Help! I Have to Evict My Nephew!

The eviction of a friend or relative is not easy to do. It has to be one of the most difficult lawsuits, if not the most emotionally draining, of all types of evictions. You may be one of the lucky ones who can rent to a friend or relative with no side effects. Still one day, there may come a time when you have to look your friend or family member in the eyes, and ask him or her to leave your apartment.   In the eviction of a relative stranger, even a long-term tenant, the process isn’t personal, just business. The tenant can’t pay the rent, so he has to leave. It’s the end of an association with more or less minimal emotional ties between the tenant and the landlord.   Evicting a friend or relative is one in which sides may be chosen, and lines drawn in the sand. Once the eviction notice has been delivered, do not expect many friends or allies to come to your aid. Depending upon the circumstances of the eviction, you can expect to have your life made miserable by anyone impacted by your decision.   This is because the expectations of a friend or relation are much higher than that of a stranger. If there is a tenancy problem, the expectation is that you will treat the tenant more as a friend or relative than as a financial investment problem. You will be asked to accept less than you normally would for rent arrears, to wait longer for your rent, and to accept behaviors that you would not normally tolerate.   For example, let’s say you need to raise the rent. A rent increase could be perceived as a betrayal of your friendship. Your aunt could think you are taking advantage of her. It doesn’t make sense, but when money is concerned, all bets are off. As far as a friend or relative is concerned, you are in his or her pocket. A belief that you are soaking your tenant for more money that you ‘don’t really need’ could cause your family member to not pay the increase.   Be clear and resolved about why the eviction must take place. Have all of your written documentation in place. Check all of your paperwork, rent cards, letters of warning etc. before you send your notice to quit. Make sure you have a leg to stand on before starting the eviction case. Conduct a due diligence of your property and the legal case.   Hard feelings will sometimes come with the rental and eviction territory. Do not expect to be able to discuss the case calmly with the offended tenant. Do not expect a cool head to prevail over your eviction action. If you evict your nephew, expect your sister or brother to be totally ticked off at you. Your friend may think you are a jerk for evicting her because she parties loudly every weekend, disturbing your other tenants. Your aunt may not come to your aid when your niece does not pay the rent.   When blood is evicting blood, much more blood could be shed before the battle is over. Few people want to be in the middle of a turf war. You may find yourself isolated and alone during the eviction process until the dust has settled. This is the reason why most landlords refuse to rent to a friend or family member. It is preferred to have only one relationship, than to confuse the personal relationship by adding a legal one.   How can you ease the pain of evicting a friend, relative, or even the relative of a friend? It could depend on how the person was moved in. Were you doing your friend “a favor” by renting your apartment to him or her? Did your cousin have to complete a rental application like everyone else? Did you verify all references, employment information, credit check, former landlord information, etc.? Does the tenant have a lease?   Why is this important? Having everyone go through an application process regardless of their status with you establishes the ground rules from Day One. Without it, the tenant could feel that he or she was taken in as a friend, and then treated otherwise when things got tough. It helps to set up the lines of separation between the friendship and the tenancy.   So, what is the best way to evict a friend or relative? Here are some tips:   1.   First, do not take shortcuts during the legal process. In fact, do everything strictly by the book. A wounded friend or relative who knows your personal business becomes a worthy adversary in a legal case. He or she will use whatever information is available to fight you tooth and nail.   2.   The jury is still out as to whether or not you should serve the initial notice of lease termination personally, or use a constable. The friend or your sister will feel the sting of you starting legal action just as shocking no matter how the news is given.   3.   Exercise the same professional manner in dealing with the loved one as you would with a stranger. Try to keep your emotions out of the situation. Avoid discussing the case at length with your now adversarial tenant. The less said, the less information that can be used against you in court.   4.   Put any rent arrears payment plans in writing. Continue the eviction case, and present the payment plan to the judge. Have the judge enter the payment plan in the court decision. Then, if the plan is broken, it is broken with the court, not you. Your friend or cousin will be less likely to violate a court agreement.   5.   Some landlords hire an attorney to process their eviction cases specifically against a friend or relative. When your best friend or nephew calls you about the eviction notice, refer all comments and questions to the attorney. Resist the temptation to explain why you started the action. With an attorney, you are taken out of the middle position. Let the lawyer earn the fee by listening to the anger, frustration and feelings of betrayal by the friend or relative.   6.   If you need to take legal action against a friend or relation who is your tenant, do it. Do not be intimidated by their personal association with you. Your real estate is a business investment. If you remember this during the process, you will be able to separate the two relationships, that of friend or family member who is also your tenant.   No one wants to be evicted, especially by a person who is considered a pal and confidant. The bitter taste of humiliation, feeling of betrayal, and anger will remain long after the actual legal action. Before renting your vacant apartment out again, remember the experience. Decide whether or not the rent is worth the possible loss of friendship or family discord.

