Eviction: Here We Go..
I made a HUGE mistake...
I am just starting the eviction process with one of my tenants. They have been in my home for 2 months and its time for them to go. Whats unusual about these tenants is they are brutally honest. They know it takes quite a bit of time to get evicted because they just had it happen. (long story)
Anyway they have made it clear they are going to buy their time out. Their is an issue that has just happened where the plumbing slowly drains. If the washer runs it will literally spew onto the floor versus in the drainage. This just appeared tonight and I had my maintenance guy remove the hoses from the washer so they wont use it. To fix the problem I think its gonna require a good plumber and $200-$300.
The question is- can I legally leave it that way so that its a nuisnace for them since they are not paying the rent anyway? Their security deposit is pretty much going to be eaten up because the month is nearly over. Of course I dont want the issue to create damage to the home but I think in this case its just bothersome..
any advice.
You admit you have made a mistake. What were your mistakes, and how will you learn from this experience? How will you change your tenant screening practices in the future to avoid a recurrence of this situation. What was the qualifying criteria that your tenant failed or that you ignored?
Refusing to fix something to annoy the tenants will just cost you more money in the long run and weaken your eviction case. Make the repairs without further delay.
I did fix the problem right away. Fortunately the tenants left the property w/o me having to go any further.
The big mistake I made in all of this was that I rented the home to someone several months ago (who was going thru a messy divorce). After a month of being in the home the tenant had asked me if she could bring in a roomate until her divorce was finalized and stopped paying mortgage on a home that her husband occupied. (Weird situation and I didnt ask many questions). She brought the roomate in and all was well for a month. After the month was up she learned that she was bale to get back into the house she owned however & wanted out of the lease. She in turn tells me the new roomate and her boyfriend would like to take over the lease. In wanting to get it wrapped up quick and help her out, I created a NEW lease versus an addendum to the existing lease. So at that point old GOOD tenant was gone and new BAD tenant remained. Several weeks later I would find out the bad news.
So Yeah I definitely learned off it. ugh>