evicting tenants

[donnahamilton]

Hi, hope everyone enjoyed last nights REIN meeting. I would like to know how to get rid of a tenant. I got my writ of possession, hired a baliff($400.00) and went to say adios. However when we get there the locks are changed. While I am trying to get a locksmith to pick the lock, an unidentified female with 3 kids come out. We are able to get the guy I am evicting to come let us in. This is when I get served withan order of motion. It is set for 10am the next morning. The baliff gets the guy and 2 other females to leave. I change the locks($200.00). The next morning the judge says the guy can stay if he pays $600.00 until the 15th until he moves into his new place. He does not want to live on the streets with his 10yr old son!!!! I was so stunned that after I explained to the judge that I was not keen on the idea since this has been going on for 6months, there are at least 3 unauthorized people,2 animals, heavy smoking and the place looks like a dump. $600.00 of the security deposit has been used for my baliff. i can`t even show the place in the state it is ,let alonne have it rentable for the 15th. Will they even go?Do they have a place? Today I did a walkthrough and the smoke was so thich I could not see in front of me. There are at least 6 adults laying around that were not there before the eviction. As I was leaving I heard one of the females say she didn`t know she had to leave on the 15th. So with all this has anyone gone through this and how did you finally get them out? Is there anything I can do now? Is it safe to have that many people in such a small place? Look forward to any help you can offer.
Donna

 

[Maximillion]

QUOTE (donnahamilton @ Jun 5 2008, 01:30 PM) Hi, hope everyone enjoyed last nights REIN meeting. I would like to know how to get rid of a tenant. I got my writ of possession, hired a baliff($400.00) and went to say adios. However when we get there the locks are changed. While I am trying to get a locksmith to pick the lock, an unidentified female with 3 kids come out. We are able to get the guy I am evicting to come let us in. This is when I get served withan order of motion. It is set for 10am the next morning. The baliff gets the guy and 2 other females to leave. I change the locks($200.00). The next morning the judge says the guy can stay if he pays $600.00 until the 15th until he moves into his new place. He does not want to live on the streets with his 10yr old son!!!! I was so stunned that after I explained to the judge that I was not keen on the idea since this has been going on for 6months, there are at least 3 unauthorized people,2 animals, heavy smoking and the place looks like a dump. $600.00 of the security deposit has been used for my baliff. i can`t even show the place in the state it is ,let alonne have it rentable for the 15th. Will they even go?Do they have a place? Today I did a walkthrough and the smoke was so thich I could not see in front of me. There are at least 6 adults laying around that were not there before the eviction. As I was leaving I heard one of the females say she didn`t know she had to leave on the 15th. So with all this has anyone gone through this and how did you finally get them out? Is there anything I can do now? Is it safe to have that many people in such a small place? Look forward to any help you can offer.
Donna

Hi Donna:

I have often been told that the best way to get a tenant like that removed is to offer a cash incentive, which is exactly what I have just done. I had a problem tenant and had given them 7 notices over a 3 year period. Eventually, I decided it was time to get them out since they always seemed to fix the problems I was giving them notices for...only temporarily that is. I waited for the 1st of the month so I made sure they paid their rent then I spoke to them and told them that if they left in 15 days ( gave them a notice of course) that I would give them back their rent, their last months rent plus 1/2 the amount of that rent. It amounted to over $1,000.00which to these types of tenants is alot of cash!! It was amazing how they suddenly became motivated to find another place. I got them to sign an Agreement to terminate. I also asked them that since I was giving them money I wanted every single piece of their property removed as well as the holes in the walls filled with filler and sanded which they agreed to do. I told them they could go through the courts but if they lost they would have to pay the tribunal fee which would be garnished from their wages. I gave them the ultimatum that it would be better if they used the money for their next 1st and last. When they agreed I gave them back the rent they had just paid on the first, and told them they would get all the other money on the day they moved out provided they had followed my conditions. Anyways this may not always work and you need to be careful, but cash is usually king.

Maximillion

 

[invst4profit]

Maximillion

Although your method does work the guy you just got rid of is probably going to tell all of his dirt bag
friends what a great deal he got from you. All those friends will soon be knocking on your door in
antisipation of spending the next three years jerking you around and then being paid to move on
when you finally give up. Also the word will get around the rest of your tenants and they will also
expect to be paid to leave when they are ready to move on. They may just stop paying rent and
wait to see what you do.

That is the downside of throwing money at problems.
Next time don`t wait three years evict ASAP.
If you are in this business for the long haul let your reputation amoung renters be known that you
are a hard liner.Once you get the hang of the eviction process and you follow it to the letter life becomes easier.

 

[RebeccaBryan]

Donna,

I don`t understand how you get a "writ of possession", hire a bailiff and then don`t get them out. It shouldn`t go back to court/hearing!! OH MY GOSH!! I`ve never heard of such a thing! What province is this property in? Please tell me it`s not Alberta!!

