JPiper.... I filed that eviction today! (kinda long) - Posted by steph in tex

Posted by Bud Branstetter on May 05, 2000 at 12:44:36:

Steph,

Be aware that there was a bond procedure(or two property owners) to allow the sheriff to immediately put her out after the verdict regardless if she appealed. Start verifying employment in case she files a paupers afidavit. Be sure to video the inside(with a witness) the day before any final exodus on her part in case damage is done.

JPiper… I filed that eviction today! (kinda long) - Posted by steph in tex

Posted by steph in tex on May 04, 2000 at 16:03:31:

Just gotta say…
thanks for the push.

I hate the thought of having to evict someone…
let’s just say it’s right up there with all those things you try to avoid…fatty foods, booze, dope, and evictions…you know the like… (o.k., so i avoid dope and evictions…but anyway)
I work really hard to keep the lines of communication open with my tenants, I work hard to help them succeed… and i had never had to evict someone before…and as a consiquense (sp?) this lady was walking all over me (and my house~ok, it was the 4 bull mastif / great dane mixes that were walking all over my house)…
but i still wanted to see her make it. not really. i guess truthfully, i just didn’t want to have to deal with finding another TBer when I have 10 deals pending… AND that was OUT OF MY COMFORT ZONE…

enter Jim Piper…
we talked about this deal for some time…
but one thing he said struck me like a cannon…

Of the people Jim knew that didn’t make it in this business, it was because they couldn’t handle that side of the business…the being the hard a$$ side…the protecting your asset side of the business…

MAN ! NOT ME! I’M GONNA MAKE IT THIS BUSINESS!!

so I posted the notice when I got back from St Loui, and filed the eviction today…

BUT WAIT! THERE"S MORE!
get this-- i love this !
I’m learning the whole process, talking to the lady behind the glass, and she says…where is this place? I tell her and she says “that’s the subdivision I live in!”
we chat a minute, and she proceeds to tell me she knows of a house where the old man is in preforeclosure…they are keeping up the yard…yada yada… you know the rest!!
i meet the daughter tomorrow!!

all i have to say is:

THANK YOU PIPER!

sorry to ramble guys! I Feel Great!!

steph in tex

Re: JPiper… I filed that eviction today! (kinda long) - Posted by JPiper

Posted by JPiper on May 04, 2000 at 22:44:24:

Hi Steph:

What could be more exciting than to see you climb over your inner reluctance to do something that you knew needed to be done. Congratulations! Doing all the things that others don?t want to do is a big part of success.

But one more issue here should probably be addressed. The fact is that eviction is the last action in an unsuccessful series of events. So when you have some time, you might want to give some serious thought to WHY this all took place to begin with?.use this as a springboard to learn another lesson.

Screening is certainly one area that when improperly done leads to all the other events which end in eviction. When I look back at my own evictions, I see poor screening techniques. At times I?ve been overly motivated to move a property, took a guy who had sufficient cash, without taking a good hard look at the guy I was about to enter into a relationship with. When I?m screening properly, I find out all the weak points of the tenant, I bring them up, I discuss them in detail. I want the tenant to know that I know, and what will be acceptable and what won?t be. The screening is an opportunity to set some boundaries upfront, to tell them what is going to take place if they do X, Y, or Z. It?s your first chance to establish control?a vital ingredient in the tenant/landlord relationship. And by the way, someone that you can?t control is the wrong tenant in my opinion?.all the time.

Management is the next step. This I do pretty well. I look forward to that first ?screw-up? on the part of the tenant. This is an opportunity. It?s an opportunity to let them know who?s ?boss? in no uncertain terms. It?s an opportunity to illustrate your boundary, and that they can?t violate these boundaries without consequence. Using these opportunities early in the relationship help to establish and reinenforce all the boundaries that you hopefully informed them of upfront. It let?s them know you mean business. My best payors today are people that I had a problem with in the beginning. Learn to have sufficient confidence in yourself that you can take a risk by giving the tenant a firm directive, or perhaps an ultimatum. It?s amazing how often they can produce that money if they know you?re serious.

