Tenant Occupied Properties or Tenants needing eviction

We have helped house owners in all kinds of situations. If you own a property that you no longer need or want, please reach out to us for a confidential conversation to see how we can help you.

Reasons to sell your rental or a squatter occupied property:

• An unresponsive tenant that is more then a few months late on their payments.
• A tenant requiring an eviction. Did you know that the eviction can take anywhere from 5 weeks to several months.
• Problem tenant with constant complaints.
• An unresponsive tenant that is more then a few months late on their payments
• The rental may need work and repairs.
• Illegally occupied property (squatters).
• Contracted lease/rent may be too low.
• A long lease contract – you may have a signed lease for two, three or five years and you no longer want the house.
• You may simply need cash quick but selling an occupied house is nearly impossible on the open market.

We receive many calls from tired landlords or from house owners that have inherited a rental property. Some simply do not want the responsibilities of a landlord. Others have difficult tenants that are exploiting their landlord and the landlord does not want to deal with the necessary confrontations, the headaches of the legal eviction process, the stress and the financial expenses associated with all of these.

You may have a rental property with a very long lease that is below market value on a property that needs repairs and remodel. Big repairs like a leaking roof requires a large cash investment that you may not be willing to spend

Or you may simply need cash quickly. The tenant might be a great tenant with on-time payment history. However selling a tenant occupied property is very difficult. If the tenant has a signed lease, they have every right to continue to occupy the property until that lease is over. Most home buyers want to see the property and they want to live in the house. Selling to a cash investor may be your best bet.

However, most landlord problems arise from a problem tenant. The tenant may be past due on their rent, may not respond to your communication or may be causing trouble and causing damage to your rental property. If you would rather not deal with the headache of dealing with such tenant, we may be able to help by buying your rental, with the tenant living in the house. We will deal with the missed payments, the eviction process and any headaches that may arise.

In the perfect world, with a simple and easy eviction, the process can take around 5 weeks. In reality, often issues arise with errors made by the landlord, clerical mistakes, missing documents or a tenant getting legal representation and fighting the eviction. Moreover, you (or someone you hire) must properly deliver the eviction notice risking a tenant-landlord confrontation; you have to show up in court, present your case, hire an attorney and deal with any emotional outbursts the tenants may have towards you. Most tenants are not happy to be evicted.

The typical eviction process follows these steps:

Step 1. The first option is to go through the steps of pest removal. Depending on which issue your struggling with and how severe the infestation is, the cost of this approach can range anywhere from a few hundred dollars all the way up to tens of thousands of dollars. The important thing is that you acquire a reputable professional to handle the issue and acquire proof that the issue has been properly and completely resolved before trying to find a buyer. Be sure to save all paperwork as buyers may request to see it. In addition to dealing with the pests themselves, you will also need to repair any damage they have caused to your home.

Step 2. If the tenant does not move out, the landlord can file a complaint and request a haring date with a judge. Hearing date, or court date is typically scheduled a few weeks out.

Step 3. At the hearing the judge will listen to both parties and hopefully issue a ‘writ of restitution’ and the tenant will be legally required to move out. (Source)

Sure, looking at the Ohio Revised Code and the eviction process in Cuyahoga County or surrounding areas, it seems fairly simple, but from personal experience, we can assure you that it is never as smooth as google suggests. The eviction must be filed correctly following all legal guidelines of the individual city or municipality. We strongly advise you to hire a competent attorney well versed in evictions to guide you through the process. For example, you will need legal advice if the tenant researches their legal options, such as their right to file for bankruptcy anytime during the eviction process and the bankruptcy court placing a hold or a ‘stay’ on the eviction process. This ‘hold’ or ‘stay’ stops the eviction until it is lifted by the courts costing you thousands in missed rent payments and attorney fees.

We have sat in the eviction court more then once and often see DIYers getting their cases thrown out and told to re-submit from the beginning due to procedural errors made by the landlord. Any mistake you make with the eviction process can easily work out in the favor of the tenant. The tenant can appeal or sue you for any reason they feel is valid to delay the process. Does it happen every time? No… But more often than most landlords like to admit…

With the COVID-19 pandemic, landlords are experiencing major eviction delays and in some instances the evictions may be on hold altogether (if we experience another shut-down). We do not know how the epidemic will affect evictions; if the tenant lost their job due to COVID-19 and is not able to find another job, they most likely will not be able to find another place to live. How will the eviction court react to a tenant in a desperate situation…

If you have a rental property that you no longer want, we may be able to help. Please reach out to see if we can help!