All Forum Posts by: Jj Horst

I'm curious on others thoughts. I attempted to do a "Cash for Keys" deal with a non-paying tenant. He ended up not following through so now he is being evicted, but going through that process did make me think about the whole thing.

Is there some moral obligation to follow through with an eviction for a tenant who won't pay and won't leave? Isn't using cash for keys just passing the problem on to our fellow real estate investors who may now take on a tenant with no eviction record who otherwise would have a record thus alerting the criminal nature of these tenants to the home owners due to an eviction now being on their record?

Is offering cash for keys just allowing a wolf to continue to roam around amongst the sheep?

Thoughts?

Thanks Jeff. Yes we tried that. He just backed out on the move out date and remained there. We didn't pay him up front luckily. He has 2 "guests" staying there and I think they are pressuring him to stall and wait for the eviction process so they have a free place to stay. I've contacted a lawyer to see how to get the guests out, they've broken multiple lease rules and actual city laws (had to call the cops last night after their unrestrained dog attacked us and our dog on our way in from a walk last night.) The guests have also made threats to us so its a pretty unfortunate situation...

Thanks Michael. You're right I need to get an attorney. It's just painful to spend more when I'm already paying rent in full myself and the tenant has done extensive damage over the years so every penny I can save is very important. Then again, making a mistake will be even more costly. 

To complicate things I do believe the tenant is moving out...at a snails pace. I've seen things leave and he does have items boxed up. No way I'm not moving forward with the eviction though. Who knows when he'll "give up"...

So we have 1 tenant on the lease next door in a house hack. We inherited them from the house sale. She stopped paying rent so we sent a 3 day notice to pay or quit. She abandoned the place but left lots of her property there and her boyfriend who has been living there for years. We gave him until September 17th to move out and we would forgive the outstanding rent (to encourage him to move). He signed the agreement, but did not honor it and has not moved. We had already posted another 3 day notice so I filed an eviction against him today.

The problem is he has had two "guests" there to help him "move" who have been staying there overnight for a week. We told them they can't stay there but they refuse to leave. Neither the tenant nor guests are on the lease. I just can't kick out the tenant because even though he's not on the lease he's been there for years so he's considered a tenant.

Can I simply call the cops to remove the guests who refuse to leave? It's clear they are not intending to leave my property at this point.

Austin, TX.

Thanks! This first house hack has been a pretty bad experience so far...

Great advice guys. You're right. I'm only delaying the inevitable (especially when I plan to renovate in 6 months). I guess it's time to see how frugal I can be with the reno and still make it great! Eviction process starts pronto.  

So we have inherited tenants in a house hack. They were paying, but were late last month. We found out the person on the lease broke up with her boyfriend and moved out. He (not on the lease) is still there. We contacted the person on the lease and managed to get May's rent. June's rent was due on the 15th, and the person who is now living there by himself doesn't seem to be able to afford it.

Here's the problem. These tenants have been there for 8 years and have really trashed the place. We hoped they would stick around so we could save another 6 months in order to do a really good renovation. If I evict him, I'll have to go in now with about 60-70% of whats really needed (as no one else would EVER rent the place in it's current condition) but I suppose I could get it "rent ready" with the funds I have now in a couple months. 

I talked to the tenant today. He's working and suggested a short term roommate to be able to make rent, but so far they only have 20% rent paid and July's rent is due on the 15th. 

Should I bother giving him leeway to come up with the cash so I can buy myself another 6 months to save or do I bite the bullet now and do a half *** job renovating in order to get someone else in there?

Thanks!