Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is a lengthy process - 30 days at least because they can appeal. However, I will tell you this, when you do go to evict them with the sheriff, take their cars. We did not know to do this and we lost $12,000 in back rent and had to pay our lawyer on top of it.

Have the Sheriff take their cars while you are there. You have a right to seize any property and to sell it.

In case you didn't have the introspection to realize this, previous poster, you are probably a complete a$$hole. Do you realize how class-less it is to prey on the poor? Most people don't go into a rental situation with a plan to steal as much time for free from the landlord as possible; they go into a rental, because their only other option is living on the street. By confiscating your renter's cars, you are leaving them destitute with very few options to get to work or find a new job and be productive citizens. OP and other prospective and current landlords, please have a heart in these tough economic times.

Hahahhh.. Don't be so sure of that. I'm a landlord in MoCo about to evict a tenant who has written 3 bad checks in a row. While in court, I talked to other landlords and there are professional deadbeat tenants. They know the system, and know how long the courts take. Basically, if they get in and pay the first month's rent, they can usually ride it rent-free for about 4 months until they actually get evicted.

With my current tenant, the court order to evict him without right of redemption (meaning he can't pay up to stop the eviction -- the 3 prior times he could, but on the 4th the court can revoke this right) was issued in late October. Here it is mid-December and he's still not out. It takes the court 2-3 weeks to issue the eviction notice, and then the Sheriff is backed up 6 weeks on evictions.

As for seizing property, that's not allowed in MoCo. There's a long process where I have to go to another court (Small Claims instead of Landlord-TEnant), get a civil judgment, then request a list of his assets. It takes a few months _after_ eviction to make that happen.

Sounds like VA is much easier on this stuff. Harder to be a professional deadbeat.

Anonymous wrote:It is a lengthy process - 30 days at least because they can appeal. However, I will tell you this, when you do go to evict them with the sheriff, take their cars. We did not know to do this and we lost $12,000 in back rent and had to pay our lawyer on top of it.

Have the Sheriff take their cars while you are there. You have a right to seize any property and to sell it.

In case you didn't have the introspection to realize this, previous poster, you are probably a complete a$$hole. Do you realize how class-less it is to prey on the poor? Most people don't go into a rental situation with a plan to steal as much time for free from the landlord as possible; they go into a rental, because their only other option is living on the street. By confiscating your renter's cars, you are leaving them destitute with very few options to get to work or find a new job and be productive citizens. OP and other prospective and current landlords, please have a heart in these tough economic times.

It's turned over to the rental company lawyers you said, right?. Let them and the sheriff and the courts handle it from here. No need to give any more warnings or heads-up or threaten to sell tenants' stuff on craigslist.

Direct your questions to the lawyers about court date (which close over holidays, remember), sheriffs, etc.

I assume you have 1st and last months' rent as deposits, right? So that's 2 months of income you have stored away.

Does your contract with the renter mention late fees that accumulate?

So, you'll get the rental money and then some, so hang tight.

OP, you spend your money on having a retail, but can not afford an attorney not on a website?

Really? Wow.

Why don't you ask your rental company? Theyve dealt with stuff like this before I assume. You hired them for a reason so let them deal with it.
it's not like you can do anything about it.

Also, make sure that the tenant can't show up with half the rent and make the whole process come to a screeching halt.

I'm the poster for the "Fairfax County is pretty friendly toward landlords" posting two messages up. I forgot to add that during busy seasons, it can take 2 to 3 weeks for the clerks office to even send over the Writ of Posession to the Sheriff's Office. So really, if you're unlucky, this process can take 95 days instead of the 75 I mentioned earlier.

Again folks, do not let excuses delay action!

It is a lengthy process - 30 days at least because they can appeal. However, I will tell you this, when you do go to evict them with the sheriff, take their cars. We did not know to do this and we lost $12,000 in back rent and had to pay our lawyer on top of it.

Have the Sheriff take their cars while you are there. You have a right to seize any property and to sell it.

Fairfax County is pretty friendly toward landlords. but there is still a process that must be followed to the letter. The steps I would recommend for rent payment evictions are:

1) Submit a Five Day Pay or Quit Notice to the Sheriff's Office and have them deliver it. They will mail you proof of service, which holds up in court. This process takes about 7 to 10 days (mail to them, they serve it, then they send you proof they did). And double check the results to make sure they don't return a "Not found" result. RocketLawyer.com helped me make my notice.

