I ended up coming up with a contract for the tenant with the new dog that will allow them to keep it, but their rent will increase and they’ll have to leave an additional security deposit just for the dog.
She has been a good tenant and has been following the rules. Part of the additional agreement allows me to go through he apartment on a regular basis to make sure that there isn’t additional damage.
Ain’t nothing easy.
I showed the apartment tonight to a woman with two children. She was aware that the place is being renovated but wanted to see it anyway. It turns out that it isn’t what she’s looking for. While up there though, several interesting things happened.
First, I wanted to see what else needs to be done before the place is rented. It is actually looking very good, and should be rentable this week. The largest outstanding items are the windows, but I have the quotes and know now which windows I’ll completely replace and which ones will only get new glass.
The other ridiculous thing that happened is that one of my current tenants, who has been there for multiple years, informed me that she has already bought a puppy and wants permission to keep it. First of all, this is against her lease, which as of now forbids it without written approval from me (the pet agreement). I did tell her about 6 months ago that I would allow her to have a dog if she filled out the extra pet agreement, but that was before the dogs shmogs incident. Today I just said that I’m going to have to talk to my lawyer to determine if she can keep it. After I left, she called me to say that she spoke with her finance and decided if they can’t keep it they’re going to move out.
Of course, it isn’t just any dog. It’s a bullmastiff puppy. From what I’ve read, these things get huge, are powerful, and will defend its family well. I did find one funny note, according to Wikipedia’s bullmastiff page:
The Bullmastiff is courageous, loyal, calm, and loving with those it knows. It has a very strong protective instinct and will defend its people against anything it perceives as a threat. However, it doesn’t normally attack to protect, instead it simply knocks the intruder over with its massive size and pins them to the ground. Bullmastiffs become immensely attached to their families and do best when they can live inside with their people.
I don’t know if I can deal with dogs anymore, especially large ones. At the same time, they have been very good tenants. Also, if I did allow them to keep it I would certainly require more rent.
I’m going to sleep on it. If you have an opinion about bullmastiffs, please let me know!
Well, today at noon I met the Court Officer at my property to finally evict my tenants. When I arrived, he had already placed a note on the door reading:
NOTICE By order of: The ****** County Special Civil Part, Tenants of these premises have been evicted and the plaintiff placed in full possession thereof. NO TRESPASSING.
He knocked on the door several times, there was no response and no sign of the dogs. I unlocked the door and we went upstairs…
The place was a mess. The first thing that I noticed was that they pulled up the rugs in the hall and the master bedroom, the rugs that I had paid them to put in about 10 months ago (at a good price including time and materials, and when I inspected soon after installation looked good).
They left most of the large furniture including queen size mattresses, several dressers, and cabinets. Besides that, they left an old television, an old microwave, piles of books, a huge bag of garbage, and tons of other items scattered all over the place. According to the neighbor, they moved yesterday by carrying the things that they wanted out in pillow cases.
Other than the junk, there were a few problems, but thankfully nothing permanent. Problems like three broken windows, lights, and door knobs.
Obviously, this is going to be an ordeal to fix, but I’m happy they’re out. First I need to talk to my lawyer to figure out 1) Do I have to store the remaining stuff, or can I assume that they do not want it? 2) Should we pursue any criminal charges? 3) How should we approach small claims?
I am definitely going to take them to court to get a judgment, then work to get reimbursed.
As far as the apartment, one of my other tenants has a business that does jobs like cleaning apartments after tenants move out, painting, and sanding/staining floors (There are hard wood floors underneath the carpets, which I’m thinking about just fixing and leaving. What are the advantages to hard wood vs. carpets in rentals?)
The next few weeks will still be interesting, but at least I know where things stand and I don’t have to worry about being liable for those vicious dogs. Unfortunately, I do not think that the apartment will be ready for September 1st, but hopefully by the 15th.
The line of the day goes to my friend’s girlfriend, when she came up with today’s theme song:
Who kicked the dogs out?
Rick, Rick, Rick Rick.
The judge denied my tenant’s Order to Show Cause.
Unlike last time, we had a courtroom all to ourselves. As of 9:15, the tenant did no show up. The judge was already seated, my lawyer was already on the speaker phone, and I was seated at the plaintiff’s bench. As the judge was researching whether or not the tenants were served, my tenant and her child walked in (18 minutes late).
The judge invited her to her bench and swore us both in. His first question was directed to the tenant, asking her why the court should grant her request. Her points were, mainly:
When she was finished, the lawyer asked her for the name of her lawyer who was handling the settlement. She couldn’t name one. He then asked her for the name of the lawyer that was representing the other side, she couldn’t name one.
