I did the best job I could.  I made mistakes and learned from them.  You could say that I learned how to be a landlord at the school of hard knocks!  Then it happened, a tenant stopped paying her rent.  I needed to do an eviction.  I found that there was even less information out there on how to do an eviction.  I didn’t know anyone that had done an eviction, there were zero resources on the internet for me in Minnesota, and even the court website was pretty bad.

After doing many evictions now, here are some thoughts that I have on where to get good eviction advice:

• Probably the most important item is to gain the knowledge before you need it.  In the military, they train the soldiers with live weapons and even do simulated combat training.  This is so that when they actually do enter combat, they have some experience to deal with what they encounter.  Doing evictions should be the same way.
  • Head down to eviction court, get a copy of the documents that you need to fill out for an eviction.  Talk to the workers at the counter, ask them about the process, how long it takes, what it costs, what mistakes are common.  Suck up info from them.
  • Find out when the next eviction court date is and attend.  These are typically open to the public so just sit in back and listen to what the judge asks, what the landlord says, and what the tenant does.
• When it it is time to do your first eviction, you may want to consider hiring an eviction lawyer.  This person will go through and do all the work for you, but ask them to include you in the process (you are paying them, so they should be willing to do this).  If your jurisdiction requires a tenant eviction letter, have the attorney give you a copy once it is sent.
• Whether you do the eviction yourself or hire a lawyer, make sure to save copies of everything so that you have something to refer to later when you have to do your next eviction.  Filling out that printable eviction notice, will always be confusing if you don’t have a reference to look back at.
• If possible, find another experienced landlord that you could take to lunch to pick his brain about doing an eviction.  He would probably be happy to share his stories and lessons learned.

Doing an eviction can be an intimidating process.  Finding places that you can get good eviction advice is an important first step in making it easier.

Regardless, now it is time to do an eviction.  Take some time to learn more about how the process works.  Here is an example of the steps involved in a Minnesota eviction:

1. Go online to the county website.  Download the free printable eviction notice.
2. Take the required paperwork down the to county courthouse, pay the fees, wait for the eviction notice to be prepared.
3. Once it is prepared, you need to have the documents served.  This must be done properly and by a neutral 3rd party.  I often use a legal courier company because they specialize in doing this for attorneys often.  They understand the process.
4. Now you wait up to 2 weeks for the court date.
5. At court you go before the judge and explain why you want this tenant evicted.  The tenant will most likely argue with  you and hopefully you can work out a compromise.  If the facts of the case are in dispute, the judge may order you both to a trial to decide who is correct.

While there is a lot of simple administrative busy work that goes into filing an eviction, it needs to be done properly.  Additionally, it takes time to go to the courthouse to file the eviction and then return for a court date.  All of these reasons may be a good idea for you to consider using an eviction lawyer.  These professionals do dozens of evictions each month.  They understand the process, legalities, and any loopholes that the tenant may use to slip out.

If you are too busy or too nervous about evicting your tenant, let some eviction lawyers handle it.  You simply turn over the information to the attorney and let them do everything.  You get a call after the court date telling you about the outcome.  You don’t have to waste your time running all over and you don’t need to have any confrontation or negotiations with your tenant.  What a great way to get this messy situation cleaned up!

Several people were looking for a printable eviction notice or a free printable eviction notice.  I am not really sure what they are looking for, but here are some thoughts about their line of thinking and the problems with it:

An eviction notice form is specific to the county or legal jurisdiction that you live in.  I would be very suspicious of a generic one that I found on the internet.  How do you know that it was created with all the legal requirements for your area?  Plus, these documents are usually free at the county courthouse or you can download them from their website.

Using an eviction notice that was not generated by your local jurisdiction could invalidate your claim in court.  A tenant or their attorney could simply show the judge that you did not follow the law when you filed the eviction.  Unfortunately, judges love procedural mistakes and I am sure they would throw out your case in a second.  This will be a huge frustration causing you to lose the money you spend filing the first eviction, not to mention the extra time it will take to get the tenant out of the property.

Alternatively, if you are simply looking for an eviction letter, which is essentially a warning document that you can send to the tenant to tell them what they need to fix or do, then I would be fine using something I found on the internet.   I would still compare it against the local legal requirements for your area if this is a required part of evictions in your area.

When using the eviction notice as a simple warning letter, you can actually find an eviction notice in Microsoft word.  You can go to www.office.microsoft.com, search for Word Templates for the version of Word that you are using.  Put Eviction into the search box and it should bring up a couple templates that you can use.  How easy is that?

Before downloading a printable eviction notice from the internet and assuming it just will work for your needs, check with your local courthouse to confirm it would be OK to use a non-legal binding form like this.

