Property Management Maven

I just wanted to thank you for taking the Deadbeats and their 4 children.  I know they presented their “prior landlord” as a heartless B-witch and that the property they rented was full of mold; however, the truth is that they were late 3 times with their rent in the FIRST 6 months of their 12 month lease and I had placed them on CERTIFIED/BANK funds only for their FUTURE payment of their rent.  I allowed them to pay their December, 2008 rent on the 15th and I agreed to waive their late/notice fees provided they were not late for the remainder of their lease. 

When they did not pay their January, 2009 rent on time, I served them with a 5-day pay or quit and filed the unlawful detainer/eviction on them on the 12th of January.  They then proceeded to bring up mold, as well as many mis-assumptions regarding the Virginia landlord tenant statutes.

They failed to appear in court; however, they advised the judge via a fax that they would be willing to leave the property in 30 days.  The judge awarded me immedite possession and I filed for a writ of possession that same day.

I advised them I would stay their  removal by the sheriff for a week so that they could move over the following weekend which is when they contacted YOUR real estate agent and offered to lease your beautiful home.  It is unfortunate that your Realtor failed to call me for a reference on them or check the county court website which shows the eviction I had filed. Had your agent run their credit report, they would have noted my inquiry in July, 2008 and that should have triggered a suggestion that they call me directly and verify their story regarding the property they were leaving so abruptly.  Had your agent driven by the property they rented from me, he would have seen a 3 year old $350,000 home, much larger than your home and in much better condition.

Again, thank you for taking my deadbeats.  If you and your sloppy real estate agent not taken them as residents for your home, I would have had to remove them through the sheriff, gone through abandonment postings for items left at the property  and notifications per Virginia eviction rules.

Don’t expect your rent for the next few months.  I am having his pay garnished for the judgement for the January rent and I have filed a Small Claims court action against them for the February and March rent. 

Wallace S. Gibson CPM *
Gibson Management Group, Ltd.

For past few weeks, I have been getting notices from a trustee in SoCA regarding a foreclosure….NO, not one of the properties I manage * a property BOUGHT by some tenants I have a judgement on/against.

They rented from me for almost 2 years and signed a second lease extension in February, 2007 for the coming year.  In May, 2007, they notified me they had purchased a home and had moved.  I had already served them with the pro-forma pay or quit and filed against them in Albemarle General District court for the non-payment of their May, 2007 rent AND a companion suit in Small Claims for the max amount allowed for the accelerated rent under the new lease extension.

When I knew they were out, I had the locks changed, had the property cleaned and proceeded to re-rent it with only the loss of 2.5 months rent. 

Both court cases were heard at the same time and I received a judgement for the unpaid rent, my late/notice fees, my re-leasing fee, ad costs, utilitity costs and yard maintenance costs - approximately $4,000 once their deposit was applied.

Once the appeal period of 10 days had expired, I recorded the judgement in both Albemarle and Greene counties - their new home purchase was in Greene. 

This is where my getting their foreclosure notices comes in.  As a lienholder against their property, I am entitled to notification that my lien position is about to be wiped out by the foreclosure by the first mortgage holder.  The first mortgage holder probably wants ME to buy the property at auction to preserve my position - sorry, no dice.

During the time they rented from me, he lost his job twice, she did not work for a year as their newest child had health issues.  They struggled to pay $1,395 per month in rent YET a mortgage company gave them a mortgage for over $213,000 * WHY?

Over the last 5 years, approximately 25% of my tenants bought homes either in the Charlottesville area or whereever they moved.  RARELY did I receive a request for rent verification for their mortgage company - RARELY.  Why would this not be the FIRST piece of paper requested by the mortgage underwriters?  Why were loans closed without verifying that the purchasers were capable of paying their current rent?

At the end of September, a family of 6 will be homeless unless they move in with friends or family.  They will have a foreclosure AND eviction on their credit report and little monies to pay the move-in monies on a new rental home.
 
Yes, I blame them for not making good choices and budgeting their finances AND I blame the mortgage company that loaned them money without checking to determine if they could make the payments.

I suspect this has happened often in our current housing meltdown…..