I think you have something there. I think you can take that clause and your evidence to court and ask for an eviction hearing to be scheduled. I believe you will still need a hearing and you will need to properly serve them with notice of that hearing.

Not surprised the police won't help since this is a civil not a criminal matter. I'm not sure if using someone you are acquainted with is the best witness. I would ask your friend to suggest another former (or current office) who would be willing to earn a few bucks for being there as a witness.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ScottGem

I think you have something there. I think you can take that clause and your evidence to court and ask for an eviction hearing to be scheduled. I believe you will still need a hearing and you will need to properly serve them with notice of that hearing.

Not surprised the police won't help since this is a civil not a criminal matter. I'm not sure if using someone you are acquainted with is the best witness. I would ask your friend to suggest another former (or current office) who would be willing to earn a few bucks for being there as a witness.

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Today was completely ODD! It's stranger then fiction. We get there to meet the prospective tenants, my husband goes alone to the door, it takes a little while but they answer. My husband comes & get the prospects while I wait in the car and they're in there a little while. He's recording everything... I keep waiting & wondering. Finally, they come out & we go & talk and my husband mentioned the current tenants say they will be out by the 15th in front of the prospects. I said "Oh, okay." Well, after we get in our vehicle to leave, I said "what happened?" And my husband goes on to explain that they were SUPER nice and even helping show the prospects around the house. They acted like they are happy about the move!

Also, the overall condition of the house looks good. It's clean, except for a couple of spots on the carpet!

So, what would you do now? They are being agreeable to show the house & nice too. I left thinking they are going to sue us when they leave, so they are playing nicey nice now. This isn't the type of person who lets something go OR allows herself to lose. It just doesn't set quite right with me. Am I being paranoid?

It could be they consulted their own attorney (or Q&A site) and were told they don't have a leg to stand on, so maybe they figure to get out without you suing them.

At any rate, I think its worth waiting until the 15th, but be ready to file for eviction on the 16th.

Well, the game is on again. They didn't pay the rent. My husband called & reminded them it was the 1st and they still had time to bring the rent over this evening & that they would lose their $50 discount if they didn't pay today. The tenant said "okay" and never came.

I drove by tonight and the outside lights were on (they come on automatically at night), but the house was DARK. They could have been in bed OR gone! We don't know.

I am in the process of writing them an email to remind them about the rent and also let them know that they cannot use the security deposit for rent.

Our lease states if they haven't paid by the 5th, we will start eviction proceedings.

Any other advice would be welcomed. How much do we ask for in the eviction? The full month's rent? We need to know the best avenue to go.

Hello again O:

Stop talking. Start evicting. Stop giving discounts. Start giving late fees. They OWE you the full months rent. So SUE for the full months rent.

excon

The eviction has nothing to do with asking for any amount.

If you are evicting for non-payment,
You need a pay or quit notice. This requires the full amount owed including late fees.

Doesn't a quit notice give them the option to be out in 3 days without paying? I don't quite understand how these notices work because it seems like they can get out & not pay. Well, I think they are trying to do that anyway. Is eviction the right avenue if they are trying to abandon the property & skipping out on the rent?

Hello again, O:

Eviction does NOTHING other than to make SURE they're out. It protects YOU. If they're leaving when they said they would, then the eviction won't effect them at all. It will only effect them if they try to stay.

Once they didn't give you notice, or you didn't give them any, when the 1st rolls around, they owe you a FULL months rent. If they don't pay, and you give them a 3 day notice, and they LEAVE, then that's GOOD for you. It does NOT mean they don't owe you the months rent.

excon

Quote:

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Originally Posted by excon

Hello again O:

Stop talking. Start evicting. Stop giving discounts. Start giving late fees. They OWE you the full months rent. So SUE for the full months rent.

excon

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I'm confused. I cannot find anything in the law that states the 30 day notice doesn't start until the end of the month & that they owe for the full month's rent. Can you point me in the right direction?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by excon

Hello again, O:

Eviction does NOTHING other than to make SURE they're out. It protects YOU. If they're leaving when they said they would, then the eviction won't effect them at all. It will only effect them if they try to stay.

Once they didn't give you notice, or you didn't give them any, when the 1st rolls around, they owe you a FULL months rent. If they don't pay, and you give them a 3 day notice, and they LEAVE, then that's GOOD for you. It does NOT mean they don't owe you the months rent.

excon

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Okay, if I give them notice & the leave in 3 days, then I wouldn't be evicting, right? I would just be going to small claims?

I understand your confusion. They are two basic wys for a landlord to terminate a lease early. For non-payment or rent or for other breaches of the lease. Unless the lease provides for other action, then a termination of the lease for other breaches would require a 30 day notice. Only on a nonpayment can you do a 3-10 day pay or quit. And its true that they could pay and stay.

In your case, since they have indicated they want out, I would go ahead with the pay or quit because you want them to know you aren't playing games anymore.

Eviction is what happens when they ignore the initial notice. Whether it be a 3 day pay or quit or a 30 day termination of lease. Once the deadline passes you need to go to court for an eviction order.

Small Claims comes in AFTER they vacate. At that point, you do your walk through and assess any damages. Once you have determined the costs of repairs and the amount of rent still owed, you subtract the deposit. If the deposit doesn't cover that amount, you go to small claims to try and recover the balance. If the deposit does cover, you return the difference.

Okay, great! That is what I needed to know.

I posted the pay or quit notice today. We took pictures with today's newspapers as well. Now what?

Wait

Also, I called the electric company & found they are shutting the power off on Friday (conveniently so I won't have power over the weekend?) I'm glad I called. I was able to transfer it back over to me without having it shut off. I will get all the utilities done, but save all the bills for our big day! They are going to run this week!

If they told the utility to shut off on Friday, that indicates they plan on sneaking out on Friday. I would suggest you be there to take pictures. If you see them loading anything like fixtures that belong to the house into the moving van, call the police. Do not confront them, but report to the police that a theft is in progress. If they know what your car looks like, see if you can borrow one. Or, if you are friendly with any neighbors, see if they will let you camp out by a window.

I have emailed another neighbor who I can trust and hopefully, they'll let me know if they see anything or have already seen anything.

I like the idea of borrowing a car - great idea.

After I posted here, I found the gas is already off (today) so I think they are almost gone. I think they are already living somewhere else now because without gas, they have NO heat & NO hot water.

I pick my husband up from work at 9p tonight & we are going to go by (with another vehicle). When we went to post the notice today, there was still some outside items, although I did notice the trash seemed "over full" so they have probably cleaned out the inside. They seem to move fast (because they moved in fast). I see a pattern emerging in their behavior.

My guess is that they left the electric on so they could leave EARLIER without us noticing since the outside lights come on at night & off in the morning. It looks like someone is still there. I'm just glad I caught this before we were there on the weekend without power trying to show the house.

I drove by. Tonight, the lights were on!! What should I do tomorrow about the gas?? I set up a time to turn it back on because I'm sure they are working tonight packing & moving, but should I wait to turn the gas back on? I'm worried about leaving the pipes in winter weather without heat. Any advice?? I also have showings this week and hate for the house to be cold.

If freezing pipes are a concern, then turn the gas back on. You might check with the Post Office to see if they left a forwarding address.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ScottGem

You might check with the Post Office to see if they left a forwarding address.

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Hello again, O:

Scott gave you an excellent suggestion. However, I don't think the PO will just give up that information...

Send an empty envelope to the house with FIRST class postage AND your return address. TYPE a note on the envelope, saying: "Address correction requested". The Post Office will then send you their forwarding address if there is one.

excon