I sent the tenant a certified/return-receipt notice last week stating what charges she needed to pay and what the ramifications were if it wasn't paid by December 3rd.
Monday was also the last day for the tenant to pay rent for December or it would be late. My wife called the tenant that day to make sure she was going to pay (ha!). The tenant told my wife that *I* told her when she moved in that it was okay if she was a couple days late every now and then due to her getting paid on Saturday's sometimes. WTF?!?! I told her no such thing. My wife told her that I said no such thing and that since she would not be able to pay rent for December on time, she would be late again. She then went on to say she would be dropping a check in the mail for $xxxxx, which was about $1,000 MORE than she owed us. I told my wife afterward that she probably said that so we'd get a 'warm fuzzy' and she had no intention of sending it (or anything).
Well, we both figured it would take 2 days tops to get the check in the mail. Today has been two days, and - surprise! - no check. Therefore, I swung by the PO and sent another certified/return-receipt notice for her to pay us the total amount owed within 48 hours of receipt, or we would evict her. At this point, I know this will be an eviction, but I want to make sure I follow the correct steps so as not to get burned if she decides to take this to court. The last notice took one day to send her, so I'm figuring the 48 hour deadline will be Saturday. I already have a Notice to Vacate (the next step) drawn up and if I check the mail Saturday and there is no check for the full amount, I may just go over to her place with a witness and hand deliver the notice.
Once she receives the Notice to Vacate, she will have 24 hrs to either pay everything or vacate. Even if she fails to pay, Texas law says she can still stay in the property. If that happens, I have to go to the JP and file for an eviction suit. The clerk will then send the eviction citation to the Constable who will then hand deliver it to the tenant. If he is unsuccessful, he is then supposed to tape it to the door. The tenant then has 7 days to answer the citation. If they answer, then it's off to court we go. If they don't answer, then I have to file a Writ of Possession to get the property (legally) back. There's other caveats and permutations, but suffice it to say it'll be a mess.
I feel like tracking down her last "landlord" (probably just a friend) and give him a few choice words.
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4 comments:
Hey, Steve!
Yeah, doing evictions is no fun. But, every landlord has to experience it sometime. Just keep calm and try to keep your emotions in check--treat this as a business decision and not like you're recovering from a personal attack. I hate to say it, but you almost don't want to piss her off further as you're evicting her--she may cause property damage on her way out that you will have trouble collecting from her. But, even if she pays, you should see if you can still cancel the lease and make her leave. It sounds like this is a tenant you just shouldn't have.
Hey Steve,
It really sounds like a pain. I've never had to evict anybody. Just an idea... instead immediately filing an eviction, what about offering her a little cash to leave? Tell her if she gets all her stuff out within 48 hours and leaves the place with no damage, you'll pay her cash. Yeah, it sucks, but you get your property back in good shape and you don't waste time in court. Oh, and be sure to explain to her how disastrous an eviction suit can be to her record. She'll never find another nice place to live.
John
Trisha - Exactly. I express my frustration on this blog, but keep everything in check when actually dealing with the tenant. I haven't mentioned this yet on the blog, but we received an "owner copy" of the water bill recently and she has NEVER even paid for water since she's been in the place. Granted, the bill wasn't huge (~$50), but it's just another link in the chain of irresponsibilities this person has. I'm guessing now, that we (1) will not get December's rent, (2) not get the late charges for November -OR- December, (3) not be reimbursed for October's -OR- November's sewer bill, and (4) have to pay the water bill (as well as the reconnect charge). All told, we could be out about $1,400 with this tenant.
John - I was thinking the same thing. She doesn't appear to be the type person who would cause damage, but I didn't suspect her to lie and be in default, either. Seeing as how we may already be out $1,400, it'll be kind of hard to give her any money no matter what the cause. I'm hoping this latest notice will get her going, but I seriously doubt it. If not, perhaps the next notice that explains she is to vacate the premises will. I *may* tell her that I will not pursue monetary damages for the amount she owes -AND- for damages spelled out in the lease for her defaulting, but I doubt I'll be giving her any money.
I'd say you're in bad shape already. Now you have to bother with the whole eviction process, and without doubt she's going to do her best to trash the place. Most likely in her mind she really believes that you said its okay if she's a few days late.
Personally, I'd rather have a payment a few days late, but have it, than have to go through an eviction. I have a tenant like that in Bountiful Utah. He's really a great tenant, I absolutely trust him, he takes good care of the property, but occasionaly he's late with his payment. I always get it though, and I always have the late penalty. It doesn't bother me too much. Now if I didn't get paid at all that would be a different story.
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