CAUTION: Some venting below, support and suggestions welcome :)

Had an emergency lock situation this morning; one that was known about but residents did not inform me and it was of course,, an emergency NOW! End of month, move outs move ins so inconconvenient, but took care of lock situation and proceeded home, feathers ruffled.

Almost home when noticed a few vehicles at our rental behind our house. Hubby is siding the garage so stops me to say, these people are moving things into unit not rented to them! He doesn't know anyting so I go in to see what's going on..still unsettled from the previous emergency. I find tons of boxes and 3 people and a cat, I don't allow pets in a buggy in the unit. It's ok to laugh, it was a funny sight. So I ask who the people are and a tenant who is on a lease with me, departing months before her lease is up and says she can't afford the ETF tells her friend who is moving that she can store her things in the place for a couple weeks until her new apartment opens up. No one asked or notified me. The unit is 3 floors up and we just had new flooring, patched walls and painted ceiling and hallway all the way up 1 1/2 yrs ago. All others have kept the hallway, floor impeccable. So all these items, even a desk were about to go in there. Trying to calm myself to go back and see if there was any damage done to the walls, which will be charged to the departing resident.

I rerented the unit for September 1, so the resident thought it was ok to give her friend permission to move things in. Friend said she wasn't going to be living there, but when I asked for the key back and asked them all to leave, suddenly she had to go through her clothes to remove what she would be wearing to take with her, so in there for another 45 minutes. I got the key back, tried to calm down as I was shouting at the top of my lungs. Parents said they knew nothing about that I didn't know. Oh, she's had such a tough year, blah, blah, blah...

I have a check for September from tenant who was departing which I will try to deposit, but lease also says "no subletting". I don't know whether there was an exchange of $ for storage or not, but would not be able to prove anyway. But could turn into a squatter?

I find out from the father that his daughter does not have a place yet...still has to find one. And has an abusive boyfriend. Glad I got the key back. Current resident will tell me she needs the key when she returns home from work, but she has already moved most of her things and told me 2 days ago she just has to clean.

To soon to tell if I have a squatter, but do I if only her items are there and not her? Parents live 2 1/2 hours away and are likely home by now. There are a couple smaller gouges in the hallway I had not noticed the other day when I was with a different tenant who is barely there. And the whole hallway smells like manure, clogs of dirt that aren't usually there.

Answers to my squatter question, was I too over the top? Mom was crying, daughter was crying, current tenant wants me to call her at work. What would you do?

no No & NO!!! Get them out, get them out NOW.

3 flights up for "storage?? No way, that stuff is gonna be there. An unknown person moved in? with a cat? And they are only storing stuff? Like a cat?

You will likely get a squatter. Possibly one that you can't evict.

so:

1. Beat them to it by providing your own squatter. A very unpleasant one. (a friend). Maybe they will move out their stuff to prevent this person from going through it.

2. Tell the people that no, they can't store their things there. Go rent a storage unit like normal people.

3. Put a no trespass order on them.

4. If the utilities are turned off, your lease should have a clause addressing this. Call the utility company and have them shut it down -- tell the company the unit is under repair and as the owner NO service is to be turned on until you give the OK. If the company wont do that, ask them to pull the meters if you have to. Go in and cut the water pipes "for repair" as the unit is empty (just don't get yourself in trouble if the unit is not empty by doing something that the court would mess with you on.)

5.Tell these people they have no right to be there and that you cannot provide any security to protect their possessions from burglars /vandals.

They might also have drugs in there and be planning on selling them from the unit. You never know.

Not being there, it's hard to tell what will be effective.

Any or all might work. Just don't get yourself in trouble if you can avoid it. Blame everything on them. They are unauthorized people attempting to squat on your place. Criminals. Do what you have to do or they will likely be in your place for free until who knows when.

Been there myself. Tenants moving out voluntarily, and when they were gone, a 'friend' who had been staying with them for about a month because of 'wife' problems, reappeared IN the house. Got in through a back window. He might also have had a key since I never got any back from the tenants. Not a bad guy, friendly, helped out with yard work etc.

Next thing I know is he's in the driveway at 2 am, OVERHAULING a friend's exhaust system. Banging, clanging, police got called by neighbors. I went over in the daylight (he was still working on the car) and there were 2 other cars full of friends parked in all the wrong spots.

