Everything was sunshine and roses when your tenants moved in. The credit checks came back pretty clean, the employment and personal references checked out and you felt like you were making the right decision by signing a lease with them.
Oh, how quickly things change.
It wasn’t long before you began having issues with them. Rent payments became later and later, damage was being done to your property, and your income from the rental very slowly (or even swiftly) put you in the red. You knew you had to act, but you might not know how or what you should do.
The reality is that bad tenants are a given when you’re in property management. The key is knowing what to do about them.
Review the Laws for Your State
Laws change frequently, and the laws for eviction in your state might be different from the last time you reviewed them. Stay up to speed on what you need to do when eviction becomes necessary. Some states require a three-day eviction notice to be served, and then you need to take the tenants to court to complete the process. Other states make it easy for tenants to stay as long as they want to. Be proactive and get the information you need.
Hire a Lawyer
A long, drawn out eviction process can be very costly for you, and if you’re evicting these problem tenants, you’ve probably already lost quite a bit of money. Hiring a lawyer might seem expensive, but it could save you a lot of money in the long run.
Cash for Keys
It might seem absurd, but some property managers or landlords will even offer tenants money to move. They don’t have any problem with letting them out of their leases early; they’re just looking for quick relief from the financial stress. It’s actually a quick and easy fix for many property managers, so it’s worth considering.
Here at PropertyBoss, our goal is to provide you with the best property management experience possible. While we can’t always prevent problem tenants from renting from you, we can give you the tools you need to identify issues early on, before they become costly. Contact us for more information.
