All Forum Posts by: Sarah A Banzhof

Middlebury is decent, c class 

Hello! 
I have a situation that I am in where I need a lawyer’s advice that knows Ohio eviction law. 
My current tenant is being evicted due to non-payment of rent, and the eviction hearing is set for mid February. 
She will also go through a juried criminal trial this coming week, and will more than likely be found guilty and have to serve some jail time.

My questions are

1.) If she is taken right to jail from the juried trial, do I have a certain number of days where the property then will be deemed abandoned?

2.) She is having other people stay there (against the lease),  do they automatically become trespassers at that point in which I can have them removed by calling the police?

3.) I will still go through the entire eviction process the following week to make sure that it is taken care of, but who will come and get her personal belongings if she is in jail?

4.) I want to make sure I am doing everything by the book so that I don’t face any issue down the line.

If you are a real estate lawyer in Ohio, would you answer these questions, or if not, do you have a good recommendation for me to find the answers?

Thank you in advance!

Hi! I live in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio (right next to Akron) and 7/8 of my doors are in Akron.  It is a very block by block city depending on the neighborhood.  I manage all of my own properties here.  Best spots to invest in are West Akron, Highland Square, North Hill and parts of Goodyear Heights.  An agent would be invaluable to you to pick through each of these neighborhoods.

Hey @Aya Hosch- I’m somewhat a newbie too to real estate investing but just closed on my third rental and live in Cuyahoga Falls. Let’s meet up for coffee, you game?

-Sarah 

Our tenant is officially out!  I contacted her and asked what it would take to get her to officially give us possession - and she said that she still wanted a few items left in the house but was unable and unsure of when she could come to get them.  I offered to house the items in our garage on the property for two weeks and all she needed to do was contact me when she needed access to the garage each time.  She agreed and emailed an official "I am out of the property on this date and relinquish possession to the landlord and owners."  There was about $1,200 worth of damage inside and it was disgustingly filthy- not sure how this compares  to you all but it's been our worst clean up yet.  Now  to get this place rented again!  Thanks for the advice.  - Sarah

Thank you to all who responded.  I've sent her an email stating that if she signs a drafted document giving us possession of the house and turns in keys, we will cancel the first action (eviction).  I called the local courts and they said as long as I am clear in writing to them, I can cancel the first action but continue with the second action (trying to reclaim monies lost in the ordeal).  Maybe she will bite and the incentive of NOT going to court will give us possession. If not, we go to court Wednesday so at that point it isn't much more time.  I am trying to get the house back and every day she's in there hurts us because it is so close to the holidays, and very few people want to move right around Christmas.

I appreciate all the feedback.  Nice to have forums like this to bounce ideas off of other landlords.

@Jim Goebel ask they tenant if she will move out? We’ve been texting this whole time and I tried to get together with her in person so that nothing gets inferred over text messages. She’s said some nasty things out of desperation and I’ve alway come back with polite yet firm responses, trying not to get emotionally involved.  I’d love to just take back possession and cancel court, but she seems to think it will show up the exact same way whether we take this all the way through to conviction of eviction or if I just cancel it now.

@Mary M.  this is honestly the last thing I want to do. But she is refusing to give us keys, doesn’t that constitute possession?  I am trying to protect us legally and don’t want to change the locks in case it is considered a “self-help eviction.“ Also does it look different on her record if we go to court for eviction or if I’ve just filed to start the eviction process? If we do not get to court is it better for her or is it the same in a future landlord‘s eyes?  Thank you for your help.

@Brandon Sturgill the tenant has moved out but is refusing to keys back and keeps saying that she will be back at any moment to collect her few things she has in the house.  We do not want to get into a legal battle if we take possession and change locks before it goes to court.  That being said it is our first eviction that has gone this far.

I in no way want this on her record but what choice do we have if she is refusing to give keys?   Also- question for you- if she does within the next few days decide to relinquish keys to us and we stop the eviction, will this be more favorable to her as far as her record is concerned?  Or will it be the same?

Hello! New to this forum but happy to learn from all of you more “seasoned” landlords.

We are in the middle of evicting our tenants in Ohio, have jumped through all of the hoops, and are awaiting trial.  The trial is in 5 days, then it will take a week etc for the bailiff to give us the property back officially. 

My question is, can and should we go into the home to start prepping it for re-rental?  The tenant texted me a couple days ago and stated “we have not lived in the house for two weeks, but I still have a table in the garage and a lamp and some **** there.”

Should I return to the home now to get the ball rolling and get this place re-rented by doing some repair work or just wait until everything is removed/ the whole process is done with?  She’s been saying she will get the items for over two weeks now but basically is in no rush now because “this is on my record now so I’ll just take my time.”

I can see her point but we have been very kind not evicting her earlier.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. 

Thank you.