I got mad, confronted 2 rather large girls and told them to move their cars to correct parking spots. They back talked me, I got madder, told them their excuse of 'we are only going to be here for a minute' wasn't valid. They got mad, I got madder, they started to tell me their rights, when happily, the 'guy' who was staying over told them to leave. Turns out and I already knew, he had a long criminal history for lots of small crimes and didn't want to risk the cops appearing again.

So don't feel bad that you got mad at the situation. My best advice is sternly tell them to get out NOW, take all their stuff or they will find it on the street, etc. Stand by with anyone you can find who will be there for a show of force and then lock the unit. Don't let this go for a second or you will certainly have squatters and have to evict legally and expensively.

I have a very clear clause, no subletting, no renting rooms to anyone, and that anyone found there who is not on the rental agreement ( or anyone storing things or using the address/mailbox) is considered a squatter and will be removed (including police intervention) immediately. I watch like a hawk on move out's and in's now. Learned the hard way.

Sorry Plenty, not sure I communicated clearly. You may have a different answer. The new renter was not trying to move in early. The tenant leaving told her friend that she could store stuff there; current tenant has stuff there also and is not moved out yet. So I ran into my current tenant's friend's parents and her, all strangers to me. Current tenant gave friend a key to move some things in for a couple weeks.

I'm sorry. I got overwhelmed at times myself by crazy people, managers, partners, tenants and family members. A friend asked to see an apartment because their son just graduated college and was moving back into town and needed a place to stay until they found a job. So I gave my friend a key and granted "Him" permission to show the unit to his son, then return the key to another tenant in the building who acts as a limited manager.

The father and son showed up and looked at the unit. The son started to unload items to store in the unit. The manger called me, no one returned the keys.

I drove over after my friend and son had left the property. I replaced the locks. Removed some stuff the friend and son left in the unit and stored them in my garage on that property. Turned off the Gas, Power and water to the unit. It was registered as a vacant unit, not being able to rent until I paid Housing and the City their Fee's.

I called my friend on his cell and house phone, went to voice mail. I left a message, "What did you think of the unit? When can your son complete an application and provide his personal information? Will you be co-signing the lease"??

Did not get a call back until 3 days later when the son showed up with a moving truck, U-Haul 20 foot long truck. Too much stuff for a 1 bedroom anyways.

The son and parents called the police. They said they rented the unit, got the keys and are locked out! I told the police that this unit has been rented out already. The people that are claiming tenancy didn't fill out an application. They paid no processing fee's. They never signed a lease or paid any of the move-in costs: 1st and Security.

So a neighbor who wanted that unit but was shy on the 3-Times Rent as income I quickly gave the unit if he moved in that same day after I rekeyed the locks.

My friend who tried to take advantage and move into a unit looked like a fool with the police. The son had told his parents that he met me at the property the next day and filled out the lease and paid the move-in costs.

They wanted their stuff.. I told them just sign this paper that the son lied to his parents and that they never completed the application process. Then I released the boxes to them...

This is one reason I never do lockbox showings anymore (going on 30 years) in L.A.

I am agreeance. The "storer" would be living there. Everything in writing. Sometimes it does not convey well. Stick to the facts only-don't let emotions come into play. If you need to take a few hours or a day to respond so you can do it calmly (and not an emergency), do it.

Dee Ann

This is why I only do MTM. Well, one of the reasons. The ETF just wouldn't work for me, in my area/situation.

I agree with giving Current tenant her September rent check back, as the property is rented for someone else in September. (You called it September rent, not ETF.) Assuming you already have deposited August rent, the current tenant is entitled to use the place for August, and you cannot collect September rent from two tenants. Your current tenant broke the lease, and you have a duty to re-rent, which you did. Doesn't sound like you are out anything, if you collected August rent from current tenant, September rent from new tenant. Of course, you did have to advertise, show and screen, but, you now have a new tenant coming in at a better time, assuming the old tenant's lease ended closer to winter. So, this ETF just seems, to me, just speaking for me, seems to be causing more headache then its worth. Might be a different story if one has a slate of workers and lawyers between the landlord and the tenant, like the big landlords do. But, for a smallish landlord who is easily known to tenants, is it worth the extra hassle?

Hmmm….In Wisconsin, possibly early termination fee is problem, if unit is already rented. Tenant did say she doesn’t have the money, so was trying to avoid… eviction? What else was she to do? She doesn’t have the money… Tenants , well, and even a lot of Landlords, don’t always understand all that stuff in a lease. And, most likely, tenant just didn’t realize….

