If you own rental properties, you will likely come across times when you have bad tenants. If you have not encountered this yet, you will, as this is always a risk of a rental property business. When you encounter a time like this, you may want to consult with a real estate attorney for guidance and advice as to how to handle this situation, and here are some of the ways an attorney might suggest handling this.
Write a letter to the tenant
One thing a real estate lawyer will recommend and will even help you do is writing a letter to the tenant. This letter should include the date, an explanation of what the problem is, and a request for the tenant to move out. You should send the letter through certified mail to have proof the tenant received it, and you should allow the lawyer to assist you in writing it. By having the lawyer write the letter or help you with it, you can ensure that the wording is legally acceptable and that the letter clearly states what you are trying to say.
Initiate the eviction process
If the tenant does not follow the requests of the letter you sent, the lawyer will recommend initiating the eviction process. You can either begin this process yourself or let the lawyer do it for you. A lot of landlords prefer letting a lawyer do it, as lawyers know how to do this and are able to do so in an effective manner.
Help you learn better methods for choosing tenants
From this point on, the lawyer might suggest finding better methods for tenant selection, and the lawyer can even help you with this. For example, performing thorough background screenings is one good method for choosing tenants, as this will help you weed out people that could potentially be bad tenants.
Create a better lease
Finally, you should have your lawyer help you create a better lease if needed. The lease you have will control so many different things and will offer protection for you, and these are just a few reasons it is vital to have a good lease if you own rental properties.
As a landlord, you will likely need to consult with a real estate lawyer from time to time for issues with tenants and with other issues. If you do not currently have a lawyer, you should begin looking for one in your area today.
