Re: Bankgound on this tenant (a cautionary tale)

Re: Bankgound on this tenant (a cautionary tale) by Anonymous on August 26, 2015 @17:33

My husband owned this property before we married, so I didn't have any dealings with this tenant until my husband passed away last year. I did keep the books and receits of all repairs (Re-stucco'd in 2009; interior paint 2010; new carpet and vinyl 2011; new heater and hot water heater in 2014).
Tenant is a slow pay, with a story about how his SS check goes to the hospital, who takes out his copays and sends what is left over to him. Total b.s.). Went over in Jan 2015 to collect rent and discovered he had cut the carpet out with a box knife. Why? His wife was tired of it. When am I going to put in new carpet? And NOT THE CHEAP STUFF LIKE LAST TIME. Well, never. So he tells me he is moving and wants his deposit back. (Should have started the UD then).
Feb 2015 finds all the vinyl RIPPED out on every seem (his wife was tired of it.) When am I going to fix the floors? NEVER.
M/A/M he is late but pays after he gets a 3-day Notice.
In June, he doesn't have the money/hasn't gotten his SS checks/doesn't know when it will come.So I serve him with a 3 day notice and an unlawful detainer, for him and Does 1-10. He answers the UD but no one else does. We go to court, I win, get a judgement and get a writ of possession; have it served and now there is a lockout order with the sheriff locking them out next week.
Now some random woman claims she lives there and wants $3k (up from $1500 in her second text).
Moral of the story. Slap a 3 day notice as soon as the rent is late. Don't accept any monies, file a UD, go to court, ask for a judgement of unlawful detainer in favor of you, with back rent and court costs awarded to you. Once that judgement is filed, get a writ of possession, pay the sheriff to serve it and then pay the fee for a 5 day lockout (about $300). You have to be there as does a locksmith (another $100). You can keep the deposit to cover repairs and back rent. You do need to send the tenant an explanation of what you did with the $$$ WITHIN 21 DAYS or the tenant can sue YOU for 3× the amount.

[ Reply ] [ Return to forum ]

Re: Bankgound on this tenant (a cautionary tale) - Landlord Forum thread 338386