another evication question! ty.

[switchex]

What is the name of your state? MD

My tenants have not paid rent this month and after leaving them 20 messages, leaving them a note in their mail box, and sending them emails and getting ignored, i have decided to evict them. Here in baltimore , MD, from what i understand, it takes 14 days before the court serves them with the eviction notice .. which means i won't be able to look for new tenants until first week of january .. anyway, my question is, once we go to court, would i be able to collect the rent for month of December as well as the penalties for early termination which based on our contract is equal to 2 months rent. Additionally the damages to the house exceeds the security deposit .. apparently they brought a dog (not allowed per our contract) which has damaged the hard wood flooring , carpet, etc. In these situation, does the judge make them pay all money due in lump sum by a given deadline or what! i have never been through this type of things and wondering if i could get all my money .. thanks.

 

[Andy0192]

The worst time to worry about how much you can get paid, is when you're trying to evict someone. The best thing to do is get a good lease written before they move in, and get penalties & clauses written in, along with substantial deposits and upfront money.

Of course, if you make it too difficult to start the lease, you're going to have a hard time attracting tenants to pay your monthly rent fee, which is where you hope the major income will come from long term.

Telling you what to do before, doesn't help you now with the questions that you're asking, but I can speak from experience when I tell you that the money you're going to be losing now is your cost of education. From this experience, you're going to learn to pay more attention up front to screening tenants, and to get a good lease written ( and signed) up front.

Someone else will be able to give you some more specifics on your state & what you can legally do. My advice is to approach this thing as a contract matter, and try not to let your emotions get involved too much. Leaving 20 messages is not good for you or them.

Good luck,

-Andy

 

[switchex]

i think i had a good contract, asking for 2 months rent for early termination .. i even make the tenants buy rental insuarance as part of the contract ... .what i am trying to undersatnd is this: when you go to court for eviction, is that the same court that tells the tenants they owe me money and they have to payup, based on what ever the judge decides? Or is the evication court just to have them kicked out and collecting rent and penalty money is a whole different procedure?

thanks

 

[BL]

i think i had a good contract, asking for 2 months rent for early termination .. i even make the tenants buy rental insuarance as part of the contract ... .what i am trying to undersatnd is this: when you go to court for eviction, is that the same court that tells the tenants they owe me money and they have to payup, based on what ever the judge decides? Or is the evication court just to have them kicked out and collecting rent and penalty money is a whole different procedure?

thanks

http://www.courts.state.md.us/district/forms/civil/dccv82br.html

What happens in court?
If both the landlord and tenant appear, the court may:
• listen to both parties present their version of the dispute. If the court rules in favor of the landlord, the court may issue an Order of Possession. In certain limited circumstances, the court may enter a monetary judgment in the amount of the rent due and the costs of the suit
• postpone the trial to allow either party to obtain necessary witnesses


If the court doesn't oder monetary award then , ask the court how or where to file for damages .