All Forum Posts by: Jonathan Dickerson

I have a client who recently completed a 3-year lease. They switched to month-to-month. I was planning on booting them out for a number of reasons but they offered to prepay for the year in advance. Since cash is king, I agreed and the new (in-writing) agreement was that they would pay me 55% on the day the agreement kicked off and the balance 60 days later. 

60 days later is 3 days from now.  When I called yesterday to confirm the payment would be on time, they said "I gave that money to my son to pay his overdue rent, so I don't have the $7k I owe you. I plan to pay you by the month like any other person. You will get paid in a timely fashion." 

I replied "There was never a plan to pay by the month. Paying monthly is not an options as we do not have any agreement in place to do so. For example: when is rent due? How much will you pay? The old schedule of what you paid monthly is no longer valid because the lease discussing those terms has expired. The only reason I agreed to let you stay for another year was because you offered to pay the year in advance."

While he's given me a chunk of cash, it's not what we agreed. The new agreement (which is in writing, agreed to in writing and acknowledged in writing that he's not living up to what he said he'd do), but is NOT in a newly updated lease format, states that they receive 1 year of rent in exchange for the full amount of $ they agreed to pay. So here's my question:

Despite the fact that they paid SOME of the rent, if they DO NOT pay the full amount on time, am I able to evict them without having to pro-rate or refund anything? Thanks for your thoughts, especially any legal experts out there. Stay safe and warm y'all!

great question @Daniel J. Gibson. great answer @Mike M. thanks to you both!

UPDATE: Was able to get the tenants to sign a Confession of Judgment that they are aware of the back rent owed, they are aware of the late fees accumulated and they will prepay the last 6 months' of their rent either within 7 days after the settlement is finalized or the last day of 2018, whichever comes first. The Confession of Judgment states that they owe the full amount of money (past due rent, late fees, last 6 months of lease prepaid rent) even if they are evicted and aren't actually residents for the last 6 months of the lease. It was signed by the two tenants still occupying the residence and one of the two tenants who vacated the premises early. The agreement also includes language that if tenants are unable to pay the decreased amount of rent between now and the end of the year, eviction proceedings and garnishment of wages for the full amount due will commence the following day. So far, they've not missed a single (modified) rent payment and their lawyer has confirmed that the settlement amount he is working toward has already been modified to reflect that the first check cut from the settlement will be coming my way to pay me in full. 4 months from now, I'll have either dodged a large bullet or will be crying in the new year for my failure not to evict sooner.  Thanks again for all the advice.

@Brad Tom ... This might be the MOST legitimate thread on BP; this one thread connects to virtually every topic raised anywhere else on the site!

@Aaron Hunt, I know I'm just a newbie, but I read (the back of) a book one time and it said that if I didn't have the right mindset, I'd never accomplish my dreams. I think that for you, what this means is that, if you haven't been picturing yourself owning the White House, then you'll never own it. But if you HAVE been picturing yourself owning the White House (with a quality Vision Board to match), then you'll never be able to select the right $50k, High-level Guru Course to make your dreams a reality using other people's money with no collateral and a guaranteed rate of return on your White House purchase. The obligatory inspiring but incorrectly cited quote goes here.

Thanks for the insight, team. I verified the facts of the situation to confirm I wasn't being played and honestly just felt awful for them so didn't start eviction process. Two near-seniors on disability whose grown kids suck getting thrown out on their tails with an eviction on their record had me picturing them in a cardboard box. I've begun the process to get them out. 

@Andrey Y. 

I just called and spoke with Venmo. Their customer service rep (Cat) spoke to me for 7 minutes and said  using Venmo to pay rent is fine, doesn't break their rules and that she and her roommates use it themselves to pay their own rent to their landlord. Not sure what happened with your transaction, but Cat clarified that I, as the landlord, can receive rent payments via Venmo for free. Sorry your account got closed. Haven't used Zelle, but Venmo is fast, free and so convenient... it's tough to imagine a better setup for a landlord. :)

Short version: 4 adults (family) rent our Townhouse on a 3-year lease. "Bob-The Son" gets hooked on heroin, vacates the property, returns to steal everyone else's stuff to pawn for drugs, gets arrested and goes to jail. "Susie-The Daughter" vacates the lease a year early because she's 'so over' all the drug drama (but does not communicate with me that she's left). Remaining 2, "Carol and Jim-Mom & Dad," are unable to afford the place on their own (both on disability) and need to leave. 

Not counting late fees, they owe $4k in rent from May-July. Their plan is to move out now and repay the missing funds after they receive a settlement from a slip-and-fall they had after the HOA didn't properly maintain the parking lot which turned into an ice rink last January.

I'm trying not to gouge anyone going through a REALLY rough time, but what is the process for collecting the back rent from Mom & Dad and/or The Daughter? What's the process for making it known that The Daughter vacated the property early? Is this a small claims court issue or something else?

Any/all thoughts guidance and professional recommendations are welcome. Happy Monday!

Updates: I called the lawyer and told him I didn't have an insurable interest on the property where the tenant was injured so I couldn't provide any insurance coverage that pertained to the parking lot. The lawyer was candid and said they didn't need my information, but as I was the owner of the property where the tenant was living when the injury occurred, they wanted me to be informed of the pending lawsuit. The attorney said they were wholly pursuing the case against the HOA and Property Management company.

@Al D.  +  @Jennifer A. - The PI attorney also said that despite the wording of the letter, you are both right and I am completely within my right as the landlord to contact the tenant but I am prohibited from discussing the case in any way. 

@Raul Rapalo - I was once told by a local real estate investor that while it's much EASIER to collect the money via Venmo, check or money order, it's nice to be able to collect the cash every month as a good reason to do a visual inspection of the property, the neighborhood and the interior of the home. I'm much less likely to be surprised that my tenants are growing pot or cooking meth if I'm in the home every month and they don't know when I'll be there. My tenant is on permanent disability (an older gentleman who does everything in cash since he cashes his disability check the day it arrives and doesn't use plastic/checks) so it didn't seem like a big deal to accommodate receiving payment in cash. :)

@Liz C. - I do have liability insurance, but I'm hoping I won't be needing any of it, per the update from the tenant's PI Lawyer.

@Jim Shepard - Thanks for the advice. I reached out my insurance company to at least let them know what was going on, but because the PI Attorney told me not to send them anything, they aren't taking any steps at the moment. 

Many thanks for all the advice and guidance. We're dealing with this in the midst of trying to close on our first Self-Directed IRA property and moving 2 grandparents into (and recently out of) hospice. Stay well, everyone and I'll update as developments unfold.

@Jason Bott & @Derek Lacy - I'm just at a loss trying to understand why my insurance is involved at all... Him falling in the parking lot has as much to do with my insurance as if he fell inside the pool, a grocery store or a gas station (all properties I also don't own or have insurance for)...