Landlords - need help with EVICTION process please....

[Chili]

First thing I would do is hot box it. Have an a/c guy go over and service the system by pulling all the refrigerant out. Hell, have him take the compressor too.

Bad idea.. Even though they are not paying, landlords who do that sort of thing (just like locking a tenant out without following the law for eviction) can be fucked over pretty badly. Like punitive damages 2-3 times the cost of rent.

Go over and pull the electrical meter off the base as an alternative to the hot box method that Al described. If you do anything to the a/c they will just put in window units.

Same as I said above but also add that this would be theft. The meter belongs to Oncor, not the tenant or homeowner.

How does a certified letter work? I mean don't they have to sign for it? What happens if they never answer the door, deny identity, or refuse to sign for it?

Also, I am fairly certain you cannot shut off essentials like utilities or disassemble climate controls. I think by law you cannot rent out a house without heat and ac. You need to read up more on that before getting yourself in trouble.

This.

[Chili]

At some point is seems you should be able to have them removed by the police. What does it say in the rental agreement about this?

You can, after legally evicting them.

[Stng5Pnt8]

Dang Chris this sucks! We've had 2 tenants in the past 3 years & have been pretty lucky with both...

Hope you get this resolved ASAP.

[03mustangdude]

People think the 10% property managers charge is outrageous, every story I read like this makes me wonder why they do it for so little.

[phaux]

How does a certified letter work? I mean don't they have to sign for it? What happens if they never answer the door, deny identity, or refuse to sign for it?

Also, I am fairly certain you cannot shut off essentials like utilities or disassemble climate controls. I think by law you cannot rent out a house without heat and ac. You need to read up more on that before getting yourself in trouble.

When you send a notice to vacate via certified mail they don't have to sign for it. It simply shows the courts that you did indeed send the proper letter and therefore the courts will recognize that. Half the time I sent NTV's via certified mail the tenants wouldn't sign for the letter somehow thinking they were going to outsmart me, doesn't work like that.

People think the 10% property managers charge is outrageous, every story I read like this makes me wonder why they do it for so little.

They make their money by volume. They do it full time and stay on that shit like white on rice. That's how they make their money. If you're out of state or not willing to stay on top of it ALL the time, property management is the way to go. Granted the 10% sucks, but in the long run it's MUCH cheaper than losing 2-3 months of rent and/or the property getting trashed because you were too nice or became lazy. The fact of the matter is most tenants will take advantage of you if they can.


While all these ideas such as 'hot boxxing' and pulling the meter sound fun and may give a temporary satisfaction, long term you will get fucked hard if you ever do these things. As stated earlier, tenants have far more rights than landlords. Go read the laws governing tenants rights and what they can do to you legally if you ever do these things, you will cringe.

The best advice in regards to finding tenants I can give is to do proper screening. If their shit isn't on the straight and narrow don't let them in. Ya, you want to get someone in there asap, but getting someone in one month early but then it taking 2-3 months to get them out and they trash the house is not worth it. If you have to wait a whole nother month for that right tenant, then do it. It's better to lose one month than 2 months long term.

Also, charge application fees. That right there will save you tons of time and resources. If someone knows their ducks are in a row and are serious about renting, they'll have no problem forking over $25 for an application fee. If they don't have $25 or don't want to... "bye!" If their approved apply the fee to the deposit. Otherwise a shit ton of ppl fill out applications that you have to waste time and money on, half of which never have any interest in moving in.

[KBScobravert]

Most water meters can be locked. Lock out the power everywhere you can on the outside.

I might even pull the doors off the hinges (besides the front door - maybe).

If they park in the garage, I might even rent a Uhaul van for a couple days and park it in front of the garage. If they want to get out and get to work, they can come to an agreement.

[Rick Modena]

I was going to say how would they know that the landlord did it, but I guess it gets done all of the time. Though A/C compressors got out all of the time, how would they know the landlord did it.

I say roll the dice and hot box those roaches...

[Rick Modena]

If they park in the garage, I might even rent a Uhaul van for a couple days and park it in front of the garage. If they want to get out and get to work, they can come to an agreement.

This sounds like a great idea, I'd rent a 26 ft UHaul truck and park that bitch in front of the garage and video tape them trying to get into it, then call the PD and get them for breaking and entering into your rental. They want to break the rules and not pay the rental agreement they agreed to, its time to fight fire with fire. Make it uncomfortable for them as much as they are making it uncomfortable to/for you...

