JohnLockesGhost Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 So I just got to work today. I'm late because this morning I had to go to court. My tenant hasn't paid his rent in two months and owes me $1,920. So I had to file for "Failure to pay rent" at the District Court. I thought this morning would be extremely easy. I didn't even expect my tenant to show up. The judge asks, "Any change?" I reply, "No, your Honor." He finds for me and orders D*** to pay what he owes. Not only did he show up, but he protests the charges by claiming he's paid for June. We had to be sworn in and D*** perjures himself over and over. I really was shocked (and I told the judge) that this was even being protested. It took ten minutes for the case to be heard before the judge ruled for me. So right now, I mixed with a sort of anger and excitement. Angry that D*** would have the temerity to claim that he'd made payments that he hadn't, but excited that the judge believed me over him. Of course, I had all my stuff together. I found D*** afterwards and asked him if he wanted to talk about it, but he just shrugged and walked past. I think I'm done trying to be a nice guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TMK9973 Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 I understand your desire to be a nice guy - But at the end of the day - You (Rightfully so) were taking a guy to court to prove he is a deadbeat and have him kicked out of his home. Of course he was going to lie to try and save his ass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnLockesGhost Posted July 27, 2007 Author Share Posted July 27, 2007 I understand your desire to be a nice guy - But at the end of the day - You (Rightfully so) were taking a guy to court to prove he is a deadbeat and have him kicked out of his home.Of course he was going to lie to try and save his ass. In 80% of the cases the defendant didn't even show up. And half of those times there was no protest. I was sitting there for about forty minutes watching cases fly by with maybe three protests. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Midnight Judges Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 JLC, I have a question for those of us who are new to the landlording business: Were there any warning signs that this guy was a clown before you let him sign the lease? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nace14 Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 it's so tough to every side with a landlord, but if the guy hasn't paid you and you've been to court about it and won, i think the time for the nice guy train pulled out of the station. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonard Washington Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 I suggest you remove his name from the post. You don't want him to claim you are slandering him or some other legal b.s. Since you "won", do you have to wait a certain time period before you put his crap on the lawn? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnLockesGhost Posted July 27, 2007 Author Share Posted July 27, 2007 JLC, I have a question for those of us who are new to the landlording business: Were there any warning signs that this guy was a clown before you let him sign the lease? If I had done a proper background check? Yes. Tons. This guy had been to prison for Identity theft. He has (probably still does) abused prescription drugs. He had no license or car. In fact, he just spent the night in jail not too long ago for being caught a THIRD time driving while suspended. His grandmother came with him to sign the lease. He works at Subway. (Not that there's anything wrong with that.) There's a ton more this guy has done wrong to my property. I just can't wait til he's gone. I have another tenant (with great references) waiting to take the place. This guy was my first real tenant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimmySmith Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 it's so tough to ever side with a landlord, Every landlord is thought to be some kind of slumlord so the laws are so slanted toward tenants. Once you get on the landlord side of the equation you quickly realize that there are way more bad tenants than there could possibly be bad landlords, and some tenants are very savvy about using the law to their gain. Just because JLG won the settlement does not mean he will ever see a dime, and he probably won't. Best advice. Get a credit report before renting to anyone. References can lie, credit reports do not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Midnight Judges Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 oops JLG not JLC, sorry force of habit in reference to Jason LaConfora. Either way, thanks for the response. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnLockesGhost Posted July 27, 2007 Author Share Posted July 27, 2007 it's so tough to every side with a landlord, but if the guy hasn't paid you and you've been to court about it and won, i think the time for the nice guy train pulled out of the station. I have my obligations too. It's hard for me to pay all the bills and mortgage without the rent money. I offered him a deal to settle outside of court. I said I'd let him pay $1,000 if he'd leave by 1 August. But he refused. I told him if he doesn't take the deal, I'll take him to the cleaners, because I'm just sick of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PleaseBlitz Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 JLC, I have a question for those of us who are new to the landlording business: Were there any warning signs that this guy was a clown before you let him sign the lease? I rent out 2 rooms in my house. Ive been really lucky so far. My "test" includes a credit check and a night out of getting hammered. If you have good credit and are a good guy after a few dozen beers, I can be reasonably certain you'd be a good tennant. Edit: Glad it worked out in your favor JLG. Sorry you are having to go through this giant pain in the ass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Air Force Cane Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 good info to read about when I am considering renting out my condo once I move.. credit checks should be mandatory. make sure the court enforces the judgement!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdsknbill Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 960.00 a month? :yikes: Must be a nice place. My mortgage payment isn't that high. