Owning rental properties can cause a lot of stress and cost a lot of money, especially when a tenant situation goes south. The value of hiring a property management company is that they act as a liaison between you and your tenants, ensuring rent gets paid on time and the agreement is observed. But what about the landlords greatest nightmare, eviction? Property management companies handle eviction too, and it is perhaps one of the greatest benefits of their service.
Causes for Evictions
There are two kinds of eviction: eviction with cause and eviction without. What types of causes might there be to evict a tenant? If you’re a landlord yourself, you can probably think of several, speaking from experience:
- Rent delinquency. Your tenant hasn’t been paying rent for months, even after a “pay rent” notice has been sent. Or perhaps they’ve been consistently late in their payments.
- Danger. Your tenant is engaging in illegal behavior, or behavior that poses a health or safety risk to the property and/or other tenants.
- Broken agreement. Your tenant broke an explicit term of your agreement, such as “no smoking” or “no pets.” They will not correct this violation despite a “cure” notice.
Some states will require “pay rent” and “cure” notices to be sent, and the tenant given a reasonable timeframe to respond to them before an eviction notice is permitted. Many states require 30 or 60 days notice be given before an eviction without cause. Some states require a cause to be given for an eviction, period.
Value Added
Property management companies not only monitor your tenant situation for delinquency, but respond within the parameter of state or city law. They know the sequence of events as they should take place for your state. They also know what information to include in a letter of eviction and how to deliver (serve) it properly.
If a tenant refuses to leave, property management companies handle the court order for state intervention to get the tenant out the door. If your tenant leaves some of their belongings behind on your property, your property management company will take care of it according to the law of your city or state.
For many landlords, hiring a property management company means somebody else gets to be the “bad guy” in an eviction. Tenants are more likely to understand when a property management company says they’re “just doing their job” than when a landlord sends a letter of conviction personally. Outsourcing evictions can relieve a lot of stress and save a lot of time and money for the landlord. If you live in the Anchorage, Eagle River, or Mat-Su area and would like help managing your tenants, contact your local, property management company.