On May 8th I moved out of my primary residence and renter the house to a guy. He paid me first months rent of $1000 and also a $1000 deposit. Next month comes and his check bounces for Junes rent I attempt to make contact and he doesnât answer his phone and never returns my calls.
Finally on the 4th of July I leave a 3 day notice to evict. Now I am going through the process of eviction, yesterday I filed my complaint and the summons in forcible entry and unlawful detainer and got my court date for July 27th. I canât believe what a painful process is.
Finally yesterday I track him down at his job and speak to him. He says the reason he hasnât contacted me is because he has filed for bankruptcy and the court told him not to. Is this true???
My main question is am I going to be able to get him out after we go to court or is the bankruptcy going to allow him to stay even longer?
Any other advice on other action I can take? I feel totally helpless right now and that thereâs absolutely nothing I can do.
He is also breaking the lease agreement because he now has two dogs that he said he didnât have at my property. What can and should I do about this? I asked him about this and he said that when I served the eviction notice I entered the house (which I didnât put just placed it in the door as it was unlocked) so he got the dogs to protect the house.
If you donât know what to do find a real estate lawyer that is familiar with the laws of your state. This seems to be getting more complex by the minute and a good lawyer might be exactly what you need to get it back into check and get this guy out asap. Donât forget, every month u are down $1000 and the faster you get him out the cheaper it will be. Paying a lawyer $1000 to get him out in a few less months will be a net gain. Also, donât forget that screwing up even a small bit of paperwork might set the clock back to zero causing you to possibly lose even more time (and money). Get a lawyer to help you on this one so you can learn from a pro, call it a education if you need to justify the expense.
Defiantly get a lawyer.
I had to evict a tenant a few years ago. Went to a RE lawyer, flat fee of $2K. Tenant was out in 60 days. had i tried to do it myself She would still be squatting in my apartment.
NYC. Bronx
Maybe it is a little high, but he did everything. I made one phone call, wrote him a check and the lawyer took care of every single step of the process. the $2K cover the lawyers fee, the court fees, the City marshal (eviction) lock change, and a moving co to vacate the apartment of everything the tenet left behind.
What you have described is not a nightmare yet. In fact, thatâs just a normal eviction. A nightmare is when the tenant plugs all the drains and turns the water on full blast, knocks holes in every wall, and pours concrete down the drains. You made a mistake in waiting until July 4th to post the 3 day notice. The very day that a tenant is late with the rent or a check bounces, you should post the 3-day notice. Did you screen this tenant? If you didnât do a thorough credit check and criminal background check, you made another mistake.
The bottom line is that you canât do anything about this except go to court. In Ohio, the bankruptcy wouldnât help him. However, in the Peopleâs Republic of Colorado, the answer may be different. You MUST get an experienced real estate attorney if you want to end this. Get one today! An attorney for a simple eviction certainly shouldnât cost $2,000. My attorney charges $150 plus the court costs.
After the court proceedings, you should be able to get this loser out and you will be able to get a judgment from him if you wish, however the judgement wonât be worth the paper itâs written on. Get this scumbag out and move on. Study the law in your state; join your local REIA; and learn proper landlording techniques before you get another tenant.
GRRRR!! I hate liars and deadbeats!! Having said that - by all means do what others here have said and get an attorney! Specifically, get a lawyer who practices bankruptcy law - bankruptcy court local rules and procedures are a different sort of animal.
Iâm not an attorney nor do I play one on TV, but I can assure you that your deadbeat is lying to youâŚThere is not a bankruptcy court in the country that 1) would give a debtor specific legal advice and 2) would advise against informing a creditor (you) of a filing. Assuming your deadbeat isnât simply lying about having filed, heâs obligated to list all his creditors so that any/all Notices can be sent to them. (If he doesnât, he risks having the case dismissed.)