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnLockesGhost Posted July 27, 2007 Author Share Posted July 27, 2007 I rent out 2 rooms in my house. Ive been really lucky so far. My "test" includes a credit check and a night out of getting hammered. If you have good credit and are a good guy after a few dozen beers, I can be reasonably certain you'd be a good tennant.Edit: Glad it worked out in your favor JLG. Sorry you are having to go through this giant pain in the ass. It's all good. I have enough to survive for a couple months. He was getting evicted anyway for breach of lease, which is separate from "failure to pay." So he was planning to leave on 12 August, according to the 30-days notice I gave him. Now he's discovered that he could be evicted (if he doesn't pay what he owes) anytime after 3 August. I probably won't see a penny, but he'll be gone. I still have a massive reclamation project to coordinate. He was a smoker, so the carpet in his room needs replaced. There are holes in the wall. Et Cetera. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnLockesGhost Posted July 27, 2007 Author Share Posted July 27, 2007 960.00 a month? :yikes:Must be a nice place. My mortgage payment isn't that high. It's $550 a month, which is ridiculously low actually. So it's $1,100 for the two months he hasn't paid plus ten dollars a day late fee for each payment. That's 56 days late for June and 26 days late for July. Adds up to 1,920 bucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PleaseBlitz Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 960.00 a month? :yikes:Must be a nice place. My mortgage payment isn't that high. It's $550 a month, which is ridiculously low actually. So it's $1,100 for the two months he hasn't paid plus ten dollars a day late fee for each payment. That's 56 days late for June and 26 days late for July. Adds up to 1,920 bucks. **** you guys. :mad: :jk: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdsknbill Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 It's $550 a month, which is ridiculously low actually. So it's $1,100 for the two months he hasn't paid plus ten dollars a day late fee for each payment. That's 56 days late for June and 26 days late for July. Adds up to 1,920 bucks. ahhhh. Got it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heidenreich Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 960.00 a month? :yikes:Must be a nice place. My mortgage payment isn't that high. Note to self, move to York, PA. My rent for a 2 bedroom apartment is $985 And that's actually cheaper than most of my friends pay. It's $550 a month, which is ridiculously low actually. So it's $1,100 for the two months he hasn't paid plus ten dollars a day late fee for each payment. That's 56 days late for June and 26 days late for July. Adds up to 1,920 bucks. A late fee every day? That's insane. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chomerics Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 If I had done a proper background check? Yes. Tons.This guy had been to prison for Identity theft. He has (probably still does) abused prescription drugs. He had no license or car. In fact, he just spent the night in jail not too long ago for being caught a THIRD time driving while suspended. His grandmother came with him to sign the lease. He works at Subway. (Not that there's anything wrong with that.) There's a ton more this guy has done wrong to my property. I just can't wait til he's gone. I have another tenant (with great references) waiting to take the place. This guy was my first real tenant. Welcome to the wonderful world of being a landlord. Now, I will admit, this guy is not stellar quality, and any single thing would have thrown up a red flag to a seasoned landlord, but you have to start somewhere right? Now, you will get him out of your apartment in a few months, and move on. What is the wait time in MD? In Mass it is 6 months :mad: but. . . there is always a bright side. . .at least he is not family and you can evict him. Just try to evict a deadbeat cousin and see how that goes over. Take a word from the wise, NEVER EVER rent to family, it will only cause you heartache and your wallet to become thinner :2cents: BTW, it will all be over in a few months, and then you get to start the process all over again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chomerics Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 A late fee every day? That's insane. Maybe, but hey that is an incentive to pay rent on time now isn't it Besides, the person has to sign the contract so who's fault is it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdsknbill Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 Note to self, move to York, PA. My rent for a 2 bedroom apartment is $985 And that's actually cheaper than most of my friends pay. QUOTE]Heid, You have to remember I built this house 15 years ago and only mortgaged 87k. Now my mortgage is going to go up since i put on this addition Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnLockesGhost Posted July 27, 2007 Author Share Posted July 27, 2007 Welcome to the wonderful world of being a landlord. Now, I will admit, this guy is not stellar quality, and any single thing would have thrown up a red flag to a seasoned landlord, but you have to start somewhere right? Now, you will get him out of your apartment in a few months, and move on. What is the wait time in MD? In Mass it is 6 months :mad: but. . . there is always a bright side. . .at least he is not family and you can evict him. Just try to evict a deadbeat cousin and see how that goes over. Take a word from the wise, NEVER EVER rent to family, it will only cause you heartache and your wallet to become thinner :2cents: BTW, it will all be over in a few months, and then you get to start the process all over again. He actually gets thirty days notice for breach of lease, which I sent certified on 12 July. So he's gone by 12 August anyway. However, if he doesn't pay his rent within four business days, I can file for a Warrant for Eviction, which needs to work its way to the judge to sign. Once that's signed, it gets sent to the sheriff and to schedule the eviction. Hopefully, all this happens quickly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnLockesGhost Posted July 27, 2007 Author Share Posted July 27, 2007 Maybe, but hey that is an incentive to pay rent on time now isn't it Besides, the person has to sign the contract so who's fault is it? If the rent isn't paid by the fifth day of the month a $50 charge is added on the sixth day. After that it's ten dollars a day. So there is a small grace period of five days. Besides, I think he's only been on time once or twice. So I've been rather forgiving up to now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ACW Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 JLG, that sucks, but I gotta wonder: why didn't you do a proper background check?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnLockesGhost Posted July 27, 2007 Author Share Posted July 27, 2007 JLG, that sucks, but I gotta wonder: why didn't you do a proper background check?? Probably a combination of naivete and haste. A young guy shows up with his grandmother, I guess I just assumed the best about him. Turns out the guy's a lousy, no-good, deadbeat criminal. Guess I was just stupid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.