Having tenant evicted prior to purchase. - Posted by Tom Nagle PA

Real Estate Investing Real Estate Law
#1

Posted by L.Alexander on May 01, 2000 at 24:58:15:

first of all follow your state laws on this subject.Why not write this guy a letter stating that you will be taking over the property , and you know that he as been a tenant for along time and would like to keep him , but do to OUR taking over expenses , all rents will be going up to XXX dollars.At the end of your current lease , you will be signing a new lease with new rules, such as old cars not running , old trucks not running etc.

You also should think about this , he,s been their 10 years , so I would say to myself ,this guy is steady income for my proprety,why not try to work with this guy ( if he agrees with the new rules in the lease -agreement ) So sit back and make a good judgement on this matter. Also THINK about the section 8 deal

GOOD LUCK…

#2

Having tenant evicted prior to purchase. - Posted by Tom Nagle PA

Posted by Tom Nagle PA on April 30, 2000 at 09:41:59:

Hi folks-

I have been pretty much engulfed in real estate since returning from the convention in late February. I am going to be buying three homes from a gentleman. Two of the homes are being rented and the the third is vacant. One of my immediate goals is to get the one tenant out. He has been paying the same rent for the last ten years ($560) which doesn’t even include his water usage. The market rents are $750-$775 for the property. This guy is also a slob, with junked cars and motorcycles in his driveway. I want to get this tenant out and sell on a lease option.

The tenant is on a month-to-month lease, and I was wondering if anyone had any words of wisdom for this type of situation. I am assuming it will take me at least 45-60 days to get the tenant out - the lease runs from the first of the month, so I will have to give a month’s notice from sometime next week.

Thanks in advance-

Tom Nagle

#3

Re: Having tenant evicted prior to purchase. - Posted by Eduardo (OR)

Posted by Eduardo (OR) on May 01, 2000 at 23:47:04:

Tom (and everyone else in this situation)–

CarolFL, JohnBoy, David Krulac and Soraya are completely right. The rule is: You ALWAYS make the seller evict an undesirable tenant BEFORE closing at his expense, time and trouble and turn over the property to you VACANT! Never violate this rule if the tenant is bad. Always check before closing to see that this has been done and don’t take someone’s word for it. Always check the inside of the property for damage after tenant is out and before closing. If tenant damaged property on the way out (as so often happens with people being evicted), it is the seller’s responsibility to repair the damage. Do not close until seller repairs damage. If the tenant is out and the property is vacant and tenant didn’t cause any damage for seller to fix, immediately change the locks upon closing so tenant (or anybody else he gave keys to) can’t get back in. Been there done that. --Eduardo

#4

Re: Having tenant evicted prior to purchase. - Posted by Soraya

Posted by Soraya on May 01, 2000 at 12:09:12:

1- Do not close escrow until the propety is vacant!! Tenant could cause a lot of damage to property if being evicted. You want to know the damage before escrow closes.
2- If you want to close escrow early. Bribe the tenant to move. Don’t give tenant any money before he is out!! (Enough $ to cover YOUR estimate of HIS moving expense.) Have seller pay for the bribe or at least share the expense.
Soraya

#5

In Pa, month to month tenants need only 30 day notice to vacate… - Posted by David Krulac

Posted by David Krulac on May 01, 2000 at 07:38:38:

so have the seller evict the tenant as a condition of sale and a contingentcy. Don’t settle until the property is tenant free. A motivated seller can make this happen and save you a lot of grief.
David Krulac

#6

Re: Having tenant evicted prior to purchase. - Posted by JohnBoy

Posted by JohnBoy on April 30, 2000 at 18:24:15:

I agree with Carol.

Have the seller give 30 days notice. The seller can just tell tenant he has sold the property and new owners aren’t interested in renting the property. Make the closing subject to the tenant being out.

#7

20/20 - Posted by CarolFL

Posted by CarolFL on April 30, 2000 at 17:50:42:

as in “hindsight is …” .
We make our contracts contingent upon the seller dealing with stuff like this if we perceive we want a tenant gone. “Property will be vacant” at time of closing kind of thing. We have used rehab of a property as a wedge, and let the seller figure it out.

Next time …

#8

Re: Having tenant evicted prior to purchase. - Posted by Thom

Posted by Thom on April 30, 2000 at 14:23:30:

After you own the house, (you have no standing before that) give him 30 days notice that the house is no longer for rent. You said he was month to month, if he doesn’t move, have him evicted. That shouldn’t take move than a couple of weeks, and in most cases you can do it yourself.

#9

Re: Having tenant evicted prior to purchase. - Posted by ScottE

Posted by ScottE on April 30, 2000 at 10:29:04:

Tom,
I agree with Dee in that a little bit of ‘bribe’ money now could be better than an adversarial tenant.

You may want to check out the Lanlord/Tenant laws in your state (you can probably find them on MrLandlord’s site) to see what you could be in for if the tenant wants to fight to stay. Among the NASTY things they can do to stay AND avoid paying rent (at least for a while) is: file bankruptcy; file a pauper’s affidavit when you try to evict; get a free legal aid attorney to make your life miserable AND expensive!

Anyway, good luck and let us know what happens!

Scott

#10

Re: Having tenant evicted prior to purchase. - Posted by d.henderson

Posted by d.henderson on April 30, 2000 at 10:02:50:

These can be tricky and time consuming. Just be firm and fair
making sure you have everything ready in case you do have to evict.
I find that if you offer to pay…one month of apartment rent or
storage AFTER…REMEMBER NO MONEY TILL AFTER…they move.
Sometimes works better than having to play hardball and then they
trash your place worse than they already have. Apartment rent for a
month is a LOT cheaper than trying to get sheetrock replaced and
painted. smile Best of luck to you.
Always learning,
Dee-Texas