out.   

I'm interested to see the replys

That makes two of us :)