5 ways landlords can avoid evictions and cut losses in Orlando

There’s a fork in the road for every landlord. He can provide food and shelter for his family or go into debt and homelessness. If you want to be in a position where you have steady cashflow you must live a life of strictly enforcing rent payment dates with all of your tenants. Watch this interview that I did with a disoriented landlord to see how bad things can get in Orlando.

As a landlord you must also be OK with complying with tenants’ demands in terms of reasonable upkeep as defined by Florida law. Is there a broken air conditioner or rats inside the kitchen wall? Has a board on the porch stairs broken? You will be responsible for all repairs. This caveat alone has brought once successful landlords down to their knees, forcing them into new careers.

If you’ve decided to stick with it as a landlord, you should know a few things that will help you stay in the black. The following 5 points revolve around avoiding the process of eviction which could cost you over $4000 in lost rent and legal fees.

1) Cash for keys: A lot of landlords have never tried this option out because they are just used to the traditional eviction process. It seems counter-intuitive to pay someone for being negligent but the fact is that you need your property to be vacated so you can start making money on rent.

If you want a cash for keys agreement to work you need to be specific in writing. When presenting this option to the tenant don’t negotiate with the price and let the tenant know that he will get his rent deposit back if there aren’t any damages.

On the move out date make sure that you are at the property with a locksmith just like you would for an eviction. When the tenant has cleared the property and it’s time for him to leave you can present him with the check right there.

2) Lease infringement: Uncovering activities contrary to the lease agreement (ex. Smoking tobacco or pot indoors or extra overnight occupants). To be able to take full advantage of this you need to have a strong lease. It must stipulate that you can serve the tenant a notice to vacate without providing a notice to cease beforehand.

In the notice to vacate you say that the tenant has only a few days before mandatory vacating the property. Upon the tenant leaving he/she can get the security deposit back and there is no eviction listed on the tenant’s record.

3) Asking tenant to leave: If you have a friendly relationship with your tenant you can ask him to leave by a certain date. By telling him that he will get his rent deposit back and avoid a legal judgment on his record you can add leverage for a positive outcome. Make sure to communicate how his lack of payment is hurting you in the long run.

4) Pay for a truck and storage: This option can be an addendum to number 3. Playing this card will make sure that the tenant is out so you can quickly have a replacement tenant who pays. You can decide if you want to apply the deposit towards this or give it all back. Though you may have a problem with spending money on a deadbeat tenant, the alternative is losing even more on an eviction lawsuit and lost rent money.

5) Late fees: The last way to avoid evictions is to charge a high enough late fee for the tenant to make the payment of rent a priority. An irresponsible tenant may pay a lot of money in late fees for many months before ultimately not being able to pay the rent. The money that a landlord can earn this way can offset the cost of eviction alternatives like cash for keys. However, late fees must not be excessive so a tenant won’t try to sue you in court. In Orlando, Florida there is no rule that caps how high a late fee can be. If a tenant still decides not to pay, at least your past late payment fees can help offset the costs associated with getting him out.

Accepting partial payments

During the 3 days after the Pay or Quit notice is posted the tenant has the opportunity to get caught up by paying what is owed. If the tenant pays only a portion of what is owed and the landlord accepts, the landlord cannot file for an eviction at the county clerk’s office. However, after a certain amount of time, if the remaining balance is not paid the landlord my post the Pay or Quit notice to the tenants door again.

As one can see, this game of paying partial payments can become long and allows the tenant to elongate his stay by taking advantage of the system. In this event a landlord can accept a partial payment only once in a month and then file for eviction by refusing any other partial payments in that same month.

In Orlando this works out to the landlord’s favor because realistically he could have a new tenant in his property on the 1^st of the following month because the eviction process is so quick. This is true especially when the tenant fails to file an answer at the courthouse which is a common occurrence. By the time the next tenant moves in, the landlord will have just a portion of the prior months rent in his pocket but that’s better than nothing.

So the best strategy in Florida is to accept even a portion of the rent during the 3 day Pay or Quit term. Then refuse other partial payments in order to start your formalized maneuver.

There is wisdom in avoiding evictions because they take their toll on your free time and mental health. To show how true this is I’ve summarized the process of eviction in Florida below.

1) Serve the 3 day notice – this is not the eviction lawsuit, it’s just a prerequisite.

2) Serve the tenant the court date notice (and at same time file the eviction lawsuit). The renter has 5 days to pay the rent into the court registry and file an answer to the lawsuit. If he does not do both of these steps there is an automatic “default of the tenant” which creates a “writ of possession”.

3) The sheriff posts the writ of possession on the tenant’s door. This writ of possession tells the tenant he has 24 hours to vacate.

4) After 24 hours has passed the sheriff comes back to the apartment with the landlord present. The landlord must have locksmith to make sure they can enter if the lock is changed.

5) When the landlord has taken possession, the locksmith will change lock for the new tenant.

6) The remaining items will be moved out of the house and put on the curb of the road. The landlord may sell the items to recoup costs but the tenant may sue to get up to $1000 of the proceeds.

7) Money is spent for the property to be cleaned and repaired so the new tenant can move in.

Conclusion

Much of a landlord’s success in minimizing losses involves making the choice to lose a little money in the short term rather than lose a lot in the long term (eviction). 5 actionable options that are in line with this thinking are cash for keys, lease infringements, asking the tenant to leave, paying for the moving truck and late fees. These methods can be effective if the landlord chooses to be professional and caring through the process of vacating the tenant. Carefully guiding the tenant out the door will help you recoup a lot of your potential losses associated with eviction, including vindictive defacing of your property.