Eviction Arizona Style

[EconProf]

In Arizona an eviction takes 17 days, start to finish.
I owned rentals in San Diego for many years, and now run 35 units outside of Yuma, AZ, 3 hours away. I remember many lengthy evictions in CA that seemed to take forever with a process tilted heavily toward the tenant, who were skilled at lengthening the time to get free rent.
In AZ it goes like this (assuming no delays, which are rare):
5-day Notice to Quit or Pay
7 days till court hearing
5 days till lockout
17 days total
Anybody know how long the process takes in San Diego nowadays?

[Coronita]

How the hell do you run 35 units????

Nice… Cha-ching!

[spdrun]

Problem with running 35 units outside of Yuma is that you have to be outside of Yuma for a large portion of your life.

[spdrun]

Problem with running 35 units outside of Yuma is that you have to be outside of Yuma for a large portion of your life.

[EconProf]

[quote=spdrun]Problem with running 35 units outside of Yuma is that you have to be outside of Yuma for a large portion of your life.[/quote]
That’s right spdrun. And I do not recommend it, since the area is depressed, weak demographics, and little prospect for improvement.

[EconProf]

[quote=flu]How the hell do you run 35 units????

Nice… Cha-ching![/quote]
Not really that profitable (see above). But local labor is cheap, eager to work (unlike San Diego), and the quick evictions are a plus.

[spdrun]

And I do not recommend it, since the area is depressed, weak demographics, and little prospect for improvement.

It’s like this bartender/owner from NJ who I know. Someone sold him on buying 20 rental units (shacks, really) in some depressed part of Mississippi. His returns were amazing on paper (something like $15k per unit, $500/mo rent) but he sold it after getting tired of chasing bad tenants, 50%+ vacancy, property managers who spent the rent income on booze, etc, and generally having to fly down there every other weekend.

[EconProf]

[quote=spdrun]

And I do not recommend it, since the area is depressed, weak demographics, and little prospect for improvement.

It’s like this bartender/owner from NJ who I know. Someone sold him on buying 20 rental units (shacks, really) in some depressed part of Mississippi. His returns were amazing on paper (something like $15k per unit, $500/mo rent) but he sold it after getting tired of chasing bad tenants, 50%+ vacancy, property managers who spent the rent income on booze, etc, and generally having to fly down there every other weekend.[/quote]
It is seldom a good idea to invest in real estate far away, where you do not know the local conditions and cannot manage properly. In my case, I invested in the Yuma area when it was booming, 5 – 8 years ago. Then it collapsed with the rest of the bubble, and has barely improved since hitting bottom.
However the mostly Hispanic tenants are good: family values, hard working, and loyal long-term residents. And the quick evictions, when necessary (once or twice a year), are a plus I did not experience in CA.

[earlyretirement]

Hey EconProf. Happy New Year.

Wow, I didn’t realize you had that many units. Spot on target with your advice. Property management is a really tough and time intensive business.

I’m not sure the answer to your question about how quickly it takes to evict someone in San Diego but I’m sure it’s not that quick like San Diego.

I was curious, is it possible to rent to the poorer groups there and get the government to pay? What you said about Hispanic tenants I’ve also heard from some friends that own properties in Texas. They talk about the same things you do about being hard workers, loyal and good family values.

One of my friends in New Mexico bought several cheaper properties and he said he is able to bill the government that pays for their rent. Some form of public assistance. IIRC, my friend in Texas also got some of that.

Have you had the ability to do that in Arizona at all? Do all your tenants pay themselves or are any of them on public assistance where you can bill the government?

[EconProf]

Thanks ER. I called up my old eviction attorney today, Ted Smith in San Diego, to find out how long it takes now for an eviction in San Diego. His assistant said well over a month. She described a four-step process, in contrast to AZ’s three. Theoretically if all goes smoothly & tenant does not contest, it could be done in 25 days. But CA has starved the budget for the courts, so at least a week or two must be added to the time line.
Any Piggs have any experience with evictions lately?

