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That's exactly what I was getting at. A friend of mine was purchasing a building with an existing business. When he did his due diligence, he found that that business was not doing well and late on payments. Needless to say, my friend did not buy the building. It wouldn't have been profitable.
The guy I bought it from was a bit of a bad actor himself, so I was not entirely surprised to run into problems with his tenants. My RE lawyer and I uncovered problems and lies before the sale, but I chose to go ahead with it.
However, in spite of all this, I do not regret buying the property, which is unique in its age, character and very low price. I walked into the deal knowing and expecting problems, and I got them. Someday I'll look back on this particular episode as a bad dream.
So 'how I could have avoided the mess' is not the issue!
I do appreciate the input on what to expect in court.
The guy I bought it from was a bit of a bad actor himself, so I was not entirely surprised to run into problems with his tenants. My RE lawyer and I uncovered problems and lies before the sale, but I chose to go ahead with it.
However, in spite of all this, I do not regret buying the property, which is unique in its age, character and very low price. I walked into the deal knowing and expecting problems, and I got them. Someday I'll look back on this particular episode as a bad dream.
So 'how I could have avoided the mess' is not the issue!
I do appreciate the input on what to expect in court.
It is an issue because you've put yourself in a position that is hurting you financially. You want advice from people but won't give all the details. You got yourself into this now you're looking for free advice on how to fix it IMO, I don't think you had a very good lawyer if he agreed with your decision to go ahead and buy the building. Why not go back to your RE lawyer and find out what you need to do?
The father being in China, is not necessarily relevant, but w/o specifics....
NO! Do NOT accept ANY further rent payments of any kind. At the least, not until you speak with an attorney. Residential or commercial, once you are commited to the eviction, NEVER accept any funds from the tenant w/o being stipulated before the court!!
Note, accepting funds, generally blows your case, AND blows any effort to recover your court costs!!! Which the Tenant is normally responsible for.
Sooo, you have a 'default Judgment', correct?
If so, be prepared for any of the shennigans I outlined as well as others. There are many 'delay' tactics a Tenant can utilize. Experienced tenants and/or tenants with competent attorneys can result in LONG and/or COSTLY proceedings
Realize a commercial tenant is doing business and (presumably) earning the whole time, as well as pocketing rent not paid. This, while the LL continues to pay the building expenses, while receiving no income from the Tenant.[/quote]
Yes, that's the source of frustration, for sure.
I talked with an eviction lawyer who thought I could accept partial payment, because the judge would order me to accept any payment offered by the tenant during a hearing. He didn't think accepting money before that would prejudice the case.
But frankly, I'd be shocked if they offered anything. I've never seen penny-pinchers like this bunch.
The reason I mentioned never seeing the father, and his son claiming that he's in China, is that his is the only name on the lease. The people who are there and interact with me aren't mentioned on the lease. What happens if the father is unavailable long-term?
At any rate, the lawyer advised me to continue waiting for the judgement, but said I could hire him for the next portion of the case, making an appearance in front of the judge. Hopefully someone appointed in the Bloomberg administration.
It is an issue because you've put yourself in a position that is hurting you financially. You want advice from people but won't give all the details. You got yourself into this now you're looking for free advice on how to fix it IMO, I don't think you had a very good lawyer if he agreed with your decision to go ahead and buy the building. Why not go back to your RE lawyer and find out what you need to do?
I meant before. It's hard to give advice about something when you don't know all the details. To me it sounded odd that suddenly the tenant wasn't paying the new LL when in reality, he wasn't even paying the old LL. You got yourself into something knowingly and now you want advice on how to get out of it when your lawyer should have advised not to buy the building in the first place.
I meant before. It's hard to give advice about something when you don't know all the details. To me it sounded odd that suddenly the tenant wasn't paying the new LL when in reality, he wasn't even paying the old LL. You got yourself into something knowingly and now you want advice on how to get out of it when your lawyer should have advised not to buy the building in the first place.
Bellakin, your advice is worth exactly what I'm paying for it!
If you'd bother to read my posts, you'd see that I went into the deal eyes wide open.
Let me try to explain using an analogy:
Say you want to own a new horse and you spot a really rare Arabian for sale at an amazing price.
You know it's too good to be true, so you check it out, as best you can. Sure enough, you see signs of trouble: it's been badly neglected, has parasites, badly healed breaks, maybe more.
But you know something about horse breeding and you take a gamble, because you really like this horse and you know that eventually you'll be able to breed it.
It's not just about the bottom line, in other words.
But you may still reach out for help in dealing with its problems.
Hope that helps you understand why I do not need "advice" that I shouldn't have bought the building.
Bellakin, your advice is worth exactly what I'm paying for it!
If you'd bother to read my posts, you'd see that I went into the deal eyes wide open.
Let me try to explain using an analogy:
Say you want to own a new horse and you spot a really rare Arabian for sale at an amazing price.
You know it's too good to be true, so you check it out, as best you can. Sure enough, you see signs of trouble: it's been badly neglected, has parasites, badly healed breaks, maybe more.
But you know something about horse breeding and you take a gamble, because you really like this horse and you know that eventually you'll be able to breed it.
It's not just about the bottom line, in other words.
But you may still reach out for help in dealing with its problems.
Hope that helps you understand why I do not need "advice" that I shouldn't have bought the building.
I think you should re-read what YOU post. It wasn't until post #11 where you said you went in with eyes open. Your analogy doesn't work for me, as they are on different ends of a spectrum. I don't go in "eyes open" knowing something can cost me financially, if not ruin me financially and then expect people to tell me how to fix it. The point I'm getting at is why come here and ask how to fix something when your lawyer should be doing that?
I think you should re-read what YOU post. It wasn't until post #11 where you said you went in with eyes open. Your analogy doesn't work for me, as they are on different ends of a spectrum. I don't go in "eyes open" knowing something can cost me financially, if not ruin me financially and then expect people to tell me how to fix it. The point I'm getting at is why come here and ask how to fix something when your lawyer should be doing that?
I guess that's the point of an analogy.
Clearly, eviction is a very complicated procedure, that even lawyers who specialize in don't see eye to eye over.
I do not have a lawyer, I'm just contemplating getting one, and consulting with them first.
Why you would be harping on the notion that this somehow disqualifies me from soliciting knowledgeable opinions here continues to mystify me.
Of course, if worse comes to worst, non-renewal of the lease in December is a final out.
But yeah, losing 7 months rent is a bummer.
Do you have a prospective tenant or plans for that storefront?
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IMO, I don't think you had a very good lawyer if he agreed with your decision to go ahead and buy the building. Why not go back to your RE lawyer and find out what you need to do?
