All Forum Posts by: Gurpal Cheema

@Patrick M. I didn't know that. I thought I needed an attorney for the entire eviction process. Good to know. Thanks

thanks @Moises Mari good points.

So tenant is out finally and I actually ended up making a deal with him, where he left some of his furniture and appliances for the money he owed me.

Update: Spoke to attorney, just like I though he mentioned lets wait till Friday. If tenant is out, we change the locks and move on and he will refund $175 out of $650. I'm ok with that. 

@Wesley W. @Lynn McGeein @Frank Chin @Brooklyn A. All good points here. thank you

I'm not trying to nickel and dime my attorney. I have good relations with him and would like to keep it that way. That is why I wanted to see what others have thought. 

Here's what I think: My attorney charges $300 for any additional court appearance if the case is not settle on first appearance. So I would think he should refund $300 if we don't have to go to court anymore. All he has done so far is filed the eviction with the court. Which is $50 if you do it yourself. So $350 is still a decent amount for just filing.

Here in New Jersey tenant has the option to pay or move out, not both. He is not going pay me for attorney fees if he can't even pay his rent. I can go after him after he moves out but I don't think it worth it. He's just not getting any of his security deposit back.

Sorry I'm all over the place. Just trying to share thoughts. This situation was the first for me. I have don't evictions before with same attorney and went through with them. I'm going to wait till Friday and see if the tenant really moves.

Thanks again

Are attorney fees refundable for eviction if the tenant moves out or pays rent before the court date? I'm in New Jersey (very tenant friendly state) where you have to file an eviction through an attorney if the property is owned under business name. On top the attorney fees are very high. I paid $650 for filing and court appearance, our court date is 24th of this month but my tenant just told me he's moving out before the 18th. Should I ask for some sort of refund since we will not have to go to court?

Can't wait for a biggerpockets podcast on this forum.

Read your state laws on renting. Screen your tenants and follow your lease agreement.

Last year I was in process on closing on a multifamily home in the area. Long story short; my lender was unable to give me mortgage commitment on time therefore I lost my earnest deposit and money I spent on due diligence. Lender, sellers agent, both attorneys started pointing fingers at each other. It became such a headache that I took my losses and moved on.

Lesson: put everything in writing, over the phone promises don't matter.

If no-one takes an action he will continue to do this. From what I know real estate agent can loose their license for this. Agree with @Account Closed you should file a complaint at least.

Welcome Bhanu, and best of luck. I'm from the area. If you ever want to discuss ideas feel free to reach out.

Gurpal