San Diego Housing Bubble News and Analysis

You know, I really recommend you first try to work it out with the tenant first. Maybe they have a cash flow issue (paycheck to paycheck doesn't coincide,etc). What you should first try to do imho is find out if they really have a payment schedule problem, and if so adjust perhaps the date in exchange from moving forward requiring a cashier check with penalty. If the person has a problem paying, you really shouldn't accept anything but a cashier and/or bank check. But at the same time you don't want to be a jackass about it right away either.

Eviction really should be a last resort option. If you really get into a pissing match here with a tenant here in California, mind you that the laws are stacked initially against the landlord. It can take up to 2 months+ for an eviction to actually complete, not to mention the time he/she is in your home he/she will probably trash the place intentionally. Yes, you could go back and sue him/her in small claims court..But assuming he/she is already having a problem paying rent, you're probably not going to get money back anyway, not to mention the headache of dealing with court, repairs etc.

Mind you also that in L.A. some attorneys actually make a business out of this by negotiating on behalf of tenants such that the landlord *pays* the tenant and attorney to avoid the lengthy eviction process. And all sorts of sh!t they can pull out of their ass. For example, a mold inspection might detect traces amount of mold, and then all hell breaks loose because suddenly the tenant says he/she is suffering from mold infestation and demands compensation... Yes, it's pretty screwed up, the thought of having to pay someone to move out. But it is what it is.

If it resorts to that, you *might* want to just cut your losses and to agree with the tenant such that you're forgive his last month(or two's rent) in exchange for moving out end of the month or ASAP.

Not meaning to scare you...But again, eviction in CA isn't as easily as you probably think it is.

There are loads of laws related to tenant-landlord issues. A 3-day pay or quit is essentially a notice that the tenant has three days to pay up or you may start the eviction process. Since you are green in this area, consult a lawyer. A few hundred bucks now will save you potentially thousands and lots of headaches.

From the following website :
http://www.scselfservice.org/civ/ud/plan...

"-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Quit:

Personally I use a property management company (My property is 150 miles away, so I kinda need to). But even when I lived 1 mile from my property I used a PM company. They are professional screeners and rent collectors and the good ones will cover some portion of eviction costs (e.g. up to $500) if needed. They deal with tenants, including those who have trouble paying and have the skills and knowledge to work these issues.

Thanks for all the info. I know that the eviction process isn't an easy one and can take a long time. I've also heard that if you do not follow the steps exactly that it can end up costing you a lot of money.

I have tried to work with them, like when they fed me a story about how someone stole the check they mailed me and deposited it without a signature into some bank account...I pretended like I bought it. I said "Oh that's terrible, ok, I'll wait for you to resend the check." Days pass and no check. Then another story about how the check was mailed when it wasn't...

My problem more than the not paying on time is the lying. If they are like this their first month, what's going to happen down the line?

Hopefully this check will go through and I'm praying that I get another on August 1st.

Absolutely not!! Liars are liars. They will come up with sob stories after sob stories.

The tenant's cash flow problem is not your problem. You have to pay your bills too.

As a landlord, I can tell you that you need to set your own policies and never deviate.

Get yourself an attorney and have him begin the eviction process. Learn from the attorney until you can do it yourself.

And as I said, if your goal is to get the person out as fast as you can, the legal route isn't always the fastest that yields the least amount of damage both to your pocketbook and to your property.

Notice i said "cashier check". It avoids the bounce check thing. And if he/she can't commit to that, your best option it to get the person out.

That said, renter in the hole ain't going pay you back for an damage he does pissed off while you serve him an eviction notice imho...that is unless you don't mind fix holes in walls, plugged toilets, cigarette butts in the airducts, trashed carpet, cracked counters, etc. Deposit aint gonna cover that, and good luck recovering that in small claims court.

Been there, done that.

I'll echo what many posters have suggested. If the check clears, wait and see what happens in August. If you've got a problem getting paid in August, now you know that this will be an ongoing problem. Some landlords have no choice but to accept crummy tenants that are late on rent but eventually pay. Others don't. Not sure which one you are.

In my opinion, when a tenant pays rent only with money orders or cashiers checks that raises a red flag. That may suggest they don't have a good credit history and/or are keeping their funds out of bank accounts and out of the reach of creditors. Go to the san diego county recorders website and look at the grantor/grantee index. Type in their name and see if they have judgments recorded against them. It takes less than 5 minutes.

Coincidentally, I am trying an unlawful detainer case tomorrow morning on behalf of a landlord. I've never done one before, so I went to the law library and checked out a book that was written for landlords. It is a comprehensive guide showing landlords how to evict a tenant. Complete with forms, motions, etc. If you want, I can get the name of the book and post it on here tomorrow.

Over the past month or two I've learned how complicated the process can be. The fact patterns and the corresponding law applied to those facts are confusing and somewhat vague at times. Best of luck whatever you decide.

This is not a solicitation for a client and is not intended to be relied on as legal advice.

So let's see. You've got brand new tenants (so no record of regular payments yet), they should have paid this month's rent over 3 weeks ago, and you are new to the landlording game.
You are sooo underwater. You have already taught this lying tenant you are a pushover. They have now even less incentive to perform than they did on July 5, when you should have served a 3-day notice to pay or quit.
PatientlyWaiting has given you some good points and pitfalls above. Basically, I would go straight to an eviction attorney who does nothing else--they are cheapest and fastest.
I've had hundreds of tenants, evicted dozens--some by myself and some with an attorney. You cannot imagine the mines you can step on, especially with professional tenants, which your description tells me you have now.
Also, don't take any advice from people not experienced in this field. Some posters here think they have to throw out lengthy opinions on every issue.
If you are going to stay a landlord--and maybe its not for you--get some of the many books on the subject and read them thoroughly.

I completely agree with EconProf, you should immediately contact a law firm that specializes in evictions (are we allowed to give recommendations here?) They may charge a few hundred dollars, on top the court fees but that is nothing compared to what it will cost you to have non-paying tenants in your unit. The sooner you get them out the sooner you can get someone in there who will pay the rent.

This is by far the best advice here. My parents had a rental property for over 30 years. My parents had some "professional tenants" once. These people knew how to game the system. It took 8 months and an attorney to be rid of them. And it wasn't pretty after they left.