Non paying tenants and a short sale (Phoenix: rentals, condo)

[Danabiz]

I purchased a short sale that closed on April 19th. There are currently tenants in the property and their lease with the previous owner is up on April 30th. I have been accommodating and let them stay through the end of their old lease. I have no lease or any kind of agreement with them. One of the tenants will not remove his belongings until May 3rd or 4th which will not work for my time schedule. I need them out to clean and get the condo ready to show and for new tenants. They have not paid rent since December 2012 nor have they paid the water bill which I had to pay in escrow. The previous owner served them a 30 day notice for non-renewal of the lease but never followed up due to costs. What are my rights? Can I lock them out?

[Bummer]

Unfortunately, Danabiz . . . the deadbeats have more rights than you have.

Definitely no attorney here, however, I do believe you need to have them "legally" evicted with all of the proper services, etc (very possibly the previous owner's eviction will suffice) and then have the Police or Sheriff physically remove them.

I feel for you and your scenario is exactly why I refuse to become a Landlord again.

Good Luck and keep us posted.

[AZM]

Originally Posted by Bummer

Unfortunately, Danabiz . . . the deadbeats have more rights than you have.

Definitely no attorney here, however, I do believe you need to have them "legally" evicted with all of the proper services, etc (very possibly the previous owner's eviction will suffice) and then have the Police or Sheriff physically remove them.

I feel for you and your scenario is exactly why I refuse to become a Landlord again.

Good Luck and keep us posted.

I just shake my head when I hear someone say that tenants have more right then the owner, Not only are you not an attorney you also have no knowledge of what you comment on.

Here is my best advice that you will get and I do have experience. Take the time to read the Arizona Landlord Tenant Act. It is a short read and protects the rights of the landlord owner and the rights of the tenant equally. Neither can take advantage of each other. You will have to serve them a five day notice and when that expires you will have to take then to eviction court. Once the five day notice expires file the papers which are as simple as filling in your and their name and the address, that paperwork will have to be served by a process server or Sheriff, unlike the 5 day notice. The court date will be about 3 days from the day you file the paperwork. After the court date they have I think its two weeks and they will be physically removed if necessary. Forget about collecting back rent you could be awarded unless you want to go through the process of garnishing their wages. Also you can remove their personal belongings but you will have to inventory them and pay upfront storage fees. I've done this and paid for first month storage with a combination lock on the locker, sent a certified letter of where it is to them and they have to deal with it from their. Good luck as the law is on the side of the one that follows it.

[Bummer]

Obviously, AZM . . . you need to re-read the original post.

Danabiz is optimistically hoping to have the unit vacant and available for rental, or at least available to prepare for rental, to new "paying" tenants by the 3rd or 4th of May. According to my calendar, that is the end of this week.

Even with your Reader's Digest version of "How To Remove Deadbeat Tenants" . . . due to the current laws leaning towards the Tenants and not the Landlords, I doubt if those dates are even close to being realistic IF the tenants refuse to cooperate. Considering the fact they have not paid rent or utilities since December, their ethics and willingness to cooperate are definitely questionable.

Thankfully, very possibly not as experienced as you are but I have been there and done that a few times previously and never stated it was impossible. My response was intended to be a little more realistic, even if it did come across as negative.

[observer53]

You are not going to be able to get them out on your schedule, even if they they jump to it when you serve a five day notice. Serve the five day notice, and be prepared to go to court if they are not out in five days. It's a fairly quick process that is not overly burdensome to either side, except for your tight time frame. Since they haven't been paying for months, I think you could have served the five day notice when you took legal possession of the property nine days ago. Do it now, and get the clock started.

[ysr_racer]

Anonymous legal advice on the internet, what could possiblely go wrong

[mjd2k]

I do not have experience in AZ rentals but quite a bit in Canada. If you thought you would have the place rented out by May 1, you may be naive. Having said that, the tenant may be bought off or maybe they will cooperate with some incentive.

In this scenario, I would have planned for a months vacancy and if it worked out that you could rent out immediately, thats gravy. If it doesn't happen, you can go in, paint, repair etc and start from scratch. THats a good thing imho

I agree with following the legal process. Usually thats the best route in the long run.

[Zippyman]

Originally Posted by Danabiz

I purchased a short sale that closed on April 19th. There are currently tenants in the property and their lease with the previous owner is up on April 30th. I have been accommodating and let them stay through the end of their old lease. I have no lease or any kind of agreement with them. One of the tenants will not remove his belongings until May 3rd or 4th which will not work for my time schedule. I need them out to clean and get the condo ready to show and for new tenants. They have not paid rent since December 2012 nor have they paid the water bill which I had to pay in escrow. The previous owner served them a 30 day notice for non-renewal of the lease but never followed up due to costs. What are my rights? Can I lock them out?

You need an attorney, yesterday. An uncontested nonpayment of rent case in Phoenix can be done in just a couple of weeks, but you obviously don't know how to do it, and your tenant obviously knows how to work the system.

[john3232]

Originally Posted by Danabiz

I purchased a short sale that closed on April 19th.

I hope you got a good deal on the short-sale because not insisting the property be vacant at closing was a mistake.

O.k. now what?

As was mentioned you need an attorney right away esp. since you aren't familar with the eviction processes.

It's going to cost you but it will be well worth the money if you can get them out without a fuss.

You don't want them damaging the property either so an attorney might be more neutral.

You might even agree to help pay them moving costs.

Anything to get them out fast.

[youthinkso]

Haven't paid rent since December? ,,,,.and they think they have rights?

frieakin unbelievable. Grab a shotgun.