when to tell month-to-month renter she's out?
We are about to sign a contract on a house with a rental that is occupied by a month-to-month renter. We are planning to take over part of the rental for my mother-in-law and rent the rest to my sister. We will close in late March and will need the rental unit vacant by May…
We are about to sign a contract on a house with a rental that is occupied by a month-to-month renter. We are planning to take over part of the rental for my mother-in-law and rent the rest to my sister. We will close in late March and will need the rental unit vacant by May 1. When should we tell the current renter that she has to leave? And how – is there any legality in this situation that I should know about as far as it being in writing, or does her lack of lease mean all bets are off?
Thanks.
Take a stab at how much you stand to lose at lost rent, lawyers and other expenses. Talk to the tenants. If necessary, entice them to be out by Date x by offering them a “moving bonus” (a small portion of your calculation) if they are out by then.
Assuming everyone is going to be an asshole and going right to the mattresses is no way to do business, and part of the reason why people think they have to…
seriously, i don’t get it. someone is buying this building and wants to use the rental for THEIR FAMILY. why are they being painted as some sort of bad guy?
the tenant does not have a lease.
the law says as long as long as you give ample notice, you can kick them out.
the tenant is SOL. it’s that simple.
if you need the rental by May 1, have the current owner tell them they need to be out by then. it’s Feb 2. that’s 3 months.
you would think reading some of these posts you are NEVER allowed to exercise your legal rights to STOP renting to someone.
and give me a break with that “being poor is” post. WTF does that have to do with anything? you know absolutely nothing about this specific situation.
My wife and I were given 90 days notice to vacate our lovely parlor-level floor through on “the best block” in Brooklyn. We got a letter from the LL August 1 saying we needed to be out by November 1 because he was moving in. Though majorly disappointed, we very much appreciated the lead time. It is very hard to find a suitable rental and we needed almost 2 months. (The person saying that 2 weeks is enough clearly has not been in the rental market over the last 6 months, has very different quality standards than us, or had a much higher budget.) 30 days notice is not enough, 60 is minimum. Because our LL wrote us a nice letter, offered us glowing references, and gave us ample time, we were okay. But I can promise you that if he started out by giving us a 30-day eviction notice, we would not have gone quietly. Also, any record of eviction proceedings can be found by these tenants’ prospective landlords in the future and could seriously hurt their chances of getting a place. LL friends of ours NEVER rent to anyone who has ANY experience with the eviction process. Remember these people have done nothing wrong–they just happen to have the bad luck of living in the bldg you bought. The majority of people in that situation (like us) don’t want to live in uncertainty anyway and just want enough lead time to find something else. Congratulations for buying a home but please don’t be a jerk about it. A little consideration goes a long way.
I just went through this last summer. First, if you can include it in the contract so that the seller must deliver vacant, that is the absolute best move.
If not, identify an attorney to work with but try to work out a settlement with the tenants directly. Despite having an attorney, this is ultimately what I did, because as soon as I got an attorney involved, so did they, and I wasted ALOT of money, and more importantly, TIME in housing court that ultimately didn’t make sense. Four months later she and I worked it all out in a diner; thanks Mr. Attorney. However, even if I talked to the tenant directly at first, I would have the attorney draft the letter explaining everything to them & have him file it in Housing Court in case the tenant isn’t agreeable and forces you into that route. That way, the clock has started in the court system.
Despite the lease being month to month, unless you have an open-ended amount of time to wait, you will likely need to expedite things by paying the tenant to leave quickly. If that happens, use your attorney to draft an agreement letter so it’s official. There is always the chance that they’d move out in a month or two, which would be a dream come true, and does happen, especially if the tenants are young, student-types.
I was in this situation about five years ago and I simply elected to have my tenants killed. It was done quickly and humanely, and in the end I probably spent less than I would have spent on legal fees. I wouldn’t recommend handling the situation this way every time, but it is one more arrow for your quiver.
Do NOT “try to talk to the tenant.” You will have no protection “if their situation changes.” START THE EVICTION PROCESS THE DAY YOU CLOSE. PERIOD.
Well 9:42, 10K becomes pretty manageable when you divide it by 40.
Yeah 9:25AM, that’s right. They’re probably all millionaires, but they find satisfaction in living in humble rental units just out of spite, just because they want to stick it to people like you!
lol…this board is really too much sometimes.
No, it’s true, only poor people rent…though makes me wonder how they can afford the $10,000 monthly rent on some places