An eviction letter can mean different things in different areas.  In some areas, this is actual eviction notice letter, in others it is simply the official notice to a tenant that eviction is eminent if they do not remedy the lease violation.  Here are some thoughts about the eviction letter.

• Stop down at the local courthouse where the eviction is filed to understand all the requirements of the eviction process.  If you have properties in different counties or different states, the process may be different.  Make sure you understand each jurisdiction.  You can find printable eviction notices at your local courthouse website.
• Your location may require a Notice to Quit which is different than an eviction letter.  This is typically used where the eviction letter is the formal process of eviction, then the Notice to Quit is the warning.
• Be sure you understand the eviction process time line required.  Some places allow you to file for an eviction immediately, others make you wait 30 days.
• Have an action plan for both the property and tenant before you write and send the eviction letter.  Are you OK if the tenant simply resolves the lease violation or do you really want to push them out of property?  If the tenant calls you when they receive the notice of eviction, what are you prepared to tell them?  Remember that they forced you into this situation and you should not back down or take more excuses.  Stick to your guns!
• Write the letter in a professional tone.  Do not include any hearsay or rumors.  Stick to the simple facts that you could prove in court (you may have to).  Refer to the lease agreement when possible to prove your argument.  Explain what the tenant needs to do to remedy the situation.  Also include what and when your next action will be, which may include filing the eviction.
• Have the letter sent via certified mail or have it served by a process server so that you have proof that the tenant has received it.  If you hand deliver it yourself, have a witness with you and have that witness sign an affidavit stating that they saw you hand the letter to the tenant.  Document the date and time.
• If you are not comfortable with the eviction process, you may want to consider finding eviction lawyers that can handle your case and tenant.

Using a tenant eviction letter is a less expensive, quicker, and often very affective way to get compliance out of your tenant.

When you are ready to get started, it can feel it is your first day of high school as a freshman.  You see all the older kids walking around, knowing where they are supposed to go, and you are just trying to not make a fool of yourself.  Well, real estate investing is just like starting anything else such as a new hobby, job, school, or church.  You just have to jump in and get started.  Just as important, though, is to find people you can trust to give you solid competent advice and help you navigate this new territory.

Here are some quick tips on how to get started as a real estate investor:

1. If you haven’t already, read everything you can get your hands about all the different types of real estate investing.  Be sure, though to read books that were written in the last 5 years.  While Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill may be a classic investing book, it was also written over 20 years ago!  Also keep in mind that some of the techniques that are recommended in the books may not work or even be legal in your area.
2. Decide on what part of the real estate business you would like to work in such as:  rentals, flipping, commercial, multi-family.  Use the knowledge that you learned from the books you read to help you decide.  If you need more information, join an investors club and talk to many different investors to see what interest you and what you feel comfortable with in regards to risk.
3. Buying investment property can be tricky without the correct financing.  Find a mortgage banker that specializes in real estate investing.  Make sure you agree with his risk tolerance and feel comfortable with his recommendations.  This will be a long term relationship so make sure you like and trust him/her.  This person should preferably own investment properties of the same type that you are interested in acquiring.  This will make their advice come from practical experience and you will be able to lean on them for landlord advice.
4. When you are meeting with both the mortgage banker as well as the investors club, ask who they would recommend for a real estate agent.  Just like the mortgage banker, this person will be one of your closest advisers and they should work in and own the type of investment properties you are going after.  This person should understand the market and have your best interests in mind.
5. Once you have these two key advisers in place, get out and start looking at properties and making offers!  Many investors spend their entire time analyzing deals and never get in the game.

Starting off correctly will insure that you are on solid ground when you finally decide to purchase your first investment property.  This will help you minimize filing an eviction notice.

What is eviction?
Eviction is a legal process by which a homeowner can be asked to leave the house after it is foreclosed. If the homeowner or his family members does not leave voluntarily, they can be forced out of the house and the new homeowner will have the right to do whatever he wishes with the contents of the house.

What are the laws related to eviction?
Laws that guide eviction procedure varies from state to state. However, in all the states, it is mandatory to serve the defaulter with an eviction notice before the actual foreclosure eviction takes place. So when you are served with a notice, you must check the deadline mentioned on it. Generally, the deadline is 3 to 5 days from the day of its issue. It is better to leave the house by the specified date. But before doing this, you must find out if your state allows a redemption period to enable you stay in the house before the actual eviction takes place.

What is right to redemption?
In some of the states, homeowners have a right to redemption. With the right to redemption, homeowners can reclaim their home during or after foreclosure by paying the outstanding mortgage balance along with the cost incurred by the lender due to foreclosure. So, if your financial situation improves during the redemption period, you can take advantage of this right and get back your property. The redemption period differs with states and is generally around 3 to 12 months.