2) As soon as five days pass, go to the Fairfax County Courthouse and file a Summons for an Unlawful Detainer. The clerks there can't give you legal advice, but they are very helpful guiding you through the forms. Bring the 5-Day notice. And make sure you also fill out a Servicemember's affidavit while you're there. You'll need that for a default judgement. The clerks will assign a hearing date. Mail the Summons for Unlawful Detainer to your tenant via first class mail; there is a place on the form to swear you have done so. Mail it the day you file it so you don't forget. My hearing date was 30 days from my filing date

3) DO NOT COLLECT ANY RENT FROM THE TENANT, AT LEAST NOT WITHOUT PROVISIONAL PAPERWORK THAT LETS YOU CONTINUE THE EVICTION. IF YOU DO, YOU WILL NEED TO START AGAIN AT STEP 1. I DIDN'T MAKE THIS MISTAKE, BUT WHILE WAITING FOR MY CASE SAW LANDLORDS HAVE THEIR CASES' DISMISSED BECAUSE THEY DID. JUST KEEP THINGS SIMPLE AND DON'T COLLECT ANY $$$.

4) Follow the instructions in the packet the clerks will give you. Seriously, read it through! And make sure you file a separate notarized affidavit summarizing your claims BEFORE the court date along with pertinant accounting information. And make sure you have enough copies. The clerks can tell you how many you need.

5) Go to the hearing. When you get a judgement, file a "Writ of Possession" with the Clerk's Office. That will instruct the Sheriff's department to schedule an eviction. It will need to be within 30 days, but these days they shoot for 15. And if the tenant is a no-show at the hearing, move for "Immediate Possession". You can then walk to the clerk's office down the haul and file the writ immediately. Just make sure you bring bank checks to the courthouse on your hearing date.

All in all, the process can take 75 days without making any mistakes, so its important that if you believe your tenant is behaving in bad faith or simply can't afford to pay rent that you get started early. Don't let them control the timeline with excuses. Believe me, they will say their car broke down, their family got sick, they got sick, one of their family members died and they had to help with final expenses, that they will be getting money soon, etc... They want you to feel crumby about doing anything to them. Get the paperwork going, and if they come up with all the rent by the court date, then great! Cases are financially cheap to file, and can be dismissed very easily.

If you think this process takes a lot man hours, it does. I'd recommend using RocketLawyer.com if you have questions; for $40 a month, you can ask questions to real lawyers. Probably made the difference in me winning my case. Or if you won't want to spend the time, hire a lawyer. But don't wait and let a bad situation get worse. Trust your gut, and get started early.

It takes about 2 years in NYC. Not sure about Fairfax County. Good luck.

Virginia can evict a dead beat on 14 days

Anonymous wrote:My dad had to evict someone (in Baltimore) and it took 6 months. I've always heard that the process can take a long time. I don't think it's a few weeks and then your done.

Depends on the state. Very much so. I got someone out in another state within 30 days and was able to garnish their paycheck.

Anonymous wrote:Thank you for all the information. We are going through a similar process with a tenant we "inherited" when we bought several rentals from someone retiring. We always do credit checks and check references, so this is the first time in 25 years we have had to evict someone. If he would answer his door or phone calls we could have worked something out, but he completely ignores us.

have the sherrif serve him a warrant and give him 24 hours to vacate before he get's arrested for trespassing.

Thank you for all the information. We are going through a similar process with a tenant we "inherited" when we bought several rentals from someone retiring. We always do credit checks and check references, so this is the first time in 25 years we have had to evict someone. If he would answer his door or phone calls we could have worked something out, but he completely ignores us.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi All,

Unfortunately, our tenant has not paid rent. He has been served a 5 day quit or pay notice, which expired yesterday. Today, the rental company contacted their lawyer to request a court date. Does anyone know how long it takes to get a court date?

It sounds like once the court date is set, the tenant has 10 days to appeal and then the Sheriffs office has 30 days to post the eviction notice. Any guesses on how long the Sheriffs office will take? Ideally, the eviction notice would be served immediately and the tenant would have 72 hours to vacate. How long should I expect it to take to get the tenant out? Obviously, the sooner the better as we need to get a new tenant.

If I am mistaken of my understanding of the process, please let me know.

Did you run his/her credit/eviction report before renting?

Eviction report?