 

[donnahamilton]

QUOTE (RebeccaBryan @ Jun 6 2008, 04:20 PM) Donna,

I don`t understand how you get a "writ of possession", hire a bailiff and then don`t get them out. It shouldn`t go back to court/hearing!! OH MY GOSH!! I`ve never heard of such a thing! What province is this property in? Please tell me it`s not Alberta!!


Hi, Yes this is in good old Edmonton, Alberta. At this point it looks like they are still not ready to move by the 15th. One female with her son asked if she could stay. Social Services will direct deposit into account. Sounds tempting but how do I know the others will leave. I have had someone drive by daily and she thinks they are selling drugs. What a mess.

 

[RebeccaBryan]

Donna,

The answer you should give for the son renting it is "NO NO NO NO NO". It`s just a ploy and no one will leave.

 

[SamEfford]

You do not know if they will leave. They will stay and continue to take advantage of you. Get them all out, and start over with quality, equity building tenants.

 

[invst4profit]

"sounds tempting"
I find it hard to believe you would even consider taking in there sorry no good worthless Butts.
I thing we may all be getting a idea as to how you got yourself into this mess.
You are too soft I think.
Time to put on your landlord hat.

 

[retiredby50]

Hey Donna,



Like you, I'm pretty inexperienced with this sort of thing.



I was having problems with a tenant bouncing cheques and lying to me repeatedly. Fortunately I finally got smart and hired a management company. The beauty of that is that they are completely objective, have no emotion whatsoever, so they just do what needs to be done.



I strongly suggest you do the same.



Once the management company was involved, all contact between me and the tenant ceased. I was out of the loop and didn't have to deal with the lies any more. That right there killed my stress over the situation. The management company did the inspections, took care of the eviction, and dealt with the people. Even if they did call me, I was to simply say, "talk to the company. I'm out of it." So you don't end up stressing over sob stories. The stories never even get to you.



I think you and I are too busy giving the tenants the benefit of the doubt .(Certainly that was my problem) Also, we are sometimes too emotionally caught up in the fact that it's real live people, even if they're scumbags. A management co. just looks at it as a business decision, and they make it all happen.



Here's my story, similar to yours:



http://myreinspace.com/public_forums/Real_Estate_Discussion/62-4613-Bounced_rent_cheque.html



I sense that you have taken on a tremendous amount of stress, and I think it's time to pass that stress on to someone else's shoulders, so yours don't end up needing to be fixed by a massage therapist or chiropractor...



Good luck!



Cheers

Keith

 

[donnahamilton]

HI, Thanks everyone for your responses. I AM NOT CONSIDERING ANYONE FROM THIS MESS! It just seems that as someone following the system and not knowing what the procedures are, or not willing to find out, how these stories of tenants in your place for months without paying etc... can keep the cycle going.

It might have been better to hire someone to do this however I am glad I am doing this one myself because I now know the process and how to get to the end result rather quickly.My first RTDRS meeting was May 14th and each step even, though a pain, has been with him needing to pay something.

I still have his security deposit and it looks like he has accepted that this is the end. He is cleaning up,packing etc... When I got my first Writ of Possession I was told that that was the end by both the Baliff and the L/T advisory. Now I know the steps they(tenants) can take and how to make sure the next step is in place. I also learned that not all Baliffs are the same and learned what to ask for next time(heaven forbid!) I guess that after 7yrs , 60 tenants and little turnover, it was time to learn something new.

Best tip is to use the LINC library at the Court House. The ladies are super helpful and will let you know what will/can happen next. This is where I learned stuff that know one else I spoke to knew(and there was many). Like yes they can appeal,no it does not cost them to do one of the motions, no you do not get 2 days of service..... all these are things that if I paid someone to do would have caused magor delays that as of today have set me back at least 2 weeks.

Next time whether I do this myself or not I know the next step. If I had not constantly followed up I would be one of the people who had a deadbeat trying to live free for months on end. Will let you know Mon. if there are anymore lessons I am to learn!!

 

[RebeccaBryan]

Wow! I`ve never had a tenant appeal before!!! YIKES!!! That`s something I don`t want to run into anytime soon! Sorry this happened to you Donna. Makes it even more important to do your due dillegence on prospective tenants.

 

[retiredby50]

Wow, you`ll certainly be an expert by the time this is all done.

All the best. Keep us posted.

Taa
Keith

 

[invst4profit]

Congratulations Donna 2 Thumbs up for having the drive, desire and determination to learn the process and see it through to the end yourself.

 

[MoneyMan]

Donna... wow what a horror story. You have to be somewhat hardened to be a landlord or else tenants will really push you over. I just got 2 evictions today for failure to pay on the 1st of June. I usually do a couple every month. There are a few things that the RTDS and courts give favoritism to...and you just discovered what they are...at your expense. I am very sucessful because I have a finely tuned system I have developed to avoid all the pitfalls you are encountering. Good luck with your endeavours.