Help On Tentant That Never Moved In?
WEll this tenants that I had that was supposed to move in 8/1/05. They signed a lease around 7/5/05. Which started on 8/1/05 and went on for a year.
On 7/29/05 the tenants entered the property, through which he said was a open door.(I still had and have possesion of the unit,keys and such). So he basically entered without my permission illegally.
He went in and checked the carpet ad other stuff. He then called me up the next day and said that he didnt like the carpet and that the screen door wasnt up and that some painting hasnt been done. He also stated that the place was still full of flees. He said he wasnt moving in and that he wanted his deposit back.
The next day I went over there and there was no fleas, which I havent seen one since i replaced the carpet and padding and fumegated the place. Talked to the lady next door , which he stated that she saw all the flees. She didnt even mention anything about flees, just that he said he didnt like the carpet and some other stuff.
Also he wasnt supposed to move in till 8/1/05 and I had planned on finishing the place up before then.
I dont want to give him back his deposit since he broke the lease. Does he have anything to stand on to fight against me that he deserves the deposit???
Thanks For the help
Matt
You can try being firm and telling him that you both signed a lease and that he will owe you for the term of the lease. That you will file a default on his credit and sue him in small claim court ... blah blah blah. If he does not budge and refuses to move in, then you need to see what your lease and your state laws say about abandonment or not taking possession. You do not want to spend the time and money to evict him from an empty apartment. If your lease or state laws do not give you an out, then you will probably have to evict him before you can rerent the apartment. If that is the case, then you might consider giving him back his part of his deposit if he signs a termination of elase. As long as there is a lease, you can not rent it to someone else.
Well he is going nuts he called me today. Making empty threats of lawyers and fire department. This guy is a nut job.
I am thinking maybe just give it back to him to just put this behind me??
Matt
Thanks guys.
I think thats what I am going to do.
New to the board and already a great help.
I recently had a similar situation, although no nut cases. It was a situation where a new tenant could not occupy the unit because of loss of job. He signed a termination of lease and was held to the terms of the lease that he was responsible for costs of finding a replacement tenant and the rent until a new tenant is in place.
If you have receipts for the fumigation, carpet pads, etc. and a written note from the neighboring tenant that the flea problem is no more, you should be in pretty good shape.
Best to just move on and refund the deposite and have hime sign the termination papers.
[ Edited by alexlev on Date 08/08/2005 ]
I will be attending and will bring along 2 other
friends. I will commute between Raleigh and
Greensboro.
Hope to see you all.
-Krish
A question for Joel,
1)How do you get the eviction notice from court on
day-15?
In VA, it takes almost over 3 weeks after filing
for an Unlawful detainer, which is the first step
after the tenant has defaulted and the 5-day payorquit
is served.
2)Also how do you trigger the small claims action thru
the sherrif?
3)Lastly, are you not worried about the tenants having
your bank account #? I guess its your business
account #.
Thanks
Krish
the $131 is the replacement value, not the market value. Should it burn to the ground, that is the figure they are saying is needed to rebuild the same house; however, no one would ever build a $131k house in the location of the property.
my personal residence is the same - the replacement value they put on the house is about 3x the market value
If I were you I woul change Insurance Agents. If you read your policy carefully I bet you will see " up to the replacement cost" and not the value they have put on your property. By setting a high value they also get you for higher premium. These are called unethical tactics and they get away with it unless you stop them.
Thanks. My policies are through ForeMost. The replacement values are totally out of sync w/ the market values. Seems there should be a happy medium.
This may help, too.
http://www.thecreativeinvestor.com/modules.php?name=Articles&file=article&articleid=438
[addsig]
Most likely, after tomorrow they will be on a month to month lease. If the annual lease expires, it is usually implied that the lease is carried over, but it is now month to month. I see no reason to not accept their rent.
So if they sign nothing, they are on a month to month lease until you both sign a new lease, you give them property notice to move out (usually 30 days) or they give you proper notice to move out (usually 30 days.).
How much security deposit did they pay. Do you have before and after pictures of the hardwood floors, or do you have their move in condition documented? How bad are the floors?
Brenda
I dont have pictures of the floors when they moved in. The area that goes from the door out about 10 feet to the lving room---high traffic area---is worn to bare wood.
Dogs have non-retractable claws that are tough on hardwood floors. You accepted renters with dogs, so you must be prepared to accept the current condition of the property as normal wear and tear for nearly 5 years of pet use.
Since you effectively "waived" the pet deposit by allowing the tenants to use it for rent, you just have to chalk up this experience as an expensive education in landlording to tenants with pets.
Figure out what you did wrong this time and correct your business practices. May be easier to just have a "no pets" rule in your lease from this point forward
Have to agree with NEWKID - you are SOL on the floors.
If yoiu are dead set about getting them out for fear of non-rent - accept the rent and give them 30 days.
However, you also need to assess the likelyhood they will find a house, close and move within the next 6/8 months. Especially since they have been renting for 4 years
At this point you do not have much choice. Agree to a month to month providing they make up for the deposit they used up. Tomorrow, collect the rent plus the depsosit that will take care of the floors. Get couple of estimates in case is more than your deposit and make them agree to increase the deposit to the estimate if it is more. Assuming they have been good in paying the rent on time you have nothing to loose. In case they do not agree to the above then collect the rent and on the left hand have a letter ready titled
" 30 Day Notice to Vacate" The minute you leave go to the bank the check is issued and get the cash.
There are a few things that you, hopefully, will learn from this.
1) Do not allow pets in units where there is hardwood flooring.
2) Never let a tenant use security deposit to pay rent.
3) It is worthwhile spending time to develop a strong lease.
We have all had our bumps with tenants. The good news is that in the long run you should find that the headaches are not too heavy a price to pay for what your investment in real estate will do for you.
Good luck,
Ed
Update--they have not signed a lease, nor will they. They still live in the home, as I have not evicted them. As far as the floors go, they offered to get a few estimates, and contact me. They do not feel they should pay for the entire resanding of the hardwood floors, they said they might consider paying for a certain percentage of the damage. I dont think they will though. And TO RAY: I do not have a security deposit, or a dog deposit, they used that a few years ago for rent, and I never bothered to ask them to replenish it.