All Forum Posts by: Scott K.

They are routinely violating then remedying parts of the lease. For example, the lease requires that they comply with the HOA rules. One HOA rule says no storage of trash bags in the driveway (must be in containers). So I'll get a warning/fine from the HOA, notify the tenant they have 5 days to remedy the problem, and by that time trash day has rolled around and the trash bags are gone. But then next week, it repeats itself. The trash bags are out for 2-3 days but not more than 5 days to trigger an immediate termination of the lease based on failure to remedy.

Same goes for noise disturbance. They blast their ghetto music at volume 11. The neighbors complain. I notify the tenant that they are disturbing the neighbors and to stop it. They stop it. But then next weekend they're blasting ghetto music again.

I hear what you're saying about listing the property while it's occupied, and I'll probably do that. I'm losing -$700 each month the house is rented, which is a lot better than losing -$3,000 a month. I'm renting it out to slow the bleeding. But in 6 months when the lease ends, I will have lost -$4,200. So the question is -- if I sell it now as tenant occupied, will I not lose more than $4,200 than if I was to wait until the winter? The winter is the high-season and would be the time to get top-dollar. For a $600,000 home this could be quite a significant difference. Based on recent sales and current inventory, I'm thinking ~$580K now as-is, damaged, messy, dirty, in the low-season, tenant-occupied, vs. ~$630K in the high-season when it's empty, clean, and restored to pristine condition. A pristine house in the neighborhood (same model as mine) sold for $645K at the tail end of the high-season. Currently all the houses are listed for $550K-$590K.

Because it will probably take 3-4 weeks to clean and repair the house after it's been abused by the tenants who are due to move out Nov 30th, I will be missing 25% of the high-season which runs from mid-November to mid-March. I probably won't have it restored back to it's original condition until late-December.

That's why I want the tenants to move out sooner. If they would move out September 30th, that would give me 6 weeks to get it ready for sale for the high-season.

There's several. For one, in a month-to-month tenancy, as landlord I have to give 45-days notice to terminate the lease (isn't a month 30 days?!), whereas the tenant only has to give 28-days notice to terminate the lease. That certainly favors the tenant. Tenant wins.

As a landlord, if I lockout the tenant without cause, the tenant may recover 2 months free rent. Without cause is a matter of interpretation, that I would have to prove that my cause was justified. No matter what the tenant does to my property without cause, I don't get awarded 2 months free rent payments. At the most, I get a 1-month security deposit. 2-months awarded for the tenant. 1-month awarded for the landlord. Tenant wins again.

In any case, I would much rather have the tenants leave because they want to. Whether it's because they don't like walking on eggshells and being scrutinized by the neighbors and HOA, or because they found a place they like better, I think that would be the best outcome.

Yes, I think I'm at the point of needing to contact someone who knows the law. I'm going to start with calling the Hawaii Residential Landlord-Tenant Center (hotline) on Monday.

This is the page for Hawaii Departmentof Commerce and Consumer Affairs - Hawaii's Landlord Tenant Code / Termination

http://cca.hawaii.gov/ocp/res_lt_msg/_7666/

Doesn't say anything about terminating a fixed lease early, just says that a fixed lease terminates automatically at the end of the lease. Month-to-month leases can be terminated with 45-days notice. But it doesn't say how to terminate a fixed lease early. I'll have to call them on Monday.

This is from the Hawaii Tenant-Landlord handbook, page 11:

http://cca.hawaii.gov/hfic/files/2013/03/landlord-...

I'm not sure what this means "other conditions also exist". "Also" in addition to what? Of interest is item "B" because I could want to live there again until I sell it, all my possessions are still in the house locked downstairs. Also, if I put the house up for sale, then it sounds like item "D" would work. But I'm not sure what else is required so I can exercise these options.

I've had a few people tell me to "sweeten" the deal (i.e. offer cash money) to the tenants to move out early.

I think the eviction process would be a bad route to go. Not interested in having squatters not paying rent, and my house damaged and gutted by angry tenants.

My house is in Kailua Kona on the Big Island. The rental market is extremely tight, very hard to find rentals. I don't think even offering them money (unless it was a ridiculous amount) would be enough to incentivise them to move out early. The rental market is too tight, very few choices.

It sounds like I'm going to have to put it up for sale as tenant-occupied, or wait until the end of the lease and the tenant moves out.

Is there really any disadvantage to putting the property up for sale now, tenant-occupied, even if the tenants are very messy? I guess I risk a prospective buyer seeing it now as a mess and low-balling my price or writing-off my property as a home to buy.

I have a property in Hawaii which I've rented to some tenants who are making a mess of it, upsetting the neighbors, and incurring violations with the homeowners association. The lease ends November 30th this year, about 6 more months.

I want to take the property back, repair the damages they've done, clean it, and put it up for sale.

My lease is a fixed-date termination lease agreement without any provision for early termination without cause.

The tenants don't really like living in the neighborhood because they feel they are being "looked at under a microscope" and "walking on eggshells". I'm giving them my sympathy and encouraging them to find a place where they would like better, and I'd be willing to terminate the lease early. But the rental market is extremely tight, and I don't think they are going to try and find another place until the lease ends in November.

But I want to take my property back and sell it. With them as tenants, selling it as tenant-occupied with all their mess and clutter will only negatively affect my sales price. I want to sell it like it used to be -- vacant, furnished, and pristine like a 5-star resort hotel room that it used to look like. Right now, it looks like the set for Sanford & Son.

What can I do? Remember, this is Hawaii where the laws favor tenants, and tenants are known to squat because they know it can take months to get an eviction.

Thanks for the replies.

The lease ends November 30th, there are 6 months left on the lease.

It would cost me a lot to fly over to Hawaii to move my truck out of the garage, so I might see if a friend can go over to the house and get my truck and have it shipped to me in Virginia (something I was planning on doing at the end of the lease anyway).

I just got off the phone with a retired L.A. police friend. He said that without evidence, the police will just blow me off. He said the police get calls reporting suspicious activity all the time, and it's impossible to respond to all of them and you never know which ones are legit and which ones are just using the police to hassle someone they have a beef with.

My L.A. police friend recommended 2 ideas -- 1) call the tenant and tell them that the neighbors have called me and they are suspicious of drug activity at the house. The tenants will deny it of course, but it puts them on notice, 2) contact the Hawaii police and ask them what do they recommend that I do.

James K. said --

This sounds like what my L.A. police friend said too. Sounds like the right advice. Raise the concern given by the neighbors to put the tenants on notice; Get my truck shipped out of the house; Start a paper trail with the police even if nothing gets done; Wait out the remaining time on the lease.

I own a property in Hawaii, 5000 miles away from where I live in Virginia. I lived in Hawaii for 8 years and am waiting for the high season (this Winter) to sell my house over there. In the meantime, I rented my house to a local Hawaiian couple for 8 months.

One of my neighbors called me today and said that there are a lot of people coming and going from my house in Hawaii, people only stay for a few minutes then go. My neighbors said they are 99% sure there is some sort of drug operation that the tenants are doing out of my house in Hawaii. My tenants tell me they have a lot of relatives that visit them.

I have no proof of a drug operation, and neither does my neighbor. My neighbor says it's just a lot of suspicious activity.

What should I do?

EDIT: Something also to consider -- I have a lot of my own personal stuff locked in the garage and a downstairs room of the house, including my truck, tools, and personal items. If it turns out these tenants are doing something illegal and get raided, I can't afford to lose my truck and personal items.