A Different Approach To Dealing With An Eviction
By JD Esajian on June 10, 2014
In a perfect world, there would be a continuous cycle from one happy tenant to the next. However, anyone who owns rental property knows that things do not always go according to plan. For every nine happy tenants who pay on time every month, all it takes is one bad one to set your business back. The eviction process is a very messy one that can consume time, money and energy away from other areas of your business. Ideally, you will never have to go through it, but if you do, there are some things you can do to ease the pain.
The best way to deal with an eviction is to prevent it. No landlord would ever knowingly rent to someone with red flags, but there are times when you drop your guard and are lax with your screening methods. These are the times when bad tenants slip through the cracks and cause problems. Every time you rent you need to protect your investment and spend the time and money to do your due diligence. You will come across very few bad tenants, but all it takes is one to cause an eviction.
The first step in dealing with an eviction is to get on top of it as soon as possible. It usually starts with a pattern of being late with the rent. Five days turns into ten and within a few months they have stopped paying all together. At the first sign of late payments, try to find out what is going on. There could be a loss if income, an unexpected payment burden or a family medical issue. Whatever the issue is, it is always better to try to work things out with your existing tenant than to get nothing for several months and go through eviction. The sooner you can find out if there is a problem, the sooner you can try to deal with it.
If eviction is the only option, you need to familiarize yourself with any and all local eviction laws in your state. Many landlords immediately hire an attorney to deal with it and leave it in their hands. This is fine, but it also will become a costly way to deal with your problem. Ideally, you will try to reason with your tenant and try to get them to move out without damaging your property. If you take a hardline stance and demand they leave, you open yourself up for possible property damage and a prolonged battle. It may sound counterproductive, but it is not a bad idea to offer them a monetary incentive to get out in a few weeks. This has worked for lenders and can serve to cut your losses with your rental property and gets money coming in without waiting several months. What you lose paying your tenant you can save with attorney fees and getting cash coming in much quicker.
Dealing an eviction is never easy, but if you can get out in front of the problem quickly you can soften the blow. As hard as this time may be for you, it could also be difficult on your tenant as well. Keep this in mind when you try to work with them. If you can reason with them, you may just be able to come to an agreement that works for everyone.