All Forum Posts by: Austin Smith

@Austin Smith

Are you going to renew the tenant that was formerly delinquent? I feel like if you decide to keep them, you should maintain a month to month lease so you can remove them with provisions beyond non payment of rent if they decide to not page again…

@Austin Smith I am a bit confused. I understand the eviction part, but my confusion is, eviction is just the posession part of things, when you hit the super-sloth mode on that, why didn't you shift gears and focus on the financial side, and financial remedies? namely, civil suite. I doubt those courts are equally log jammed, or are they? 

While yeah, technically, it does nothing for possession of the property, I can tell you just the act of getting those papers served of being sued, the explanation of process, such as all the costs that will be added to it, seeking a judgement, how from there one can garnish things like income, or via motion for discovery, assets, yeah, it get's a persons attention. 

During covid moratorium, it was the only action we had left, and holy-cow did it work like a charm. We used restraint of course, anyone with a legit problem we worked with them, payment plans, rent deferments, all it took was being a decent person and being honest. But those who were scamming, yeah, to court it was going. Batted 1000. And best part, 98% never made it to court room, they paid up and surrendered properties agreeably. The issue was they thought they could get away scot-free, zero recourse, and when found out that wasn't true, and once we had a judgment it would be "financial herpes" and follow them forever, like magic everything changed. 

This isn't the end, it's an evolution, your paying your dues as long as you keep learning and growing from everything. 

 I'm also in NJ and understand personally how much havoc that the eviction moratorium can wreak on the landlords in the state. When it was lifted at the beginning of the year a lawyer said the backlog was at 15 months for Middlesex County. I ended up chasing down the rental assistance avenue which ended up paying at month 10. However, they then transitioned to Temporary Rental Assistance which requires the tenant to work or go through their job placement program. The tenant refused and of course terminated his assistance. Now the only recourse is eviction and I hear backlog is still at 6+ months. He refused cash for keys multiple times and is very good at pushing the limits of tenant rights. Un/fortunately he purposely damaged property and now I can evict him for that reason which hopefully puts the case higher up in the backlog.

@Austin Smith do your occupied and paying units pay enough to float the portfolio and can you hold on for a bit? 

It might not be a bad time to sell a few headache properties and move into more landlord friendly states also. Maybe you could make your equity work harder for you too?

I understand this is frustrating but it can lead you in a better direction long term. 

@Austin Smith Does your state and/or municipality offer rental assistance? This could help a lot with your issue and and at least  make you whole or get you to next year when you could possibly start evicting again

Your solution is what you said you "definitely don't want to do".  Why?  You don't lose your equity if sell,...you just move it to a Market/State where it is more favorable to be a landlord.

REI is a business. Like any and every other business, if your clients (tenants in this case) don't pay their bills, you stop selling your product/service to them. If the product/service that is your business isn't making you money, you either get out of that business, change your market and/or product/service, or go bankrupt.

You have the same three choices here.  Thus far, your choice has been the 4th one...none of the above.

@Austin Smith

Whatever the law in New Jersey is, whatever backlog there may be, there are local provisions and procedures for eviction. You're going to have to learn them inside and out. That's the ugly part of the business most of us don't talk about. There's no excuse for letting a tenant mooch off you for a year without taking real action except a bad lease, a bad understanding of eviction laws, maybe a bad lawyer. When your tenants stop paying, you have to start procedures. You are NOT powerless against social parasites who refuse to abide by the contracts they sign. Learn the laws of your area and follow them carefully.

I live and operate in Pittsburgh. Things aren't that different here.

This is common with new real estate investors. Investing is pretty easy . . . until it's not.

Your first problem is that you allowed the tenant to go so long without paying before deciding to start the eviction process. If you're going to thrive in this business, you need solid policies and procedures to prevent problems from getting too big to handle. I start the eviction process 10 days after rent is due, not 12 months.

Hire an attorney that is very experienced in evictions. Pay whatever it takes to evict these tenants. Watch how he does it, read the law, take notes, and be prepared to handle it on your own next time. Refine your processes so that the eviction process starts the very first day the law allows.

You shouldn't give up on real estate. You need to give up making amateur mistakes. Anybody can put money into a house and look good as long as there are no bumps in the road. Being able to tackle the bumps is what makes you a pro.