Just my read on it: She couldn't manage to make it through a one year lease and wants to move, for whatever reason. She has no money to pay ELT (or claims she doesn't). No friends or family will give her that money, possibly because they don't trust her and have already cut ties.

And then, rather than just disappearing without paying the ELT, which would be bad enough, she tries to move some stranger into the unit to sublet without even asking if it's okay first, which is much worse in my eyes.

I know a lot of bashing of tenants goes on here and much of it is justified, but this situation is pretty bad, even for a tenant.

Is this the tenant that advertised the place without landlord knowledge? All kinds of boundaries were crossed already. Add to that, Wisconsin doesn’t allow for accelerated rent payments. Anything in excess of rent is deemed security deposit.

Dee Ann,

Vent on ! I LOVE to hear stories like this to remind myself I'm not the only one with troubles!

This one is crazy.

I believe the new person is a deadbeat needing a place to crash.

Remember: people lie.

I'll offer another side...Legally, if your res still has possession (You wrote that your legit res still has stuff in the home) the res can invite GUESTS and their stuff.

I agree, boxes and a desk are a little much for a VISITOR, and there is more happening, but LEGALLY it's not up to you.

September rent?? Huh? It's August. Why is she giving you Sept?

BRAD

People want to know why I am bald....I let them know how long I have been a LL.

Does your state have abandoned property laws?

People want to know why I am bald....I let them know how long I have been a LL.

Does your state have abandoned property laws?

Now that I'm calmer, some clarification. The September $ I have received is from a new person who I signed a lease with. Current tenant has some of her things there (so she says) and now her friend's things there; place is packed, can hardly walk in there.

I did not collect an ELT from current tenant; she has been there for a year and 3 months. She renewed her lease in May for a year, usually gives checks for the year, dated the first of each month. When she renewed her lease she only gave me 3 checks saying she ran out of checks. At that time I thought something was up. Then an email a month later, URGENT, she may be moving...none of her explanations made any sense. Yes, she was the one who advertised without my approval. In the end, she saved me alot of time by sifting through responses and together we found an excellent replacement.

BRAD: I've looked at the guest side of things and she has possession. My lease says no sublet or assignment of the lease or space...more investigation I now know the rest of the building knew this was going to happen. So why not inform me? I live behind this building and can see everything going on there. A couple boxes is one thing, a storage unit it is not. So I've changed my lease a bit more. Now I have please notify me when you're on a vacation so we can keep eyes on the place (we are big on security, and why this was a huge issue for us). Now I added, please notify us if you lend a key to someone coming in while you're expected to be away or if you have guests for a couple weeks. Most of our tenants already let us know these things. It's in the way they are brought up I think.

RAY: Our state does have abandoned laws.

HEY THERE BUSY!: We ended up having a one month gap between current tenant move out and new tenant move in. I have a different take on the ELT fee. I put it in the lease hoping to get more tenants that don't plan on terminating a lease early. I think as a result I've had lots of long termers. Just last few years, people are signing leases and breaking them without thought. I know this gal wasn't telling me the truth about why she was breaking the lease, caught her many times, she still thinks I believe her. Yes I'll need to do some checking on what the law would say. We have one in the family; I tend not to use him unless things get messy. Thanks for your info.

J: I agree, clueless and dishonest.

Dee Ann,

Don't know if it would help, but maybe you need to make it clear that not only will she be responsible for damages from her subtenant, but that also all of the cost of eviction and lost rent will be her responsibility since she is not returning possession of the unit to you. It is as if she never moved out. She is still on the hook for everything you lose. She might not understand that.

In fact, perhaps you could consult with an attorney now about filing suit and serving her right now as a motivation for her to if possible cooperate in removing her subtenant and let's face reality, that's what you've got in there now.

Showed the unit below this one today. During the showing the potential resident pointed out an area on the ceiling that looked like leaking of something from the unit above. Yes, the unit all the boxes were moved into. It is an unusual area for this to occur and makes no sense. We'll need to go into the unit to determine where it is/was leaking from, is it temporarily not leaking, if not how to prevent it in the future.

So I'll need to give notice to enter the unit and move some boxes or have the departing move the boxes. I think we will do it because we are able to do it while they are at work. So that's my way in and I'll need to take pics.

Dee Ann,

If she renewed in May and is leaving now, she owes the ELT.

Also, possible water leak is an emergency. No notice needed. Should be in your lease.

BRAD