Then, my lawyer asked if he could respond to her points. He said:
At this point, the judge made his decision. His points were:
There was a back and forth about how she had nowhere to go. The judge asked her if she had family in the area, she nodded. Then he announced that he was denying her request. She quickly got up and left, with her daughter. The lawyer hung up, and the judge excused us.
Obviously, I was pleased with the verdict. I can not imagine that it would have ended any other way. They’ve made absolutely no attempt to pay their rent, or to keep me up to date on their situation. This has been a learning experience, and now I know several things to look out for. First and foremost, I am going to run criminal and credit checks before signing the lease next time.
Now, I just have to wait until Tuesday at noon, at which point I will inspect the apartment. My lawyer recommended bringing a digital camera and video camera, in case there are problems we can use that later (pressing criminal and/or civil charges).
More wait.
Well, things took an unexpected turn today.
So the Warrant of Removal was served, and I’ve set up an appointment with the court officer to take back the property next week.
Then today, at around 3:30pm, I received a call from my lawyer’s secretary. It turns out that my tenants filed an Order to Show Cause today, which means that there is an emergency court hearing scheduled for tomorrow where my tenants will have the opportunity to convince the judge to halt the eviction process, thus allowing them to stay for (at least?) the rest of the month. Remember, they now owe me three months rent, over $500 in attorney fees, and over $200 in late fees (actually, according to our contract they owe me $10 a day after the 6th of the month, but on the forms that have been filed $200 was listed).
The first problem, is that I personally have to appear in court, I cannot be represented solely by my attorney. Secondly, they only schedule landlord tenant matters on Fridays, so if I want to get them out next week, I have to show up tomorrow. This is regardless of whether or not I have an important meeting that I _need_ to be at tomorrow at 3pm. This is also regardless of whether my attorney is booked all morning and cannot show up until at least 1:30pm.
So, I’m going to go by myself at 9am, and then teleconference my attorney in so that he can hear/participate while he’s doing the other stuff that he needs to do (the court apparently has the facilities for this).
On the form the tenants filled out, they crossed out the section about the tenant paying what they owe. They say that they do not have the money, but potentially will come up with it (They’ve mentioned an unrelated settlement, but they’ve said that several months ago and I no longer buy it).
The thing I don’t understand is how they haven’t cared about getting booted out _since June_, and now the court is even considering stepping in to slow it down? Now we just have to wait and see.
An Order to Show Cause, according to Nolo’s legal definition
An order from a judge that directs a party to come to court and convince the judge why she shouldn’t grant an action proposed by the other side or by the judge on her own (sua sponte). For example, in a divorce, at the request of one parent a judge might issue an order directing the other parent to appear in court on a particular date and time to show cause why the first parent should not be given sole physical custody of the children. Although it would seem that the person receiving an order to show cause is at a procedural disadvantage–she, after all, is the one who is told to come up with a convincing reason why the judge shouldn’t order something–both sides normally have an equal chance to convince the judge to rule in their favor.
I’ll keep you up to date…
I’ve just sent a Notice to Cease to the tenants in P1b (the 2BR) informing them that they no longer have permission to keep dogs in the apartment. Naively, when they were first moving and told me they had two dogs, I didn’t question them as thoroughly as I should have. It turns out that the dogs have a history of viciousness (although the tenants assured me that they did not before signing the lease). I found out this week that they have a history not just in the town where I’m a landlord, but also in adjacent ones. Luckily, I made them sign an addendum to the lease which gives me the authority to revoke permission if they break any other clause of the pet agreement. Because they are in violation of this agreement, I just sent out the Notice to Cease yesterday, so it looks like the next few weeks will be interesting.
Until last week, I had only received relatively minor complaints. Over Memorial Day weekend things changed when the police were called three times for noise complaints. Later that week a neighbor called the town’s animal control to report abuse, and found out that the dogs have a history of viciousness. One particularly disturbing encounter involved the dogs running around the neighborhood terrorizing people. Eventually, several state police officers showed up, were chased, and were preparing to shoot the dogs when the animal control officer arrived and instead tranquilized them.
The other person who is apparently familiar with these dogs is the town’s mayor, who was aware of an incident where they had attacked a guy’s face. When I spoke with him, he explained (like my lawyer, and others) that the speed with which I can get rid of these tenants depends mainly on the quality of my lease. Luckily, the clauses appear to be tight enough to allow me to request that the dogs get removed, otherwise I can (and will) evict.
Now I just have to wait to see what happens next.