[spdrun]

One of my friends in New Mexico bought several cheaper properties and he said he is able to bill the government that pays for their rent. Some form of public assistance. IIRC, my friend in Texas also got some of that.

Are you talking about section 8? AFAIK, that exists in every state — not sure how good of an idea it is.

[henrysd]

In southern Riverside county a few years ago, it was about 40 days in a semi optimal scenario – tenant answered court paper to Unlawful Detainee law suit, but didn’t show up in court hearing. It could be 25 days in most optimal case if tenant doesn’t answer court papers. For sophisticated tenant and they go to the court hearing and they can find excuses like medical issues, judge can give them a few extra months to stay. They may do multiple hearing and each hearing grants a few months of extra stay.

I don’t remember number exactly. I think roughly at those numbers:

3 days notice

2-3 days file unlawful detainee and delivered tenant copy

7-10 days wait tenant answer for court papers.
If tenant answer received, schedule court hearing which will happen 15 days later

if no tenant showing in court hearing, judge awards the landlord victory immediately. The process can get very long if sophisticated tenant shows up and he will use all kinds of excuses he learned from tenant lawyer.

Another 7-10 days for sheriff to execute lockout.

I believe San Diego county has similar numbers.

[EconProf]

[quote=henrysd]In southern Riverside county a few years ago, it was about 40 days in a semi optimal scenario – tenant answered court paper to Unlawful Detainee law suit, but didn’t show up in court hearing. It could be 25 days in most optimal case if tenant doesn’t answer court papers. For sophisticated tenant and they go to the court hearing and they can find excuses like medical issues, judge can give them a few extra months to stay. They may do multiple hearing and each hearing grants a few months of extra stay.

I don’t remember number exactly. I think roughly at those numbers:
Sounds like a month or more is the norm in CA.
While some may believe a long eviction process is pro-tenant, it actually hurts them, in at least two ways:
1. Knowing how expensive it is to get rid of a problem tenant, landlords get more choosy it who they rent to. Accordingly, the lower income applicant, or one with more red flags on their application, gets passed over until the perfect candidate shows up.
2. For the same reason, landlords demand higher security deposits since they know that that is all they are going to get from an eviction.
My deposits are $300, and I take chances on a lot of questionable applicants. I know that in 17 days they can be out.

3 days notice

2-3 days file unlawful detainee and delivered tenant copy

7-10 days wait tenant answer for court papers.
If tenant answer received, schedule court hearing which will happen 15 days later

if no tenant showing in court hearing, judge awards the landlord victory immediately. The process can get very long if sophisticated tenant shows up and he will use all kinds of excuses he learned from tenant lawyer.

Another 7-10 days for sheriff to execute lockout.

I believe San Diego county has similar numbers.[/quote]
It appears that a month or more for an eviction is the norm in CA.
This longer eviction process sounds like it is pro-tenant, but it actually hurts tenants in two ways:
1. Landlords are afraid to rent to lower income tenants or those with red flags on their application, knowing that it is more expensive and time-consuming to get rid of a problem tenant. Instead, they will wait for the perfect candidate to come along, thus hurting the poor. Some of those poor or weak candidates may be perfectly fine tenants, if given a chance.
2. For the same reason, landlords raise security deposits, knowing that is usually all they will get out of a deadbeat in an eviction.
Once again, our legislators pass feel-good and nice-sounding laws that turn out to be counterproductive.

[earlyretirement]

[quote=spdrun]

One of my friends in New Mexico bought several cheaper properties and he said he is able to bill the government that pays for their rent. Some form of public assistance. IIRC, my friend in Texas also got some of that.

Are you talking about section 8? AFAIK, that exists in every state — not sure how good of an idea it is.[/quote]

I’m not sure if it was specifically Section 8. I never asked them about it and it’s been a while but it just sounded like they were doing really good with them. I’ll ask my friend the next time I talk to him about it.

[patb]

never own a rental you can’t imagine living in and where you can’t get
down easily to meet a plumber or roofer,

[Author]

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