I’m currently handling my first eviction. I filed the papers with the court and have a court date of 8/15 but since I’ve done the current tenants have had a drug dealer who owes them money try to kill them with a fire bomb that in my luck didn’t go off. Then they had a mattress on fire in the garage that the fire dept had to come put out because they were too high to realize what was going on. So what my question is when I get to court is the judge going to give them more time to leave the premises or will be immediately? I just them out and my property in one piece.
Thanks in advance
Just wanted to ad a ? here also and that is will the tenant receive the court date if he no longer lives in my home? I don’t know where they moved to but I do know where he works. Can I send him a summons at work or is that done by a sheriff? How will I know if he got his court date? What is the name of the paper that shows what the court date is? Sorry for all the ?'s Just trying to handle this myself without a lawyer and I have all the forms. I already gave them the summons paper and all papers that go before that. So do I file the summons and is this how they get notified of court date and how long does it take to go to court after summons?
Cakeaholic,
Everything depends on your state law. If you are not familiar with the eviction procedure in your area, saving the attorney fees may be the costliest mistake you’ve ever made. In Ohio, when you file the eviction with the court, the court notifies the tenant of the court date. In my area, they try to serve them in person, send them a certified letter, and hang the notice on the doorknob. If the tenant doesn’t show up on the court date, you win. Assuming that you win in court, your state law will once again dictate how long they have to leave. Here in Ohio, the court MUST do the setout (kick them out) within 10 days (it could be the next day or it could be day 10).
Partridge,
Again, you need to KNOW your local law and your lease. If the tenant has abandoned the property without paying the rent, you may be able to repossess the house based on abandonment. I would strongly suggest either getting another SUCCESSFUL landlord to help you or getting a lawyer. If you make a mistake, it will cost you dearly when your eviction is thrown out of court.
Good Luck,
Mike
Property Manager,
Where is the best place to find the current laws for my local area and Michigan?
Monnchew,
You can do a google search for “Michigan Tenant-Landlord Laws” and find your state law. I would talk to a local lawyer or a SUCCESSFUL landlord at your REIA for the specific eviction procedure to follow for your local area.
Mike
Thanks for the response propertymanager. I took your advice and contacted my attorney and he is going to handle the rest of the eviction.
I’m glad I did so also because the neighbors told me yesterday they had a guy over there yesterday taking pictures of the property and she was asking neighbors to make false statements against me. I’m not sure why the nerve of these people surprises me but it still does. All I can do now is chalk this up as another life lesson.
We do about 1 eviction a month here (Phoenix) so I am on a first name basis with our judge here 
Anyway the one thing I can tell you from my experience is that if you do this rather than an attorney, judges tend to be more lenient towards the landlord. But they expect you to follow your local statutes to the letter.
Also judges LOVE photographs. If you are including some form of material breach in your lawsuit, have plenty of photos available to show the judge what you are talking about. Without them, its all subjective to the judge.
The one thing you might find an advantage in using an attorney is that you don’t have to deal directly with the tenant in the courtroom. They can be intimidating, and that walk out to the parking lot after you win the case can be a bit scary, knowing the tenant is likely to be fuming at that time. They normally don’t direct their anger towards an attorney, but they do towards the owner/landlord.
Good luck, and hope you win.
V
I had my court date yesterday and it went good I won. They had a legal aid attorney represent them but she didn’t do much for them except get on my nerves. I did have an attorney present on my behalf and I was glad I did once I say the scumbag legal aid.
Thanks again for all the responses,
Cake