Landlord - renters are 40 days overdue on rent.?

Question

I am a new landlord, and unfortunately live 3000 miles from the house I am renting.

My renters have been late everymonth since I have rented to them. At first it was only a few days, then a week or two, then almost a month. I could handle a few days or weeks, but they fall further and further behind each month. I told them (in writing) if they fell more than 30 days late, then we would have no choice but to evict them.

Anyway, I am now wondering if there is anywhere (online) I can go to find legal info about evicting a tenant. I would prefer not to hire an antorney since the are so expensive.

By the way, I do have a lease agreement that states that if they fall more than 15 days late, I can evict them.

Also, the house is located in the State of Georgia.

Answer 1

You are in deep dodo , If they find that they can avoid paying, they will do that and the more they get away with the more they will try to get away with.
I have a house 30 feet away and I have these problems, to the point that I have quit renting it.

Depending on the specifics of the State where your rental is located there is a strict procedure you have to follow, or a court could throw the whole thing out and start over again.

Landlords often just use trickery and abuse to get nonpayers out but they can be sued if they do. At that distance it will take a real estate lawyer to get you out of your mess, and the cost will exceed any benefit, except that it will just get worse otherwise.

If you have to live somewhere else and need to keep the original house it is much better to turn the whole thing over to a real estate agent in the same city to rent the place out, and to be at the front door the day the rent is late. They also are expensive, but cheaper than the mess you are in now.

Answer 2

What you want to do is to hire an attorney. Trust me, it's cheaper to spend around $750-$1000 (in my area) than to try to handle this on your own. Plus, if they don't leave after the 3 day pay or quit notice, you will need to file in court, which means you have to show up. Just hire an attorney to handle this and then hire a property management company to handle your rental when you have evicted them. A property management company might have access to eviction lawyers who give them a special discount rate. Also, in the future, you start the eviction process the day they are late. For example, in California, If they pay late on a monthly basis and you accept this behavior on a monthly basis, you might lose your eviction hearing in court.

Anyway, to answer your question, I didn't find any great online resources that encompasses everything about performing an eviction, so I recommend you hit your local bookstore and pick up a legal book on evictions for your state. Usually it's printed by NOLO publishing. Your county court house might have information online that will outline the steps you must perform to evict a tenant.

Good Luck

Answer 3

I was an apartment manager and also I worked for a property management company.

My advise to everybody: IF YOU LIVE MORE THAN A HOUR DRIVE TO THE PROPERTY, LET A PROPERTY MANAGEMENT COMPANY HANDLE YOUR RENTALS. WE CHARGE A 3% FEE EACH MONTH TO THE PROPERTY OWNERS.
We took care of the property maintenance, legal issues, eviction, court appears, insurance issue, etc.

Your current tentants are taking advantage of you because they have gotten away with it for so long. In California rental agreements is stay the late fees, and what happens when the tenants falls behind on a regular basis. If would pay you to go to the property and face them face to face. All you have to do is give them a twenty four notice that you are coming to check the condition of the unit. This will give you permission to take pictures of the current condition before that move out. You can also give them a notice to move for no payment of rent. If you accept partial rent from them, you are back to square one.

Nolo Press has some great books for property management and other issues.

Answer 4

Send them a notice giving them 72 hours to pay or leave. Then if they fail to pay at the end of that time you file eviction in the court of the district the house is in. (This is why you may need a lawyer as a long distance land-lord.) A court date will be set. They will be served by the police and will have to pay in full, leave by that date or show cause why they should not be evicted. If they go to court rather than leave, and lose, they will have to be out in 24 hours or you can have the police and a moving crew relocate them and their belongings to the roadside.

Unless there are repairs to the property that have not been done, they will have to leave.

Answer 5

I don't know much about landlord and tenants laws, but I say just evict them. You have already shown them weakness when you haven't done so the first time they were 15 days overdue and they will exploit it. What they signed was legally binding and can be enforced. Gotta use strong-arm tactics now or else other people will "fall behind" too.

Answer 6

1 day is not overdue. A full term pregnancy is anywhere from 37-42 weeks and due dates are just estimates. Nobody can tell you if labor will come on it's own but the baby can drop overnight.

Answer 7

You might consider going to the following web site. There I answered a similar question

http://www.propertyanswers.org/thread/112/What-Should-I-do-if-a-Tenant-Stops-Paying-Rent-.html

Regarding the online possibility - sorry, the answer is no. Real estate is a "hands on" type of business.

Answer 8

you dont need an attorney.....and dont go online for this.....go to the book store and buy a book called, Tenants Rights, for the state, the house is being rented in. ..from what Ive seen online, is only sombodys opinion, about this book, and to general to be state specific. step by step, easy to understand, save yourself money, and will be used manys times.

Answer 9

Here is a link to the eviction laws in Georgia
http://www.rentlist.net/LTlaw.htm

An eviction form kit
http://www.nupplegal.com/gaeviction.html

And an eviction attorney
http://www.georgiaevictionattorney.com/?gclid=CO3ZhsaQ0owCFRJxUAodtSI3pw

Good luck to you hope these things help

Answer 10

i think you start with a 72 hour notice. you can probably find the forms you need ata stationary store. but beware of squatters rights.that 72 hours is the beginning of a long process if they want to be difficult.
http://www.ehow.com/how_6559_evict-tenant.html
this might be helpful. good luck.