All Forum Posts by: Yifa Su

I'm sorry you're going through this, it's never fun. I posted a week or so ago to check out the Broward County web site that deals with tenant/landlord issues, as someone else here did. That will help you avoid problems with not knowing exactly what to do, or paying others to do things you can do yourself, although it seems you may need assistance with the language.

https://www.clerk-17th-flcourts.org/Clerkwebsite/B...

As @Steve Babiak says (and I don't know why the tagging feature isn't working for me lately ;) never depend on a realtor to screen a tenant. I have only used a realtor once to find a tenant for our last property, and the first couple of applicants had *not* had a background check done, only a credit report. Lots of red flags when I ran it.

Agents may be able to cast a wider net for tenants re: the MLS, but they do very little beyond that. As Steve, and my own realtor, said - they make very little on a rental placement and often have to split that one month's rental commission with another agent. And I recall the rental agreement basically absolved them of any responsibility for tenants once they were placed.

Low income tenants can be a real challenge, as my husband and I learned with our first 2 rentals. We still have them, and have good tenants now, but we would not go down that road again.

You will pay 10% of gross rents on average for property management.  Maybe a tad higher if your place is in a bad area.  If this is so, make sure you get someone who has experience dealing in these areas.  

Please speak with your lawyer.  You just accepted partial rent payment.  You may have to keep the tenant for another month no matter what.  I am only giving general advice.  I do not know FL law. 

Did you ask the tenant why they fell off the face of the earth right after moving in? I would get rid of them as soon as possible.  It is possible to find a decent tenant in a lower income area.  To be completely honest, I think you are over your ski's right now.  Consult your lawyer and get competent property management in place.  Best of luck to you

I do no think this was a good idea at all.  You do know that you are now keeping them as a tenant at least for now.  I do not know FL law, but if you are accepting partial rent, you are most likely starting the eviction process over (if that is still what you want to do)  I highly doubt you get the 20% of the rent on Friday.  Even if you do, when is he or she paying the remaining 40%?   Then, what about the next month? And the month after?  I highly suggest you find a good property manager to run your rental for you until you become more well versed in landlording.  I think it will be money well spent.  What about the money you paid to the attorney for the eviction?  That money is gone and now you probably can't evict. 

I've posted this before, so sorry in advance to those who think I'm being a broken record. 

When a property owner hires a commission-based real estate agent to place a tenant, there is one glaring problem: How many applicants will be evaluated by the hired agent before the one gets chosen?  Remember, this agent gets paid the same dollar amount whether one or five or ten or fifty applicants are evaluated. And since most people prefer to do less effort for more money, you can expect the number of applicants to be small - and with that, you can expect that the chosen one is very unlikely to be the cream of the tenant crop ...

I would talk to your real estate agent that took the 1st month's rent and let them know that they need to help rectify this situation since they did the background screening and let this person in the property.  And you need to find a new real estate agent and hire a real property manager that knows that they are doing.  You paid too much for the real estate agent's services and are not getting anything in return.  If that agent is not helpful, I'd consider reporting them to the real estate department of your state and filing a complaint.

Get good knowledgeable help in the eviction and charge at it hard.  Don't take partial payments (like $300 now and pay rest later) because that resets all clocks.  Get full payment with late fees or nothing at all.  I'd recommend just getting a new tenant at this point.

I live in another state from the property so I let the lawyer handle it. I am sure you could write the letter yourself, but it goes back to the beginning of this topic where you don't know the rules for your venue. 20$ to a lawyer is cheaper than a possible suit for not doing it correctly. 

I'm not sure what a lawyer will charge you for an eviction in FL.  There are set fees by the court plus lawyer's fees.  I would think you could possibly do it for under $1,000 if the case is as cut and dry as you say, but I am only guessing. 

It seems odd that a tenant would go completely off the radar immediately.  You can at least keep the security deposit to defray the legal fees. 

However, if you are completely new to this, I would not advise trying to do the eviction yourself.  If you don't handle all the paperwork correctly and serve notices at the right time and in the right manner, you will prolong the whole process.  I would google eviction attorneys in your area and start making some phone calls to see what they charge.