Help! Tenant Owes Us Backrent
We have a duplex that we are in the process of selling. The current tenant is behind on her rent and has promised (in writing) to pay all that she owes. I’m just not sure what I need to do to be sure that we collect all the $. Should we sue her and have papers served since we currently know where she lives? Do I ask her to sign a legal document paying the rest? She’s been nice so far and we’ve been on cordial terms so I hate just to sue her, but it’s too much money to just drop it. I’m afraid that once we sell, she will be evicted (pretty sure of that) and then we will not know where she is at.
Any advice would be appreciated.
As previously stated, familiarize yourself with the relevant state and local laws, but I would concentrate on eviction. Provide the proper notice and carry through with it. Delay will likely cause more problems and money than you might expect.
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On 2010-07-30 14:44, heathermaire wrote:
I’m afraid that once we sell, she will be evicted (pretty sure of that) and then we will not know where she is at
It is not clear whether you are aware that sale of your property does not mean automatic eviction for your tenant. If you sell your tenant occupied property, the new owner must honor all the terms and conditions of your current lease with this tenant. And you must transfer any unearned rents and security deposits you hold to the new owner.
If the new owner evicts prior to the expiration of the existing lease, then the owner must have grounds for eviction such as non-payment of rent.
SMALL CLAIMS COURT IN ARKANSAS
Note: The information contained in this publication is designed as a useful guide to remind you of your rights as a citizen of this state. You should not rely totally on this information because the laws are subject to constant change.
In Small Claims Court, you can sue to recover for damages to personal property, money owed, or for delivery of personal property which is worth $5,000 or less.
here what small claim court can do for you.
5K is nice. and small claim is pretty easy.
Have you tried negotiating with bank to reduce principle amount of loan. When the value of property has declined so drastically the bank is able to give at least a 20- 30% reduction in principle amount due to collecting on default insurance policy they carry. In the long run this would be better for bank
then getting only maybe 75000 the property would sell for .
They can also reduce interest rate. This property may be turned into positive cash flow or at least neutral.
If this attempted be sure to contact loss mitigation department at bank not a traditional loan officer.
You should seek a qualified estate lawyer to assist with this. They can evaluate your situation (all facts) and make a recommendation that fits your needs better than someone on this board.
imgreen:......
Try both the county Register of Deeds and the similar city office to see if there has been a recent sale of the properties.
Thank you I will do that today.
I just called & they told me my grandma is still listed as owner & also with others.. her heir children. So, my father is others. Question is I live in Ohio, How do I start, they told me to hire a lawyer. How can I find one in Sc. What type of lawyer?
For a nominal charge like 25-35 bucks, local or state bar association will make a referral.
That typically gets you an hour w/ the attorney.
Hey Finnaganps,
Other than using the screening service, the means to pay rent, good rental history, what else do you look for in a good tenant?
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On 2010-10-08 11:27, JohnMerchant wrote:
BUT once any of his money reaches his bank acct (which I doubt he has) it might then be garnished or seized.
The caveat here is that you can only seize the money in the bank account if the disability payment has been comingled with other personal funds. If the debtor can prove that the money in the bank account is entirely from his disability payments and no other source, then the bank account would be off limits, too.
Call the Disabilty office and tell them how these folks are cheating the system. The office may get someone to secretly video them and at least prevent them from doing this again and robbing the taxpayers.
And just maybe on day we can watch the whole thing on Tru TV....
You CANNOT garnish federal disability income (SSDI). Even if SSDI funds are deposited into an account mingled with other sources of funds you have to be careful !
You CANNOT garnish federal disability income (SSDI). Even if SSDI funds are deposited into an account mingled with other sources of funds you have to be careful !
Lease purchase does not require owner financing.
Contract for deed is probably the owner finance technique you are looking for when there is an underlying mortgage loan.
New law effective Jan 1, 2011, owners are no longer allowed to owner finance... Kinda funny how the banks and congress cause a melt down by allowing sub-prime loans and now home owners are punished.
So it looks like lease purchase is the only way left to sell your own real estate without being forced to give the banks a cut?
I am asking 10-20% down. This is a substantial amount of money (not your 3k-5k option fee). I would not want to offer anything to anyone I would not be comfortable doing myself. Any suggestions on how to structure a transaction like this to make sure the buyer will be protected or at least have recourse if the seller got into trouble?
JohnCl
Google "SAFE Act". Signed into law by President Bush in July 2008
Nothing in the SAFE Act prohibits owner financing. Just prohibits owners from originating their own loans. If you want to participate in the financing of your investment property sales, just have your mortgage broker do the loan paperwork.
Yep. Being told a licensee will ask for around $100 for this? Of course if you have an underlying mortgage and are planning to do a wrap the seller with have to worry about the bank calling the loan due. Particularly if rates really start to climb and the banks want to get their greedy paws back into the deal.
Kinda hard to get a reasonable down payment if the buyer has to worry about the bank calling in the note before they are ready.
JohnCl
JohnMerchant,
I do wish your later statement was in fact true. Unfortunately most of the Real Estate Investor groups around here are filled with sharks, minnows, and vendors. Very few movers and shakers attend these because they are just not interested in the constant barrage of bait and switch guru infomercial hype and the latest "fake it till you make it" vendor. I get enough of that in my e-mail inbox everyday.
JohnCl