The Top 5 Reasons Landlords are Afraid to Evict
By John Nuzzolese
 Many landlords are so afraid to evict a tenant that it costs them far more in the long run that it would to just bite the bullet and go through with a legal eviction.
Let's face it. Evictions are not a pleasant part of the business. Collecting rent on time is. Having your rental property cared for by a tenant who pays the rent is essential to being a successful landlord. But what about when things don't go so well? When tenants don't abide by the agreements made in the lease?
I always say, "It is better to have NO tenant, than it is to have a BAD tenant." I say this because I would rather have an empty rental property than one with a deadbeat loser who:
a) doesn't have the integrity or responsibility to honor his agreement,
b) is stealing from me and my family for every day he gets away with not paying the rent,
c) is costing me time and aggravation in managing a hopeless tenancy.
Most landlords can't afford to be good Samaritans who provide free housing. The rent needs to be paid or they will lose the property they worked so hard to acquire in the first place.
So What Are The Top 5 Reasons Landlords are Afraid to Evict?
- Fear of the Unknown I've noticed that landlords who have never experienced evicting a tenant in court before will do whatever it takes to avoid the eviction process, even at greater cost to themselves than an actual eviction would cost.
I've also noticed that landlords who have evicted a tenant in the past are more willing to evict again when it needs to be done. Experienced landlords know that evictions should be started immediately, once the tenant can not cure his default on the agreement.
- No Attorney "I don't have an eviction attorney" and "an attorney is too expensive" are common excuses for not starting an eviction. In reality an average attorney's fee for an eviction is tiny compared to the huge rent losses many landlords take on because of the fear of eviction. The LPA's Attorney Directory can help find and qualify lawyers for eviction and the Landlord Association Directory can help refer a local attorney used by landlords near you.
- Horror Stories We have all heard horror stories about evictions and bad tenants. It is part of the business. Most of the horror stories I hear are stories filled with foolish mistakes made by inexperienced or unprofessional landlords. Yes, an eviction can take many months or even years if the landlord is not willing to face the situation and handle it professionally. Some landlords I know have lost their rental home(s), or quit the business because of the fear of retaking control of their property through legal channels when they could have easily handled things more logically and professionally and saved their properties. Try not to take advice from people who have not learned from their failures in the rental business. Listen to those who have done or are doing it successfully.
- Believe the Tenant Are you a good guy like I am? Do you like to give everyone the benefit of the doubt? Have you ever been promised rent money that just never seemed to come through? I have. Over and over. The stories were always so convincing.
One time, back when caller ID was new, a tenant who had been stringing me along for months called to say he was going to be delayed again with the rent and that he was in New Jersey on a job. His rental was on Long Island. Normally, I'd have believed him without question and naively would have expected some money coming. The caller ID revealed he was really calling from home on LI. I went to visit him just to confirm and sure enough, he was home!
Is it hard to believe that your tenant (a churchgoing person) would lie to you? The eviction courts are FULL of them. The late Nick Koon, a landlord mentor of mine once said, If you want to survive as a landlord, "You can not run your business from your heart. You have to run it from the head."
- Tenant Threats Some tenants are mean nasty people. Some are bullies. Some just get nasty when they feel threatened themselves. Whatever the reason, don't let tenant threats bother you. If you are threatened physically, report it to the police immediately. If they threaten to damage the property, they have just shown their true colors and given you even more reason to do a swift eviction. Whatever the tenant threatens to do, it is either a police matter or an eviction matter. I know one landlord who had a tenant live free for 5 years because the tenant threatened that he would report the "illegal" basement apartment to the town zoning board. This landlord was foreclosed on and the bank evicted both the owner and the tenant together. Wouldn't that landlord have been better off calling a lawyer the first month the tenant didn't pay?
About the author:
As a Real Estate broker / investor in New York, John Nuzzolese has been involved with rentals and investment property since 1979. Besides owning and operating two real estate businesses, he is president and founder of The Landlord Protection Agency, Inc., an organization specializing in helping landlords and property managers avoid the hurdles and pitfalls and expensive blunders common when dealing with tenants.
More information on The Landlord Protection Agency is available at www.theLPA.com
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