Tenant Problems
I am a duplex owner in the inner city. I had a property management company taking care of the property for me that originally screened the tenants. I had to fire the management company for breaching contract. Both tenants are on re-signed month to month ****Must Reach Senior Investor status before posting URL's***he downstairs tenant is great, and I have had no problems collecting the rent. The upstairs family I agreed to let them pay twice per month. It is in writing on the lease. $225 on the 7th and $225 on the 22nd for a total of $450 owed. I showed up Oct 7th to collect the first of $225 and they gave me $200, and promised to give me the $250 on the 22nd. I show up on the 22nd to get my $250 and they hand me $150 and tell me grandma is sick and my husband lost his job, blah, blah blah. SO i immediately told them that I was issuing a 5 day notice to cure or leave. I had the notice notarized and delivered it to them THAT day in person. They read it and off I went . I call on the 27th and ask them I am going to need the $100 they owe me or they will have to leave... so they now say they will have the money this Friday, which would satisfy their requirement of giving me the full rent for the month, but would not be true to the 5 day note I delivered. In wisconsin I believe you can give them a 14 day or 28 notice to get out. I am sure November 7th, that they will again pull the no rent-late rent deal with me. I really do want them to leave now, but wondered if I take the $100 from them on Friday, do I lose my right to force them from the property. Any Ideas ? 
Pay them $xxx to move out and you will be money ahead in the long run. What you've seen is their best behaviour.
You are on the horns of the dil again. It really depends on you. Do you want to play social worker? Are they worth it? Or would you just like them out and try for a better tenant? These are judgment calls and nobody can help you. I have been in this situation many times. Sometimes you can help but then again you can not. If the shortages are cause by lack of family planning, sometimes that can be corrected. That is if you want the headache.
Its a matter of temperament. Frankly nobody can advise you. You might check the Landlord/Tenant rules of your state so that you know the legality of the situation. It varies. Right now we have a 60 day notice requirement and that changes the amount of deposit you must obtain at execution of lease or rental agreement.
Cheers Lucius
Thank you for the replies. As I was writing the 5 day notice to give to them...the tenant asks me if I can call the cable company, because they want to get cable !!!?????
Can't pay their rent, but want to get cable TV. They keep their heat at like 85 degrees (they pay their own heat) and then are telling me they can't afford to pay the utility bill cause its $600 bucks.
As much as I don't want to force a couple and their 85 year old mother out into the street. I forsee them living in their car in a matter of weeks. hopefully.
It is probably different in Wisconsin than here in California. Here we have three day notices. Almost certainly if you take the money after your 5-day you have voided the 5-day. We also have to file a law suit called an unlawful detainer if they don't relinquish the property after 3 days. If I win, then the sheriff is called to physically remove them. You will likely get them out sooner with your 5-day than you will with the longer term notice. We used to have 30 day notices that can be given with no reason. You might want to check to see that there are no "just cause eviction" ordinances in Milwaukee if you go with the longer term notice. In CA cities where they have them, these are not fun and very expensive.
You may know most of this already, but if not, I hope that this is of some help.
Regards,
Ed
Check your local laws because none of this might be applicable to your location.
If the tenants are month to month and you're feeling particularly generous, take the money they owe you and give them a month's notice to move out. If you're not feeling generous, then don't take the money if it's past the five days, and demand that they vacate the place now. You then have a choice, you can either evict them, bribe them to leave, or threaten them. Going to court is a long process, can be costly, and you might eventually get only remnants of what was once a nice apartment. Bribing is the easiest way to go, but a savvy tenant might see that you're desperate and hold you up for more money. By threaten I mean let them know that you'll go to court, ruin their credit, garner their wages, etc. But if this is an inner city apartment, this tactic might not work. In any case, once they vacate, you can withhold the unpaid portion of their rent from their security deposit.
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