I am getting ready to buy from a land lord who has fell behind on payments, because his tenants have not been paying rent. The land lord is going to sign all my docs in which i will technically become the new owner, I intend to immediately sell the property to anyone in my buyers list. Naturally I would like the tenants out the day the property becomes mine, Will I have to go through the eviction process, or by law does the tenants have to move. I believe they are section 8, not sure though.
Thanks in advance
You are stuck with the lease, and they will be on a lease if they are Section 8.
You can evict them for non-payment, or you can pay them to move.
Paying a Section 8 to move might be iffy. In some areas, no one will take them, so they don’t have any place to move to. If there are other Section 8 rentals, your tenants, living on welfare would probably be happy to accept cash to move out, especially if you have already served eviction papers on them.
In some states you can have the current landlord serve eviction notice so the clock is ticking while you go through escrow. Check out that possibility.
Don’t give cash for move-out until they are out, their stuff is out, and you have the keys in your hands, Plus a signed release from the tenant stating they are returning the rental to you.
Thanks tatertot for the insight…I have heard different things:
I have heard if their lease is up by the time I purchase, they have to go
I heard that they have to go no matter what, beacuse its a new owner.
With sec 8, they say if u go to the sec 8 office and showproof of new ownership, they’ll usually honor it.
I’m going to figure this out.
The tenants havnt been paying any rent, so how long would the eviction process be for me, since I will be the new owner. Shouldnt I be able to get them out immediately
Unless there is a clause, a contract is a contract. Let’s assume the tenants are good tenants and pay their rent on time, and a new owner comes in and just wants to throw them out. Is that right that they signed a contract for a year, expecting to stay in their home for at least a year so long as they abide by the terms in the lease?
Check the LL/tenant laws in your state. Checking that and probably talking to the people at the courthouse who deal with evictions should tell you if you can have them out the week after you take ownership or if you’ll still be trying to kick them out 3 months after you have the property.
Leases are normally transferred and enforced after the change of ownership if there is a term remaining. You, however, have tenants who have broken the lease by not paying.
Chris and Justin, thanks a lot for the info…I just found out that the tenants do not have a lease, and they have not paid rent in months, so my guess is when I become the owner, I shouldnt have any delays in getting them out.
It shouldn’t be an issue then, but I’ve heard crazier stories!
Tenenats don’t pay rent with section 8, the government does.
The only caveat to that is there are some people that pay part of their rent and the gov’t pays the rest.
By now I’m sure you’ve realized the tenants have to be served with an eviction notice, taken to court, etc etc.
Here’s an idea though: Why don’t you get started on the eviction NOW? Make that part of your sales contract, that the tenants must be served with an eviction notice immediately, and the landlord has to file in rent court for eviction as soon as the tenants’ allowed period has passed?
Otherwise you’ll lose at least a month evicting them, and you’ll lose out on a LOT of purchase price when you go to flip the property with deadbeat tenants in it.
Cheers,
I hope the guy you’re buying from has these tenants on a written lease. If so, check it out. My lease states that my tenants have to keep the house/apt. clean, keep noise low, etc. as well as pay rent on time. If they aren’t following some of the points of the lease, it doesn’t matter if they’re Section 8 or not. You can evict them just like any other tenant.
Check out the current lease and see what it involves…
Good luck!
In general, when you buy the property at a fair market transaction, you inherit all the leases and any “breach rights” then and there. I would definitely have them served with papers… TODAY. The change in ownership of the property shouldn’t change the eviction in any way.
If that transaction comes with the likes of a foreclosure (or short sale) then you CAN evict without notice, and depending on the state either YOU or the previous landlord is guilty of disturbing the “warranty of quiet enjoyment”. This applies to more than just real estate.
I know this because I had a “Lease Purchased” Tractor-Trailer at one point in my life in which the company defaulted on the underlying purchace contract. I lost outright My 25k in effective equity and had the rig reposessed. Had a hell of a legal case, and was entitled to every bit of my money as well, but I could never collect as the company went into chapter 7. Having been the “tenant” on a bit of property that was foreclosed on by a banking institution… I KNOW the new landlord can in fact evict regardless… with impunity if the sale is forced.