Can I kick out a tenant on a month to month lease in 10 days? (Lebanon: crawl space, school)

[greg42]

You might want to keep it to the $12,000 small claims max, or else it gets a bit more complicated. Not sure, up to you.

[XRiteMA98]

Whatever the lawyer say. I would hate complications though.

[Kippy]

Does your figure include the cost of the new bathtub and bathroom remodel?

Be sure to think your options through. Of course, your lawyer is going to suggest whatever is in his or her best interest. He might encourage you to sue for the whole 14k, so that he or she can bill you for all those hours involved in pursuing the matter. You might spend more in lawyer fees recouping that extra 2k and wind up with a net loss.

[XRiteMA98]

Kippy no, the figure does not include anything about bathroom, except 2 glass shades. They broke one and it's impossible for me to find and exact match so I have 2 buy 2 new ones but they are like under 20$ both.

I requested estimates for the house to be in the state they rented it from me. My re-modeling is outside what I'm suing them for.

The bill includes things like: re-carpeting 3 bedrooms, replacing the vinyl in dining, kitchen and powder room, re-sanding the living room. I have pics of before to show to judge. They cut up a hole in the vinyl and the rest is it is severely scratched by the 2 dogs they had, so that's not normal wear and tear.

Also replacement of a window that's broken, replacement of the outside pipe that's busted, 2 fans replacement, electrician fee, plumber fee (all sinks are clogged), kitchen sink replacement (the sink is chiped and you can put your hand through it and the counter top), stove replacement (bottom is dented and it's filthy as crap), 2 garage door openers, new locks on both doors and locksmith fees - they didn;t return garage openers and any keys plus the back door had no handles or lock whatsoever, they pulled it), screen door net replacement, glass top patio table replacement - they sprayed it with white paint, all interior doors replaced - they are severely scratched or drawn on them with permanent markers, curtains they stole, 3 blinds they destroyed, junk removal fee, water and gas reconnection fee and pilot being lit. They shut off gas and water and they were not supposed to do this. That's 11k, the big items being the floors, the doors and the fans.

On top of it there;s last month rent 1160 they didn;t pay and 1500 they owe me for not doing any yard work. My neighbor on the left told me they never did it and it shows. The lease had a provision the rent was reduced with 100 if they maintained the yard. They didn't and they lived there 15 month so this is 1500 right there.

I have no idea what the lawyer is going to say. He told me to itemize things and I did.

Again my remodeling is outside of what I am suing them for OK? I don;t want any of you to believe that oh, I cheat on poor tenants to remodel my bathroom. NO. Prices and items I put on the list are the exact or comparable replacement of what I had before when they rented it from me.

[Hopes]

I just want to let everyone know I saw the before and after pictures. It's as bad as the OP says.

It went from being a beautiful house inside and out to a vandalized vacant crack den.

[XRiteMA98]

Thank you Hopes. I'm meeting the realtor today to get advice on remodeling.
One of the reasons I didnt sell the house in 2011 was that the realtor was not from Lebo. This time I picked a lady with 30 years of experience in Lebo.

Another reason was I didn;t update kitchen and bathroom and now I just dont want to go overboard updating them.

[XRiteMA98]

Realtor postponed meeting because of death in the family.

Oh, I just remembered; I should add two more entries to the list of damages; two retaining walls. One at least held a rose bush and tulips I personally planted. Now it's all rubble.
I should get estimates from a landscaper.

Things are looking good overall. My contractor tore carpets and underneath the hardwood floors are great, so I might as well sand them, based on what the realtor says. Next hes gonna tore the vinyl floors and put ceramic tiles.

He is going to do all the work in my house and has such good ideas and he is a very diligent worker and this is - I was about to say freelance - something he does outside his job, and his price is really decent. So I guess this sort of puts me in holiday mood.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by XRiteMA98

Oh, I just remembered; I should add two more entries to the list of damages; two retaining walls. One at least held a rose bush and tulips I personally planted. Now it's all rubble.

I recall a small portion of what looked like wood fencing that was in disrepair in the "after" pictures.

Originally Posted by XRiteMA98

...the hardwood floors are great, so I might as well sand them, based on what the realtor says.

No need to ask the realtor this question. She's going to say keep the hardwood and refinish it. Everyone wants hardwood.

[I_Like_Spam]

Originally Posted by Hopes

No need to ask the realtor this question. She's going to say keep the hardwood and refinish it. Everyone wants hardwood.

That's a bit of an exaggeration, wall-to-wall carpeting has a lot of fans as well.

But carpet fans are going to want to put in their own anyhow, so hardwood is the way to go.

[XRiteMA98]

Hope, I didn;t notice the fence. Thanks for pointing this out. I'll have a landscaper give me an estimate on this too.
I guess I'll just re-sand then. Personally I have allergies and hardwood floors are so much easier to clean.