To me, a failure in one of those two areas leads to eviction. So my suggestion would be to take a careful look at those two areas in your business. Do them well and eviction probably won?t be an issue.

Congratulations again?.you?re doing a great job.

JPiper

Re: JPiper… I filed that eviction today! (kinda long) - Posted by Laure

Posted by Laure on May 04, 2000 at 21:11:25:

YUP… I have to serve one this month too. Girl is on Section 8 and only has to pay 25.00 per month of her rent. She didn’t pay it last month, and I talked to her around the 20th. She said, can you take it from my deposit? I didn’t say a word, but she must have seen my reaction on my face, and it wasn’t a smile :-). She then said, she’d have it all on the first of this month. Tomorrow is Friday, and I’m going to evict this girl for $50.00. Sad, isn’t it? I hate empty houses.

Laure :slight_smile:

Re: JPiper… I filed that eviction today! (kinda long) - Posted by Jose/TX

Posted by Jose/TX on May 04, 2000 at 21:00:01:

Steph;

I tip my hat to you. The way you presented yourself at the St. Louis workshop; I say you have already made it in this business.

Keep up the great job.

Jose

Re: JPiper… I filed that eviction today! (kinda long) - Posted by phil fernandez

Posted by phil fernandez on May 04, 2000 at 16:11:57:

Great steph.

You do have to be a hardnosed type to succeed in the landlording business. If you let things slide, the tenant scenses this and will try to walk all over you.

I’ve never had to evict a tenant in my 25 years as a landlord. And there is a reason for that.

Hope you had a great time in St Louis.

Re: JPiper… I filed that eviction today! (kinda long) - Posted by steph in tex

Posted by steph in tex on May 05, 2000 at 07:40:35:

Hi Jim!

Yep- and sometimes the truth hurts. I knew i did a crappy job of screening this lady. She had the cash to move in, and the rest smelled funny… I had a feeling the contacts we called were somehow connected to her, or were just doing her a favor… I know I should listen to the 'ol gut… But as I was getting that feeling that I shouldn’t put this lady in…I was thinking about what a pain it was going to be to keep marketing this one (not in my hot zone, but a 45 min drive away) and this could make thiings simple right?

NOT! Yep folks…here comes a lesson. straight for me at about 110 miles per hour. And I don’t even have on a helmet.

I already knew that this wasn’t a match. I knew the credit was low, even for my ranges. I knew the VOR was probably bogus. I was lazy. I wanted the easy way to fill a vacantcy. I am paying for it. I am learning a great lesson.

We have the tools available to us. It is a choice sometimes that we make, to use glue when we need nails.
What we might think will save us some time, ends up costing that ten times over. I think I have it now…
Nails every time. (or better yet-screws!)

Piper, again, thank you for your words of wisdom. I really didn’t want to deal with the eviction. For some reason I was afraid of it. Strangely enough, it had quite the oposite effect, as I think you knew it would.
I left with a since of power. Feeling as though I was doing the right thing for the protection of my business. I left with confidence. I will make it in this business.

It is also a great opportunity to take a good look at how things are running. Do I have all my “i’s” dotted and “t’s” crossed? This Lady will appeal. She was in the rental business herself. (yet another reason I shouldn’t have taken the chance) I get to make sure my contracts are good, my documentation is all in order, and see where my business needs work. What an opportunity.

Thank you again, so much, for helping me over the hurdle. It’s nice when people are put in your path to blow away the smoke so you can see things a bit more clearly.

It was great seeing you again in St Louis!

steph in tex

Re: JPiper… I filed that eviction today! (kinda long) - Posted by Laure

Posted by Laure on May 04, 2000 at 21:13:22:

What’s your secret? I play hard, and I still have to evict from time to time. About one every 18 months.

Laure :slight_smile: