patrick.net

ptiemann says

Yes, she absolutely can get the tenant to small claims court. Limit has been increased to $7500.

OP stated San Ramon, CA? Yes, that's the case in Contra Costa County -- it's $7500 for individuals/sole proprietorships and $5000 for business other than sole proprietorships and government. Each county is different.

This is one of those cases where you have to follow the right procedure very carefully. Absolutely do not harass your tenant or cut off their power, heat, water, etc.

You will have to follow the right court procedures and then you can get the Sheriff involved. Look for county and state resources on this to do it right, if you don't want to get an attorney:

http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/landlordbook/index.shtml
http://www.co.contra-costa.ca.us/DocumentView.aspx?DID=413

Unfortunately, this is one of those things that can take 6 months in some jurisdictions.

set house on fire?

too easy ....... contact local housing authority or code enforcement officer, tell them your rental's bathroom will be under construction, creating a very unsafe situation for the squatter-tennant due to no water being on while you rebuild the bathroom. Ask them to help you avoid a public health risk from an occupied unit without proper facilities.

since you would be forced by the housing authority to relocate your tennant if you force them to live in an unsafe unit, then that means those housing enforement folks will have no choice but to evict the squatter for you -- for the good of public safety, and EPA rules about human waste inside homes.

corntrollio says

OP stated San Ramon, CA?

The property is located in a suburb of Sacramento.

You offer them Cash for Keys,...hello!

ptiemann says

Another dirty little trick is to write the tenant a letter that you forgive him those $2000 in past due rent.

I don't think you meant write a letter. I would hang you out to dry with a letter if you did that to me. dead beats eat people like you for lunch.

Katy Perry says

You offer them Cash for Keys,...hello!

Why would they take cash for keys when they can get rent for free?

Plays2win says

Katy Perry says

You offer them Cash for Keys,...hello!

Why would they take cash for keys when they can get rent for free?

I don't know why do the banks do it then? if the big boys do it, so can you.
When it comes down to it. people need money to move. I'd also offer a letter of recommendation along with the CFK. so tenant will have no issue finding another place.
make it easy for tenant,..then they can make it easier for you. ( banks have figured this out.)
I guess trust is the main issue here.

Nomograph says

You're hearing a lot of terrible advice here from people who have no experience in these matter.

I've been through this before several time. Do what E-man says:

E-man says

Hire an eviction attorney. It costs around $850 for the service in Santa Clara County.

It's relatively cheap, legal, and at the end of the process the sheriff's department will physically remove the deadbeat if need be.

Let other pens dwell on guilt and misery -- Jane Austen

Nomo thinks this is 10-20 years ago, I personally have watched 3 times sheriffs knock on doors and be turned away with a tenant showing some legal papers. it finally took three show ups and 6 months for the sheriff to get these legal geniuses out.

CFK Money Talks,... BS walks.

plus the Sheriffs hardly have time to deal and are spread thin with all the dumb assess trying the same thing.

It doesn't work like you think anymore.
that's why banks do CFK now

As a general rule: In Republican states judge is landlord sided and eviction can be done as soon as 2 weeks. In Democrat states judge is tenant sided and creative tenants can hold possession up to 6 months easy.

if you are in CA, you aren't going to get lots of sympathy from the judges. Your best bet is cash for keys.

Eviction is a long process. Your best bet is to reason with the tenant.

Why bother with short sale? Just do a foreclosure with non recourse and be done with it.

Wow, what has become of pat.net? There is one deadbeat in this story. I'll give you a clue -- it's not the renter.

EBGuy says

Wow, what has become of pat.net? There is one deadbeat in this story. I'll give you a clue -- it's not the renter.

Wife & I used to manage an apartment bldg. in Burlingame. Learned from the owner the easiest way to get rid of an undesirable tenant is to offer them cash to leave in say 4 hours. Enough cash and they will leave. Cheaper than the alternative.

Just curious - is this "friend" making the mortgage payments?

She has a tenant in the house and the tenant stopped paying rent as soon he found out the home was going through foreclosure.
Yes, please clarify that statement above. I generally take "going through foreclosure" to mean a mortgage is no longer being paid. Any extenuating circumstances so that we can feel sympathy for your friend? In general, Casey Serin doesn't get a lot of love around here.

EBGuy says

Wow, what has become of pat.net? There is one deadbeat in this story. I'll give you a clue -- it's not the renter.

That's a good point, the landlord here is a total deadbeat.

