Evictions

work2bfree · 01-08-2008, 03:13 AM

I am new to real estate investment. I started back in October of 2006. I own 6 real estate properties. Four of the properties are single family homes and are lease-purchases; which is the same as rent-to-own. One of the properties is a single family home and is a rental. The last one is a triplex.

I am currently going through an eviction with tenant. She is 2 months late on her rent. She signed up for the lease-purchase. Her lease was almost up, at which point she would have been able to buy the home, but she is unable to. This means that she has lost the money she put down on the home, which is usually 3%-5% of the price of the home.

Her lease is up at then end of January and since she has not paid rent for 2 months, I am evicting her. This is my first time evicting someone. I am working with a real estate attorney and it looks like the eviction is going to take place this Saturday. I am going to have to call the Sheriff.

The home is a very nice home in a pretty good part of the neighborhood. Because I have been having problems with my apartment complex, I have decided to move into this home and stay for about a year or so.

I am telling you this because real estate investment can be a lucrative business, I make about $2000.00 a month as cashflow from my properties, but it is definitely not a business for the faint of heart. You have to be sure that you have money set aside for situations; such as this. I do have the money, but would prefer to not spend the money on dealing with poor tenants. I did check her credit and it was good.

As we all know, when you are learning about owning a business, you will make many mistakes. This is part of growing. It is said that the difference between successful people and unsuccessful people is that successful people have more failures.

What am I learning from this situation? Even though this tenant had good credit, it is best to rent to those who have a job and are not living off of social security. This tenant is living off social security. What makes this difficult is that if she had a job, I could have the money taken out of her check each month to pay for what she owes me. But, if someone is on disability or social security, I cannot have any money taken out of her check. My only option is to sue her and put this on her credit report.

Now, my other concern is to be sure that she does not do any damage to my property. If she does, the estimate I get for the repairs, will also be added to her credit report. I may not get my money back, but she will be hurtin' if she should try to rent or purchase a home.

Real estate investing is definitely not for the faint of heart, but I do love it. It is very challenging and I look forward to growing and getting better at it.

Thanks for letting me share....

racheldarcy · 02-27-2008, 09:14 AM

Thank you for the interesting information. It often seems that being a landlord is an easy income but this shiws that this is not always the case.

pendelton · 02-27-2008, 02:54 PM

Do you feel bad when you have to evict someone? I know, odd question, but I was a manager of an extended stay motel, which, with guests living there for a year or more, kind of makes them tenets, and then they could not pay I had to have them leave. The worst two. The women with three kids, the kids were pretty good, but mom was trash, I felt bad for the kids. The guy that had more medical problems than some small hospitals deal with in ten patience.

It is sad/rough to have to do it, but it is your source of income, so you have to do it, or have the bank do the same to you.

work2bfree · 02-28-2008, 02:29 AM

In this case, I have to say no I did not feel bad. At first I did, but I found out some things recently about this tenant. She had not paid her electrice, gas, or any other bill in quite a while. She was not even living in the home. How can you live in a home without heat, gas, or water?

In addition, she tried to pay her rent with a check that she knew was bad. Everytime she paid her rent, she was never home. She told me to come in through the side door and pickup the check off the table. Now, I see why.

She was not a decent person. This is a nice home and she did not take care of the home. When I moved into the property, the home had a bad smell. That smell is gone now. The home was filthy. I am glad she is gone.

My goal is to stay here for about 2 years, and it could be less, then either sell it or do a rent to own.

pendelton · 02-28-2008, 05:57 AM

CFD all the way baby! Good luck, and I understand the change of heart too, when you learn more about people you wonder why you flet bad in the beginning.

work2bfree · 03-05-2008, 02:37 AM

Yes, I have to say that tenants are one of the hardest things about owning rental properties. it is so hard to find good tenants these days.

I have rented apartments and homes and I was never the way these people are. The often complain about the smallest things. I lived in apartments where I am paying more than my tenants and I still have problems in my apartment, but I don't act as badly as they and I respect the property I am in.

It is a struggle now with the real estate investment business because it is all new to me. But, once I learn and get better at this, it will be less of a problem. I am hoping to move to commercial properties at some point. I hope to do so near the end of this year or the beginning of next year.

moneymaker4 · 03-13-2008, 01:47 AM

The tenants are by far the hardest part to deal with when it comes to homes. When you go to court with them, they always get the benefit of the doubt. Work2bfree, your going to have a very long eviction case. When you are able to get a eviction judgment from the judge, it takes at least 2 months from there. I feel for you.

work2bfree · 03-13-2008, 03:19 AM

I usually give a tenant 5 days grace period. Once past that 5 day grace period, I begin the eviction process. This one started in the early part of December. She tried to pay her rent for November close to the end of December, but then I told her I would not accept because she was almost due for December's rent. She said that she could not pay for November and December. After all was said and done, she was out by January. The sheriff and I came by on January 27th and that is when the eviction was finalized. So, I missed 2 months rent.

Because I was having so many problems at the apartment complex I was living in, I decided to move into the home. It is a very nice home with a lot of room. It is unfortunate that the tenant did not take care of the home. She was never here anyway.

pendelton · 03-14-2008, 12:15 AM

money, sounds like work keeps her ducks in a row.

work2bfree · 03-14-2008, 01:47 AM

Thank you Pendelton. When I start a business, I have to stay on top of it because, one it stresses me out when I am not keeping a close eye on things. Two, it also helps to decrease the number of problems one can encounter.

Real estate investment is still very new to me and I don't have a lot of money on hand. This was my first eviction. Although it was not fun, I did learn how the process works. It is also unfortunate that this tenant did not have a job. She was receiving a disability check. If she had a job, I could have garnished her wages to pay for the rent. One thing I did learn, I think I need to stick to the tenants who have a job.