Tenant problems

[Christa]

We have tenants in our house in NJ. For the past 5 months I had to beg for the rent, every month she pays on the very last day. (The first month's excuse was that she took the family on an overseas holiday and therefore could not pay her rent).

The past rent check, for November, came back as she did not have sufficient funds to cover it.

I called her, twice her son said she was out and I should call back a few hours later. The third time I left a voice mail with a detailed message for her to please call me asap, to see if we could resolve the situation. No response.

I sent two letters to her as well, threatening her with eviction if she does not pay last month and the December's rent. One by ordinary mail, one by certified mail.

I called again today, all three her phones are disconnected.

I called a lawyer, he will take the case and serve her with an eviction notice - it will cost us $300 per hour. The county will only give $300 lawyers fees in total for us to be reimbursed by her (that is, if she even has money).

It seems we are in for a rough ride here. Anywone with advice/experience?

Regards

Christa

[Horse with no Name]

1. Glad you have the stomach to evict someone during the holidays

I sure wouldn't.
Do you think that just perhaps she may have lost her job or been downsized?
Not that that is your problem, because it isn't. However, our economy isn't exactly robust.
Seems you might go talk to her face-to-face, find out what the trouble is and if there is any way you might can help. Even in re-locating.
Seems an attorney will cost more than one hour (you are naive to think otherwise), then you will also have to pay a process server, court costs, etc.
Maybe if you actually talk to her, you can just get her to move or make other arrangements on the rent without saddling yourself or her with additional costs that most likely neither of you have.

[Nictuku]

13. You may not need an attorney

While California law might be a bit different than the state you are in, here is what I know about it:

If you have a lease agreement with the tenant, then that will dictate what the terms are for non-payment.

With no lease signed, it then falls to state law.

To evict someone for non payment of rent, you first must submit to her a Pay or Quit notice.

This basically says: Pay the full ammount within 3 days, or move out (and not owe).


The amount of money owed on the pay or quit should all be legally owed to you (i.e. November and December rent).

Post this notice on the door, and mail a certified copy to her (where the post office certifies delivery).

If she 'quits' in 3 days, your troubles are over (although you eat it for the 2 months), but that is better than a prolonged eviction with potential attorneys fees, as well as more loss of income due to non payment of rent.

Note: Do not accept any partial payment, or check (that might bounce), as that will invalidate the Pay or Quit notice and you will have to start again, with whatever amount is still owed.

Once the 3 days passes, and if she doesn't pay, then you can legally start eviction procedures which involves filing a claim with the court. This is where you might need to get some legal advice. Usually the pay or quit notice gets the tenants attention.

You should be able to find Pay or Quit notices in stationary stores, ,but I imagine they are available on the internet now.

It sucks that it is Christmas time, but by the tenant not paying, it also effects the financial standing of the landlord.

Good luck.

[Horse with no Name]

14. I agree.

Was just saying that "I" couldn't do it.
As I also said..her tenants problems are not her problems.
Something needs to be done--was just hoping that talking to her would save some money in the long run.
Pay or quit sounds ideal.

[Christa]

16. I googled the timeframe for NJ

New Jersey = Must accept rent any time up to the date of the trial; 30 Days.

So she has 30 days to pay, as I understand it.
http://linkspiders.com/Free_Lists/free/pay_or_quit_notice_time_frames.htm

I can buy the pay or quit notice on this site as well.

I am doing a crash course on landlord/tenant laws here ... thanks to each and everyone of you.

[MUAD_DIB]

2. It's time to get a lawyer if you want them out.

It will cost you, unfortunatrely, but if you go about it then the tenant can always say that you are threatening them and then it could get ugly.

You do not want to have to go to court if they try to sue you over some technicality. It happens.



Let's just say I have a friend that is going through the same thing right now. Don't go it alone. It could hurt you more that way.

[Syncronaut Seven]

3. Round these parts, most will file to evict within 7 days of past due.

Don't think they hire lawyers. If the property is in good order, it's a very cut and dried process.

If there are maintenance issues, they have to prove that they made requests to get things fixed.

4 out of 5 tenants fail to even show for the hearing.

I'm not a lawyer. Don't feel like a hard ass. Chances are, with that many lame excuses, your tenants may be professional deadbeats.

Good luck!

[Syncronaut Seven]

4. On edit:

Large apartment complexes do several every month. Maybe you can tap a rental manager for advice.

[Christa]

6. Thanks

The lawyer I spoke me, told me it takes 30 days just to get a court date.

[Christa]

5. Thanks for the replies

We currently live in NC, so going there is out of the question.