Again, get a bankruptcy lawyer - theyâre familar with that area of law, will have knowledge of local rules and will likely even know your deadbeatâs counsel, assuming heâs not lying and isnât pro se. Youâll need to file a Proof of Claim to establish the debt and gain standing w/ the Court and thereâll be a deadline to do so, known as the âbar dateâ after which a claim might not be allowed. Things will vary somewhat thereafter depending on what was filed, i.e. a 13 or a 7. I believe that in either case, a creditor has to receive âadequate protection.â Further, if the debtor wants to keep the house, car, etc., theyâll have to reaffirm the debt w/in the bankruptcy - in other words, he canât live for free or drive for free.
Thanks for all of the advice guys. This morning I met with an attorney that specializes in eviction. Sounds like I have made all of the necessary steps to get this jerk out of there unfortunately it still takes time and that is costing me a lot of money that I canât really afford to lose.
Next Friday I have my court date to see if I can get a judgment but the bankruptcy adds another layer to the mess. We have a bankruptcy hot line to check to see if he has filed yet and I couldnât find any record of his bankruptcy, so again I think he is just lying. But, if he files between now and getting my judgment I will have to petition with the bankruptcy court for a Relief of Stay and that can take a while also.
A huge piece of advice I have learned the hard way. SCREEN SCREEN SCREEN YOUR TENANTS. I was in a big hurry and was so happy to get someone in the house I didnât do my due diligence and now I am paying a huge price. A $20 background check and credit check would have saved me thousands of dollars. Thatâs what they call being penny wise and pound foolish and hopefully I will quit making these mistakes.
I thought this REI stuff was supposed to make me money? :biggrin I will keep pluggin along though. Thanks again everyone.
Sean - glad to read you consulted an attorney, as well as having determined that the deadbeat was in fact lying - now you have no shred of doubt as to who/what youâre dealing with.
As far as a potential BKCY filing goes, please follow your own advice and donât be âpenny-wise and pound foolishâ again - make sure you retain a bankruptcy (BKCY) attorney! I canât emphasize that enough⌠BKCY law is a different animal! You write that if thereâs a filing, youâll have to file a Motion to Lift Stay. Thatâs correct, but the only way you can get to that point is if you are an allowed creditor in the BKCY case and the only way to do that is to file a Proof of Claim (PoC) w/ proper documentation (the executed lease) supporting the PoC. The deadbeat could file a Motion to deny the claim or later on, to deny Relief from Stay, etc., etcâŚ
Iâd be surprised if an attorney specializing in evictions has more than passing knowledge from their law school days about BKCY law (and unless they graduated from law school more recently than 2005, they may have antiquated knowledge - the BKCY code has been changed in many areas, as of 2004!)
The court didnât tell him not to contact youâŚCourts donât give legal adviceâŚHe lied about that partâŚHis attorney may have told him that, but then he would have said his attorney told him not to contact youâŚI wonder if this guy has an attorney and if he really filed a bankruptcyâŚor maybe heâs trying to file it himselfâŚ
you can do a credit check in advance and prob. more important is to get some references from prev. owners from whom he was renting⌠but as long as he has money for first last and 1 mo. security you are in pretty good shape . Ii have found most people that have that much money arent usually gonna rip you off in the future
Plus meet both husband and wife before you rent to them.
You develop over time the instincts to tell the good from the bad.
Dont rent to the first one that shows up. be selective and never allow pets⌠especially cats!!
If you want to be in the rental biz you have to take some risks but you can minimize the risk as much as possible.
good luck in the future
qnd if this happens again you can go to the local court and they usually can help you with the needed paperwork to do an eviction yoursrelf !!
You do need to get a lawyer, but bankruptcy gives him relief from his debtors. You are not a debtor. You have not extended him credit. If he cannot pay rent because of a bankruptcy he can also go into a grocery store and walk out without paying for his bread. He has to pay you are get out.
I attempt to make contact and he doesnât answer his phone and never returns my calls.