[talisman]

There is a whole lot of funny but terrible advice in this thread. lol

[KBScobravert]

There is a whole lot of funny but terrible advice on this forum. lol

True.

I was going to say how would they know that the landlord did it, but I guess it gets done all of the time. Though A/C compressors got out all of the time, how would they know the landlord did it.

I say roll the dice and hot box those roaches...

Polish army wanted to be dicks and steal tools from our carpenters. We knew they took them but they refused to return. Their generator "broke" in July. No A/C for two days and they returned our guys shit back to them. Lesson learned. Don't fuck with the people that are paid to keep you comfortable. They know how to make you uncomfortable.

[Broncojohnny]

I was going to say how would they know that the landlord did it, but I guess it gets done all of the time. Though A/C compressors got out all of the time, how would they know the landlord did it.

I say roll the dice and hot box those roaches...

Exactly. I never said to let anyone know you did it. The law may say they get X amount in damages, however collecting that is another matter completely.

[93LXHORSE]

Funny you should mention about the AC. Since moving in there, they have had a problem with it. They called me about fixing it in late April... the result was $600 worth of repairs - a new fan, wiring for the fan, and refrigerant. I was told a few years back that the outside unit needed replaced, or overhauled...... according to the service tech, there was a slow leak where the copper tubing attaches to the condenser unit. My options at that time were to replace the outside unit......... which according to him meant having to replace the upstairs unit (heat pump).

OR

Try and find a condenser unit, gut the outside unit, and replace condenser along with the piece of copper tubing attached to it. Apparently the leak was in a very tight spot that was difficult to weld or patch with certainty. My AC guy patched it the best he could, filled it with refrigerant, and it's worked from 2007 - 2013.

In late April after tenant moved in, the outside unit cycled on/off almost non-stop. I assumed it was low again and the pressure switch was causing it to cycle. The fan was not spinning smoothly, and it needed replacing. The wiring? I have no clue about. I was not there to see about it. I had told the tenant he could get it repaired, take it out of the rent, and have the AC tech CALL ME before repairs started, AND save the invoice, of course.
Repairs were done, I never got a call, and the receipt "could not be found". This was to the tune of $600.

[Craizie]

Funny you should mention about the AC. Since moving in there, they have had a problem with it. They called me about fixing it in late April... the result was $600 worth of repairs - a new fan, wiring for the fan, and refrigerant. I was told a few years back that the outside unit needed replaced, or overhauled...... according to the service tech, there was a slow leak where the copper tubing attaches to the condenser unit. My options at that time were to replace the outside unit......... which according to him meant having to replace the upstairs unit (heat pump).

OR

Try and find a condenser unit, gut the outside unit, and replace condenser along with the piece of copper tubing attached to it. Apparently the leak was in a very tight spot that was difficult to weld or patch with certainty. My AC guy patched it the best he could, filled it with refrigerant, and it's worked from 2007 - 2013.

In late April after tenant moved in, the outside unit cycled on/off almost non-stop. I assumed it was low again and the pressure switch was causing it to cycle. The fan was not spinning smoothly, and it needed replacing. The wiring? I have no clue about. I was not there to see about it. I had told the tenant he could get it repaired, take it out of the rent, and have the AC tech CALL ME before repairs started, AND save the invoice, of course.
Repairs were done, I never got a call, and the receipt "could not be found". This was to the tune of $600.

No receipt = no pay. Everyone knows this.

[93LXHORSE]

Then in July, another $300.00 in repairs, no receipt. Then $400.00 worth of toilet repairs. (?????????) WTF? 200 bucks each with no receipts, and the explanation I got was they both leaked at the bottom near the wax ring, and ran continuously...... requiring new valves, flapper cover and chain.

Now - my hands were tied financially at the time, and on top of that, I was out in Phoenix dealing with a legal matter and did not have access to a phone, nor money to call contractors of my own. When I got back, I went to get these receipts, and "the wife put them somewhere", and she was out of town.
I dealt with those repairs the only way I could without being present, and having no money to get my own contractors involved.

I know it was a HUGE mistake to handle it that way.....

.......Jake the tenant was being very patient with the whole matter, and assured me I could see the receipts upon her return from out of town.
However I never saw them. Almost certainly those repairs where slightly expensive and the cost was used to supplement the rent in a BIG way........ Hell, if the repairs where even done............

[TexasT]

Are you referring to Dan Bishop, Project manager @ GE the child molesting terrorist?

Yeah, that's him. I hope he is able to catch up his rent so he can stay.