I have no qualms eviction people over the holidays, it's not my problem; in the meantime I am paying the mortgage, whilst they live for free. I am willing to talk to them to see if we can resolve the situation; if I can only get her on the phone.

It will cost us a lot of money - we are not protected as much as tenants are.

It's all about responsibility - I am willing to listen if she wants to talk. Avoiding me is not going to rectify the sorry situation.

[SharonAnn]

8. We had to evict someone and hired a lawyer to do it. Got tired of all the

excuses and had a few fleeting moments of feeling bad for them, but the basics were that they didn't pay the rent. And, as you point out, we were still paying the mortgage.

They said they would leave in 30 days, but I found that if they didn't and I hadn't filed for eviction, the clock wouldn't start until I filed. So we filed and they got out. We had some damage to repair but it was manageable and the house was much nicer after that. We ended up doing more changes and putting the house up for sale so we came out OK. Made a little money, lost a little sleep.

We had thought we'd rent the place until we retired and then would use it as a summer home. It helped us focus on our retirement plans and the final conclusion was that we wouldn't really use it as a summer home.

You may have to file for eviction to get the clock started and you probably can't get them out until after the holidays anyway. But start now!

[Nite Owl]

11. You are right it is all about

responsibility and considering that they had the funds to pay for a family vacation in lieu of rent you should not be the one to feel bad about this. I would think that if they were sincere that they would have contacted you with a vaild reason for being consistently late. If it were sickness or some other real problem I could see being understanding but to ignor an obligation makes it totally acceptable to evict them if need be.

[elehhhhna]

7. Won't help you now but advice for the future--

smarted landlord I ever met made a point of making an appointment & visiting the prospective tenant's current apartment before signing the lease.

Taking a look at how people live helps prevent surprises down the road--may not help you determine if they'll pay rent on time but can't hurt...

Just a thought.

The whole "evicting them at Christmas" thing is actually the tenat's problem, btw. If she was making a good faith effort to even CONTACT you I suspect you'd be happy to consider some flexibility. Odds are they'll be gone in the night soon, anyway.

[Christa]

9. School money

I will do a lot of things different, should we go this road again.

She had such glowing references from her bosses, (she is a part time real estate agent and a teacher) that I was totally blinded. They lived with the inlaws while they were "looking for a house in the schooldistrict", after they sold their own home.

$500 retainer (for a start), is a LOT of money for us though, although it seems we won't have a choice. :scared:

On top of that we pay that mortgage as well as rent where we live now.

It will be a dismal holiday season.

[Kashka-Kat]

10. Make her an offer--allow her to leave NOW and not owe you anything

for NOv. or Dec. But... if she stays beyond thus-and-such date then she owes you Nov., Dec., Jan. (plus whatever the lease agreement states) and you will take her to court. I read this advice somewhere and it made sense--otherwise the expense and headache to get someone out could end up being even more.

I rent my downstairs to tenants and have been lucky-you need to really SCREEN & check refs, and get co-signers if theres the least bit of uncertainty. However I'm lucky to live in a good rental market, imagine it might not be so easy in other places. Good luck!

PS I wouldn't worry too much about it being Xmas esp if I was to give her 2 mo. rent free. I can't speak for the real estate speculators and big time landlords, I have a rental unit bc I could not afford a house otherwise (being a single F of low/moderate income). The rental income does not cover half of the mortgage and expenses (I've done a TON of repairs), and I simply cannot afford to carry anyone else, no matter what their reason ... it's a business relationship, that's all. I owe nothing more than to be cordial & fair in my dealings with the renter.

[Christa]

12. All the replies mean a lot to me, thank you so much

I am in such a state of worry here - we are just getting back on our feet after my husband lost his job which was located in the WTC. We thought renting the house out would be like a savings account while we relocated to where it's cheaper to live than NJ. Now it feels like a pit swallowing our money.

Thanks everyone.

[Geoff R. Casavant]

15. You might want to shop around for attorneys

$300 an hour is pretty high for a run of the mill eviction. I expect you may be able to find an attorney who hasn't been practicing as long who can do it for half that rate.

[Christa]

17. Update

Last night at about 10pm the tenant called me.

She has a lot of excuses; her aunt and uncle was sick, died, and she had to help with the funeral costs. Also she has 2 car to make payments on, it's Christmas time ans she had to buy gifts.

I told her as I did not hear from her at all, I called an attorney, and he wants to start eviction procedures.

She then said she wil try and get last month's rent by this weekend, and does not know when she will have the rent for December.

In the meantime we pay the $1800 mortgage, we pay the rent where we currently live, we have one car which is 9 years old, we budgeted for small gifts this year.

I told her I need both rent payments by the end of this week. I feel she should not make her problems mine.