All Forum Posts by: Clara Tang
Clara Tang has started 1 posts and replied 26 times.
Post: Big headache - tenant won't move after lease expired
- Posts 26
- Votes 4
Quote from @JD Martin:
Quote from @Clara Tang:
Quote from @JD Martin:
You need to be filing for eviction pronto. At least get the process started. She is not going to want a public eviction on her record.
I would also have an attorney send her a letter. You need to show her you mean business, plain and simple. You should not have changed anything on her behalf but filed for eviction as a squatter when she didn't leave by August 1st.
A. stay put and pray they leave on Aug 10th.
B. have an attorney send a letter, and warn her of the consequences.
We have gone to the General Court and got the forms for eviction. I suppose if we submit the form she would instantly be notified? I am curious how the eviction would impact her house purchasing and credit score. What if she moves out before the court rules? Would that impact her? I agree, she is educated and she has got a decent job. She would not want an eviction on her record.
Prayer is not an effective strategy when it comes to real estate law :D
You can't file for eviction until her legal right to remain on the property expires. If you gave her an addendum that allows her to stay until 8/10, then you can't file until the next business day or whatever the law says in Virginia. An eviction would be a serious black mark on her record. No one with any sense wants a court eviction on their record. Yes, if you file for eviction and she moves out, the process would be halted and there wouldn't be any judgement. What gets reported depends on your state. Some states maintain records of filings.
Post: Big headache - tenant won't move after lease expired
- Posts 26
- Votes 4
Quote from @JD Martin:
You need to be filing for eviction pronto on the first available day (August 11, it sounds like). At least get the process started. She is not going to want a public eviction on her record.
I would also have an attorney send her a letter. You need to show her you mean business, plain and simple. You should not have changed anything on her behalf but filed for eviction as a squatter when she didn't leave by August 1st. Forget about the mother, you should only be talking to whomever is on the signed lease. Let her do what she wants about a lawyer.
Future lesson: unless you're 100% certain the unit will be vacant, don't rent it out before then OR be sure there's no recourse for your future tenants if you have to cancel the lease because you can't perform. Otherwise you could be on the hook both sides.
Post: Big headache - tenant won't move after lease expired
- Posts 26
- Votes 4
Quote from @JD Martin:
You need to be filing for eviction pronto. At least get the process started. She is not going to want a public eviction on her record.
I would also have an attorney send her a letter. You need to show her you mean business, plain and simple. You should not have changed anything on her behalf but filed for eviction as a squatter when she didn't leave by August 1st.
A. stay put and pray they leave on Aug 10th.
B. have an attorney send a letter, and warn her of the consequences.
We have gone to the General Court and got the forms for eviction. I suppose if we submit the form she would instantly be notified? I am curious how the eviction would impact her house purchasing and credit score. What if she moves out before the court rules? Would that impact her? I agree, she is educated and she has got a decent job. She would not want an eviction on her record.
Post: Big headache - tenant won't move after lease expired
- Posts 26
- Votes 4
Quote from @Joshua Stein:
Quote from @Clara Tang:
Quote from @Joshua Stein:
It's odd that they created this big of a fuss over a 10-day difference in move out. I'm confused why you wouldn't just move out, put everything in storage, and stay in a hotel or Airbnb till you close (maybe there's more context on their side).
Anyways, it's obvious they're trying to create leverage by reporting issues now.
I would talk to a local RE lawyer (perhaps you just need an hour of their time) to help navigate a bit
You could also (travel permitting) just go to your property and try and talk with them? Show them you're a human being, and not just a faceless email address / phone number.
We don't know. Her mom kept sending us long long texts and photos talking about how much she had done for the townhouse and how negligent we are! I was thinking they wanted to stay for free. We are open to discussion but the tenant just refuses to connect. And her mom is insane, saying if we contact her daughter she would talk to a lawyer!
The reason we put $500 is to motivate her to move and gauge the situation. The way she handled it made us wonder if they plan to leave at all!!
I would limit conversation at this point then, talk to a lawyer, perhaps this all goes away on 8/10.
What is the "later date" that the new tenants are moving in? Hopefully it's late August or 9/1
Post: Big headache - tenant won't move after lease expired
- Posts 26
- Votes 4
Quote from @Joshua Stein:
It's odd that they created this big of a fuss over a 10-day difference in move out. I'm confused why you wouldn't just move out, put everything in storage, and stay in a hotel or Airbnb till you close (maybe there's more context on their side).
Anyways, it's obvious they're trying to create leverage by reporting issues now.
I would talk to a local RE lawyer (perhaps you just need an hour of their time) to help navigate a bit
You could also (travel permitting) just go to your property and try and talk with them? Show them you're a human being, and not just a faceless email address / phone number.
We don't know. Her mom kept sending us long long texts and photos talking about how much she had done for the townhouse and how negligent we are! I was thinking they wanted to stay for free. We are open to discussion but the tenant just refuses to connect. And her mom is insane, saying if we contact her daughter she would talk to a lawyer!
The reason we put $500 is to motivate her to move and gauge the situation. The way she handled it made us wonder if they plan to leave at all!!
Post: Big headache - tenant won't move after lease expired
- Posts 26
- Votes 4
She told us she would not renew the lease in Jun as she bought a house and would close in July. However, on July 30th, she said her closing date was postponed to Aug 9th and she wanted to stay until Aug 10th.
We found our new tenant in July and signed a lease with them starting Aug 1st. But they were flexible with the move-in date so we renewed the lease to a later date, which is not so bad as we plan to install new floorings before they move in.
Now the old tenant is not cooperating -
1. she does not answer our phone
2. we sent her the addendum with the original rent proportioned by date but put on a late fee $500 per day after Aug 10 (to motivate her to move!). She changed it to $50 without telling us, signed and sent it back (we have not signed it) so basically, I think, a, she knows there is a possibility that she won't be able to close on Aug 9th and she plans to stay! b, has she conducted a contract fraud?
3. the addendum said $532 be paid on Aug 1st. she paid $500 on Aug 2nd.
4. her mom (not on the lease) keeps sending us long texts, saying she is working on our property, fixing up, and charging us $25 per hour. Saying we had not maintained the property. And she threatens to report us for mold and fire hazards.
Fact: we fixed things she reported and for the past four years, she was a pretty ok tenant. She was a PhD student now post Doc. and a single mom, that's why we had tried to be accommodating. The mold she was talking about was a roof leakage 3 years ago, which we hired a company to fix it. We sprayed the anti-mold thing to the ceiling. They only told us three days ago there were dark marks. and also in 2019, she reported dishwasher leakage, which we replaced with a new one. She told us there was water damage to the floor but it looked ok until three days ago they removed the floor and sent us a picture it was black. The fire hazard was ridiculous as we replaced the fire detectors 2 years ago, but she said they were yellow and old.
We are in VA. What shall we do now?