Nonetheless, the OP asked a bona fide question, and some of us gave a reasonable answer. Nothing wrong with that, although the people complaining about deadbeat tenants and espousing nonsense political ideology and talking points about what states allow what for eviction probably need to calm down.

chip_designer says

set house on fire?

Obligatory:

What Ebay and Corntrolio said.

One could make the argument that the tenant is simply refusing to participate in the landlord's fraudulent behavior towards the lender.

This story really illustrates the saying that there is often two sides to every story. It is very hard for us to know whether the case is accurately described in the posting.

justme says

This story really illustrates the saying that there is often two sides to every story. It is very hard for us to know whether the case is accurately described in the posting.

Right, the proper way to do this would require being more honest:

Hey guys, I f**ked up and now my house is in foreclosure. I do have a renter, but the renter is stiffing me on this month's rent. I realize that I don't really have much ground to stand on, since I'm stiffing the lender too, but do I have any recourse?

It's okay if you are going to make judgmental comments about this, but I am primarily asking to figure out if I have any recourse against the tenant that I can exercise to get a little money out. I realize that I'm in a compromised position, since I myself am not paying the bank, and the tenant might be taking advantage of me by holding out for "cash for keys" from the bank.

Ideally, I would prefer to short sale this house, so if I could get the tenant out somehow, that would be better. I realize that two wrongs does not make a right. Any advice you could give me would be helpful, thanks.

Well put, Corntrolio.

It always frightens me when landlord types start power-tripping with their 5-day (or whatever) pay-or-quit notices. I once saw one who was practically foaming at the mouth with glee.

ptiemann says

Yes, she absolutely can get the tenant to small claims court. Limit has been increased to $7500.

Since the tenant probably has not assets that your friend could put a lien on, the best bet is garnishment of wages. The person sounds like a deadbeat, it may be best to sell the judgment. If the judgement is small (i.e. under $2500) then no company will be interested in buying them.

Of course your friend could keep renewing the judgement and collect interest (I think 10%/yr).

The eviction attorney should cost less than $1000. Tell your friend to google 'eviction service'. These guys work very efficiently.

ptieman- How did you get so smug and show so much hubris, when all you know about the tenant, is that they are a tenant! I am also a tenant, and can buy or sell any lame - faux landlord - Realtor-flipper or other perp of similar greediness! Why can't your landlord friend PAY HER MORTGAGE ? It is not the fault of the tenant...under the law. It is a BAD decision, lack of funds and/or lack of skill as a property owner that causes her problem. I shed no tears for a landlord - flipper who can't pay their debts. In my case, I have never been late, and my "landlord-Realtor" forgets to pay the monthly mortgage and taxes, because he knows the banks refuse to foreclose on Realtors in California. The tenant may have more money, cash. power than the landlord, and maybe THEY want to buy it on a short sale? I know several legal tricks that can KEEP the tenant in the residence RENT FREE! And you don't need to hire an attorney to do it. Any court involved in unlawful detainers will have ample public records of cases where tenants prevailed. The tenant only needs to have a parallel fact pattern, and the pleadings and citations have already been enumerated to the court...and THEY can be cited as references! I speculate that the the person who can NOT afford good legal counsel is not the tenant but the landlord. If a court hears the words serious debilitating illness, pregnancy with complications, job loss...THEY MOST ASSUREDLY will consider these issues before putting them on the street so a Landlord can continue to extort value where there is NONE....that's why the house may be short. You mean UPSIDE DOWN with a investment MONEY PIT?

Katy Perry says

You offer them Cash for Keys,...hello!

She can't offer cash for keys BECAUSE SHE HAS NO MONEY. Apparently landlords feel that they are only supposed to collect rent and keep some for themselves. WRONG! I would love to see here original mortgage loan application! Did she state that it was a RISKY investment property? Probably NOT! Was she a wannabe late night TV millionaire who makes "her money from OPM" (direct quote from the late night Realtor TV gurus, who sell empty promises for some real estate coaching and CD's) .

Can you move into the house too? Is there any information in the contract that says you can't be there as well? I'd just move in and be really, really, REALLY annoying.

Hmm. I wonder what's going on here? First if the tenant has recently moved in, I would bet that she's royally pissed that the landlord, knowing the property was going into foreclosure, rented it out. Some owners, now that tenants regularly check on the status of a property before renting it, rent out the property before the Notice of Default is filed with the county Recorder. Second the tenant may be trying to insure the recovery of her security deposit, as many defaulting landlords also go bankrupt, which means that the tenant becomes one of a long list of creditors--and may not get much back.

ptiemann says

The tenant signed a contract to pay rent. That has nothing to do with the landlord's status on paying the mortgage.

but landlord signed contract of providing:
- return of the downpayment.
- a stable rental.