However, if you are unable to reclaim your house and do not have any other shelter, you can seek help from your county housing authority.

I have never done anything like an emergency eviction, but I have watched a couple in court.  Typically these type of evictions are reserved for significant problems such as criminal activity or unhealthy living conditions.  Let’s explore some examples of each:

Criminal Activity-Unfortunately, you smelling pot smoking coming from your tenant’s apartment is not enough to ask for an emergency eviction.  In fact, I would never try evicting tenants based solely upon my observation of criminal activity.  You should have the police document and/or arrest the person(s) involved so that you have a very credible, neutral 3rd party report of what happened.  I have seen the judge grant an emergency eviction when there is documented evidence of drug dealing or prostitution going on at the apartment.  Other criminal activity include anything related to violence.  Typically this criminal activity does not need to be committed by the tenant, but just by anyone associated with the tenant.

Unhealthy Living Conditions-Even with some of the worst sanitary conditions I have seen, rarely does a judge issue an emergency eviction.  They often feel that if the issue has been going on for this much time, another 2 weeks or so for the eviction will not hurt anything.  One exception is when the utilities are turned off because of the tenant’s failure to pay the bill.  If the heat is off in the winter (which it is rare for the utility to turn it off in winter) you could damage the property and the judge may let you regain possession quicker to prevent problems.

While you can ask for an emergency eviction or expedited hearing, I find it rarely given except in rare situations.  I recommend that you consult an evictions attorney when you have one like this.

So how do you find a good eviction attorney?  Here are some suggestions:

• Go down to the courthouse on a day that other eviction proceedings are happening and see if there are any eviction attorneys working on that day.  They will typically be wearing the usual attorney attire which is a business suit (which will look out of place amongst the landlords and tenants in the room).  Do not expect to discuss your case with them as they are currently working for (and being paid by the hour for) someone else.  Simply get their card and then ask how many evictions they do per month.  Reconnect with them on the phone at a later date.
• Call a larger, local property manager in your area.  See what eviction attorney they could recommend.  You are unlikely a competitor so they will probably be willing to help you.
• Contact a local Realtor that sells investment properties.  Do they have a recommendation of a good eviction lawyer?
• Google evictions attorney [insert your state name here] to find some.

Once you find some attorneys to speak to, put together a list of questions to ask them.  Here are some suggestions:

• Do you work on an hourly basis or a flat fee?  Since the eviction process is actually pretty routine, your attorney should do the eviction for a flat fee.  This will save you money.
• Will you be the person doing all the work or do you have paralegals that file the paperwork?  Much of the eviction process is simple administrative work that can be handled by a less expensive administrative person or paralegal.
• How many evictions do you process in a month?
• How quickly can you get the eviction notice form filed and get into court and subsequently get these tenants out of my property?
• Do I need to appear in court or will you handle the entire process?
• Are most of your clients large property managers or do you also work with small landlords that own 1-2 rental properties?

It is very important to be a on a first name basis with a good eviction attorney.  This will be an invaluable relationship that you will use and come to rely on over the years of owning rental properties.

If you simply locked out the tenant, you as the landlord could be taken to court for breaking the lease!  You do not want that.

This document is typically served by a process server, who is a neutral third party, not involved in the property.  That insures that proper notice was given to the tenant and eliminates either party from coming back and claiming they were not notified of the problem.  The notice should spell out the lease conditions that have been violated and the amount of time that the tenant has to fix the situation.  State laws typically govern how long the tenant will have to make the corrections.  For missed rent payments , it is typically 5-10 days.  In the absence of any state laws over this particular issue, I would give the tenant 10 days to fix the problem.

If the tenant still refuses to comply with the eviction notice details or does not rectify the situation to the landlord’s satisfaction, the next step is filing an eviction against the tenant.  This initial process of serving the tenant with an eviction notice will be extremely important once you are in court.  Often a tenant will try to claim that they did not know they were violating the lease.  A landlord can then produce the eviction notice that was served earlier showing that the landlord notified the tenant of the problem and the tenant did nothing.  This clear example of “I told you what you were doing wrong and you did not fix the problem” can show the eviction judge that you tried to work through this problem prior to filing the unlawful detainer.

Another affective way to use the eviction notice as leverage is to have your eviction attorney write and send the letter.  Although this will cost some fees, it will look much more professional, menacing, and serious when it comes from a reputable eviction attorney.

Remember that an eviction notice must be very specific in what you want the tenant to correct.  It is also, generally, not a legal document that alone will allow you to physically remove the tenant from the premises.  Used properly, though, it can be a useful tool.