Guest Writer

How to Handle Bad-Paying Tenants By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Brendan_O'Brien]Brendan O'Brien Bad payers are a problem for all landlords and we’ve all found different ways to deal with the problem.  The best solution is one that gets the tenant back on track and avoids a costly eviction. I use the term “bad payer” to cover late payers, partial payers, check bouncers, and non-payers.  There are a number of ways to deal with bad payers.  First, you want to do everything in your power to ensure that all tenants pay on time, every time.  For example, set up a schedule of discounts for on-time payments or late fees for late payments.  Many landlords favor the discount approach because it is an easier sell to a prospective tenant, but you may find it is not as effective in reducing late payments.  Why?  Because there’s no stigma attached to not getting a discount. Often people have good intentions about paying on time but don’t remember to make payments.  Two ideas may help you here.  One is to send out rent invoices.  Your tenants get a bill each month for everything else they have to pay – why not their rent?  Another is to offer an automatic payment plan.  There are companies that you can use to set up automatic payments by direct withdrawal or by credit card.  Again, these methods presume good intentions on the part of the tenant. What do you do with a chronic late payer?  First recognize that there are gray areas here.  I believe your actions should depend on whether the lateness is consistent – for example, the tenant always pays between the third and sixth day of the month – or gets worse over time.  A tenant whose lateness gets worse every month, despite your late fees and complaints about late payments, probably has little regard for your authority.  When he is late enough to warrant an eviction notice, send it, and follow through.  Chances are you’ve already seen other signs that this person is irresponsible- he doesn’t return your calls and may have misbehaved in other ways in the unit. On the other hand, a consistent late payer is probably worth keeping, even if you can never get him to pay on time.  Consider that the late payments are actually improving your bottom line.  For example, suppose I have a tenant who always pays about the sixth day of the month, and is charged a $5 per day late fee on a $600 monthly rent.  This tenant is giving me a 5% rent increase in exchange for a few days lateness – I’ll take that.  Another consideration is how long it will take you to re-rent the unit.  My properties are in New Hampshire and it’s very difficult to find a good tenant during the winter.  If I evict my $600 per month tenant for late payments in November, and don’t find a new tenant until February, that’s $1,800 out the window.  Better to put up with the late payments (and enjoy the late fees). A partial payment is the same as a late payment.  If a tenant pays $400 on time and sends the other $200 on the sixth day of the month, he’s late – and must pay the late fee.  A bounced check is worse than a late or partial payment.  Now you have to pay a fee to the bank and the good check will still be late.  Charge both the late fee and the bank fee to the tenant.  More than one bounced check and you should require that the tenant start paying with a bank check or money order.  Many landlords insist on bank checks or money orders for all tenants, regardless of their payment history, but this has disadvantages.  One is that they are inconvenient for tenants.  Another is that if a bank check gets lost in the mail, it is harder for the tenant to void it than for a personal check. You may want to cut extra slack to tenants who let you know ahead of time that their payments will be late.  This is usually because the tenant is short on cash.  If the lateness is not excessive –three or four days at most – I will waive the late fee.  But if I start getting calls like this every month or every other month, I will charge the late fee. When a tenant tells you he can’t pay full rent on time because of financial trouble, get more details about his problem.  The big question is whether his cash crunch is caused by a one-time expense or loss of income, or a permanent or long-term change such as a layoff.  If the cause is a one-time expense, chances are he’ll get back on his feet and be able to pay in full on time next month.  He still owes you the money for the current month and you can make a separate agreement for this payment.  Make sure he knows that violating the separate agreement or paying the next month’s bill late will result in eviction.  And if you do make a separate agreement, run it by your attorney to make sure it is legal and enforceable. The tenant in this situation may also be able to find money from another source to pay the current month’s rent.  In my city, the public assistance office will write a one-time check for a tenant who has a cash crunch but is working at a job and can generally afford the unit.  However, they won’t make assistance payments every month.  Check this with your own local office. A tenant who can’t pay because of job loss or a permanent new expense can no longer afford the unit.  He has to either increase his income or reduce his expenses right away, or move out.  Maybe the tenant could get a roommate who can split the rent.  Maybe he can get a second job.  If not, try to convince him to leave voluntarily, without a formal eviction.  It’s better for him, because he won’t owe court costs, and will leave with as much of his assets as possible.  But if he won’t leave voluntarily, you must evict, as soon as possible. Bad payers are a problem for all landlords and we've all found different ways to deal with the problem.  The best solution is one that gets the tenant back on track and avoids a costly eviction.  Brendan O’Brien is the founder and president of Property Master Web™ Software.  He is a contributing writer to REIP The Rewards® Magazine and is an active landlord and real estate investor.  O’Brien designed Property Master Web™ with a team of 26 real estate investors and professionals to create the most comprehensive property management software solution for everyone, from first time investors to multiple property mangers.  In addition to software, the advisory board has written 162 Landlording Tips that are a great resource for any property manager.  For more information about Property Master Web™ visit http://www.PCPropertyMaster.com or email Brendan.obrien@pcpropertymaster.com. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Brendan_O'Brien http://EzineArticles.com/?How-to-Handle-Bad-Paying-Tenants&id=653572