House in foreclosure offers neither one of these options. So landlord is the deadbeat in this case simply trying to cheat everyone around them.

There are plenty of those around, late night tv watching schmucks, they collect rent as cash as to avoid paying taxes or reporting income, don't pay their mortgage and leave their tenants to brace for themselves in foreclosure. These ugly landlord types pass their burden onto taxpayers.

This is a very far cry from the landlords who are stable, have done it for years and have not tried to screw their tenants and banks in the process.

Aribas, I wasn't talking about you, was I? Was that not clear from what I wrote?

I was talking about someone I have met in person. Capiche?

I can't believe there is any empathy for this landlord. They are clearly not paying their mortgage. The tides have changed and the people with character are not the "homeowners" anymore. I'd like to hear some advice for the poor renter who is being subjected to realtards at their door and a desperate landlord who can't pay their bills. I'm sure the landlord moved out prior to putting the place on the market so they wouldn't have to go through the pain. What is happening to this site? Is it now just a bunch of real estate investors? I'm out.

fergie says

I can't believe there is any empathy for this landlord. They are clearly not paying their mortgage. The tides have changed and the people with character are not the "homeowners" anymore. I'd like to hear some advice for the poor renter who is being subjected to realtards at their door and a desperate landlord who can't pay their bills. I'm sure the landlord moved out prior to putting the place on the market so they wouldn't have to go through the pain. What is happening to this site? Is it now just a bunch of real estate investors? I'm out.

If landlord isn't paying, don't pay either. If they aren't holding up their contract, why should you. In CA judge will take your side, especially if you have children who need stability.

I honestly think most people were just messing around with this post, don't take it to heart. Everyone thinks OP is an ass.

ptiemann " The tenant signed a contract to pay rent. That has nothing to do with the landlord's status on paying the mortgage.

For all we know, the landlord may actually be current on the mortgage. The original post says 'property is going through foreclosure' -- this is not a very specific description of what is going on.

Tenant wanting to live there without paying rent is trying to get something for nothing. I call it a deadbeat's behavior..."

WHOA NELLIE!! I happen to be a tenant , AND have NEVER BEEN LATE,,,and my LANDLORD IS not only a REALTOR...but a builder...developer...rental agent ....property management company owner ----AND HE DOES NOT PAY HIS MORTGAGES....HE KEEPS (read steals) my monthly rent...so he can HELOC for his hobby of collecting expensive art and cars ....BANKS WILL NOT FORECLOSE ON HIM--- How do I know? When the Citibank investigator keeps banging on my front door at 9PM and night leaving notes and letters in the door... TELL ME ABOUT THE TWO DIFFERENT ISSUES? The landlord ALSO owns the local REALTOR organization building....and he pays that mortgage. look up what the NAR says about "ethics"...Yes I companies BUT THEY DO NOT INVESTIGATE...unless I belong to the local Realtor Association AS A REALTOR and they approve of my request. The SOB is on the committee...they are all ON THE SAME TEAM. Complaints to the CAR and California DRE all say this is civil matter...so like you say MY OBLIGATION IS TO PAY THE RENT...and his obligation is ZERO...he is a REALTOR. But nothing stops me from badmouthing the problems with all systems of the house...broken foundation, leaky plumbing... fire hazards...and nothing stops me from telling the IRS about all the rent I and other tenant pay that he refuses to report. That's why the loan companies think he lives here...he lies to the banks as well....they think he is in an owner occupied house. He "owns" the debt on over 60 of them. But his side deals with local banks ...keeps them at bay. TODAY...he is BUILDING NEW HOUSES...in this same area....with NEW construction loans...he is not paying back. One of those new houses has never been sold since 2006---and he keeps on building....not paying contractors OR the banks, or mortgage companies . ALL PREDICTABLE FOR -- "HE IS A REALTOR". They need to be prosecuted and given life in prison. A cabal of Liars cheaters and thieves .... They crap on our country and laugh as they play their games.

Subwoofers above tenant's bedroom 24/7. Maybe add some foul smells...

Find some bed bugs and infect the house with them.

Wow, investor90, that is quite a story/

What part of town are his collection of rentals in? And the new unsold developmments?

investor90 says

ALL PREDICTABLE FOR -- "HE IS A REALTOR". They need to be prosecuted and given life in prison. A cabal of Liars cheaters and thieves .... They crap on our country and laugh as they play their games.

I'd give him at least 20 years in prison for this shit.