Here is the situation: One of our homes is owned by a person not living in the park and has a tenant. Our manager, now gone, let this happen without any paperwork, although in our State that means the lease is on a month to month basis. The home owner has not paid rent on the lot for four (4) months, and says the tenant is not paying him. The tenant has a large dog that he lets poop right in front of his trailer and has not picked up any poop for weeks; people are complaining. The tenant also has tons of junk in the yard consisting of old appliances, beds, and other garbage. We plan to send the home owner a letter stating he is in violation and he must pull his trailer out of the park. Most likely, the home owner will not and does not have the funds to move the home; also, the home is old (1970s) and needs a lot of refurbishment and repair. Now how to get rid of the dead beat tenant? Also, if the owner does not pay up or move his trailer, then what are the options? The home owner did offer me the title to the home for past rent.
Step one: get the title to the home that the owner offered for back rent. Step two: file eviction on the tenant for non-payment of current lot rent. File your eviction as “and all occupants”. Step three: kick the guy out (it may take 60 days based on the state you’re in). Step four: fix up the home. Step five: sell the home to a decent tenant that you have screened. Problem solved.
Hi Frank – Sounds simple and probably is after one sorts through the details. Thanks for the reply and advice !!
John
Step six. Get some warm bacon grease and pour it on the piles of dog poop in the front yard. The tenants dog will quickly clean up the mess.
Step 7, File a complaint with the property standards inspector regarding the appearance of the property. (their report will assist in your eviction)
Not too sure about the bacon grease approach, yet like the compliant with the local inspector idea. – john
Here is an UPDATE on our Dead Beat:
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The city turned off the gas, electric, and water, and it seems as though the tenant is not living in the home yet still has all their belongings in the home and - of course - the junk in the yard.
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The owner of the home is not returning my calls or responding to my letters to his home (he lives offsite).
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Have served the owner, via certified mail, an eviction notice terminating the lot lease agreement and demanding possession of the lot.
QUESTION: If we get - which we almost certainly will - a judgement saying that the owner must vacant the lot, and the owner does not pull the home from the park, or sign the title over to us, what are the next steps in the process of cleaning up this situation?
Get a good lawyer and try to take the home as abandoned property.
But before you do that, check to see if the home has a lien on it. If it does, file a possessory lien notice with the lender. That gives him notice that he has to either remove the home or start paying rent within 10 days. Faced with that, the lender may sell you the home cheap.
The bottom line is that there is absolutely no way someone can leave a mobile home park in a park and not pay rent. They may think that it’s possible – but it’s not.