Basic Eviction Information

1.         An eviction lawsuit is filed in civil or housing court when you want your tenant to move out of your apartment by a specific date, and the tenant refuses to do so.   2.         For non-payment of rent issues, you should begin the eviction process in the same month the rent is owed.   3.         Before you can evict anyone, you must give the tenant a written notice indicating your desire to have him or her move out by a specific date. You must             also tell the tenant why he or she is being evicted. If for non-payment of rent, you must write the amount of rent owed, and for which months. If for other causes, you must quote the lease or tenant-at-will violations. You have the right to choose not to renew a lease, as long as you give the tenant at least 30 days advance notice that you do not plan to continue renting to the tenant.   4.         It is important that every homeowner with tenants knows the tenant/landlord laws of your state. Information can be obtained from the Internet, on web sites such as this one, www.mrlandlord.com, www.nolo.com, and your state bookstore, also available on the Internet.    5.         Landlords need to understand that if there are no penalties for your tenant's excessive or illegal behavior, he or she will only get worse. Additionally, your other tenants will suffer. When rent isn’t paid, you cannot pay the mortgage and bills for the property. When a tenant disturbs the peace and quiet of the building, it could cause your good tenants to move out.       6.         You are not doing your tenant a favor by allowing him or her get behind in the rent. The more that is owed, the harder it is for a tenant to catch up. Insist that the rent is paid each month, even if they have to pay in small increments each week until they get on their feet.   7.         Even if you have a payment plan with the tenant, continue the eviction. If the tenant has not paid the rent in full by the court date, he or she can  make a payment plan with the judge. That is, if you decide to go that route. You always have the right to ask for the apartment back.   8.         Never believe a tenant who says he or she will pay their rent arrears with their income tax refund. It almost never happens. Continue the eviction process until you get all of your money in your hand by certified check or money order. Even if you get the full rent in court before your case is called, continue the legal action. Let the court decide whether or not the case is closed.