Posted by SusanL.–FL on April 05, 2000 at 11:10:26:
I’m still rolling!!
Tenant Not Paying and Suddenly “Doesn’t Speak English” - Posted by Matt
Posted by Matt on April 04, 2000 at 12:52:41:
I have tenants who after 5 months of no problems and always paying the rent on time - suddenly stopped paying. There’s 4 of them living in the house (all adults) and I have always dealt with the guy (Jose) who was the head of the family so to speak. When I called last week a woman answered speaking English and then when I asked for Jose, she suddenly started speaking Spanish. I stopped by the house last night and Jose was not there - of course the other 3 were home but no one spoke English. I know this isn’t possible. They certainly knew English when they moved in 5 months ago. I haven’t received rent in 5 weeks now. Any advice? And no, I don’t have a friend who can speak Spanish and translate for me.
Ain’t Landlordin’ Funnnnnnnnnnnnn? - Posted by SusanL.–FL
Posted by SusanL.–FL on April 05, 2000 at 11:21:14:
This was like a ‘flashback’ from the past…communicating in ‘broken’ Espanol and wild hand jestures! 
Always keep in mind, most tenants ‘know’ the system (and will play it to their advantage).
Don’t give an inch. Even the ‘nice’ ones will take advantage, if given the chance.
When a situation like this occurs, act SWIFTLY!! The less time lost, the better (for you). When the tenant realizes that you know the laws and are prepared to take the necessary action, it might ‘motivate’ them to get ‘back in line’ again.
Good luck!
Susan
Re: Tenant Not Paying and Suddenly “Doesn’t Speak English” - Posted by chris
Posted by chris on April 04, 2000 at 16:32:06:
Matt-
Not your problem. Let them get a translator or find Jose to read the eviction notice. If this happens again it may be worthwhile to go to Radio Shack and buy one of those electronic translator doo-jiggies that are about the size of a calculator. You punch in what you want to say and it “speaks” your reply in their language.
The latest version of Nolo’s Landlords Legal guide has the forms written in both English and Spanish which could be helpful.
-Good Luck, Chris
And… - Posted by Hugh James
Posted by Hugh James on April 04, 2000 at 16:26:56:
Jim & Ed are right on the money. And now for a little 20/20 hindsight (from the school of hard knocks)–next time don’t wait five weeks. Five days, yes…never five weeks.
Re: Tenant Not Paying and Suddenly “Doesn’t Speak English” - Posted by Jim Rayner
Posted by Jim Rayner on April 04, 2000 at 13:25:17:
Matt,
Been there before more than once myself. Its a typical ploy here as well. My solution was to serve 14 Day notice as per my state requirements and follow up with eviction. My notice was only required to be in my Language and their problem to get it translated. When they asked what the paper was for i simply said " No Renta …No Casa" they understood and still let me evict them. 30 days later.
good luck get that notice out today
Jim Rayner
Re: Tenant Not Paying and Suddenly “Doesn’t Speak English” - Posted by Ed Copp (OH)
Posted by Ed Copp (OH) on April 04, 2000 at 13:02:03:
SOLUTION= 2 EVICTION NOTICES ONE IN ENGLISH AND ONE IN SPANISH. Serve them today…ED
Alta Vista Translator - Posted by Jeanne
Posted by Jeanne on April 05, 2000 at 18:05:59:
Here is a cool page that Dirk told me about:
http://babelfish.altavista.com/cgi-bin/translate?
You can enter a whole passage in English, and it will tell you the Spanish version. I did test it for grammar, in my own primative way with a few French idioms. It seemed to work well.
Jeanne
ROFLOL at this one !!! - Posted by Chenel Moore_MD
Posted by Chenel Moore_MD on April 04, 2000 at 18:53:26:
Sorry, but this one amused me dearly. Happy Investing!
Re: Alta Vista Translator - Posted by Jams
Posted by Jams on April 06, 2000 at 01:20:15:
Try …No dinero…no casa
Re: A new toy… - Posted by chris
Posted by chris on April 05, 2000 at 18:24:53:
Hi Jeanne-
Pretty neat. I tested it out with this phrase to translate from English to Spanish:
“Pay your rent or you are evicted”
Result in Spanish:
“Pague su alquiler o le desahucian”
That got me curious(I don’t know Spanish), so I put the Spanish phrase back in the Spanish to English translate mode and here’s what came out in English:
“Its rent pays or to him they evict”
Pretty close, but kind of weird sounding like Shakespeare or something. It’s probably a good idea to translate the result it gives you back to English to see how accurate it is.
-Thanks,Chris