landlord2k
New Member
Here's the scenario: I made a very big mistake by entering in a Rent agreement
from September/2008 thru December/2008 with a guy that I didn't get much
info from him (credit report, references, etc) to rent my co-op studio apartment.
I completely trusted him. My contract with him stated that he could not
sublet the apartment, and he could not have anyone leaving there unless
I was notified first and also that my studio apartment
didn't have window guards and thus I could not let a child stay there if
I was not notified, etc, etc. I had a hard time collecting the rent from
him, but he did pay the rent eventually.
The big problem happened when in the last week in December I got a call from
a woman saying that she was living with him and she had a 2 years old baby
living there too. She also said that she was living with him all the time
without me knowing it but she was the one paying most of the rent. She showed
me a check that she paid him for 2/3 of the rent. She said she was afraid of
him because he was a drug addict and she would like to deal directly with me
instead paying him.
I didn't want to do any deal with her because she was living illegaly inside my
property. But she looked really a nice mom taking care of her little child
and said she didn't have anywhere to go. She offered to pay me the 2/3 rent
for the month of January and then she would leave my property. I had a hard
time evicting the guy but he left on December 30th, 2008.
Despite the fact that she violated the law by entering my apartment without
my permission I felt symphatetic to the whole story she told me, etc etc
(not to mention that she really looked like a nice person) and I made my
second big mistake to let the woman with the child to stay in the apartment.
But since something was not looking right to me, I wrote an agreement for
January stay only where I detailed that for "humanitarian reasons" (she had a
baby, cold winter, nowhere to go, etc) I would let her stay in my
apartment in January only for 2/3 of the usual monthlyrent and then she would
have to leave. I also made clear in the agreement that she was an intruder in my
apartment and I was just helping her for that month.
I was abroad the whole month of January (she was supposed to leave the
keys with the super on Jan 31st) and on January 31st she sent an email
asking to extend the agreement for one more month. When I arrived in NY
on Feb 2nd, I talked to her and she said she needed to stay
one more month but she didn't have money to pay. She then offered the
February rent by doing some grocery shopping (she had found out that she
accrued a couple of hundred dollars in food help from the city) and also
doing the work to paint the main area of the studio apartment herself
(she said she had the skills for it and had done that in the past) and
to complement she would give the remaining amount as a check she would
receive from the city for dwelling purposes. All that would cover for
the February rent plus the electric bills owed for the months of January
and February.
Even though it was something hard to accept, I made my 3rd mistake to
take that offer (I know, I am really stupid!!). We did do grocery shopping
for the the amount she wanted to pay in the supermarket and at the last
week in February, she said it was time to paint the apartment. So, I bought
the paint and everything and brought to her. She did do some painting (she
claimed to be experienced, which was not true ... but anyway, I just wanted
her out of my apartment at the end of the month, so I didn't bother too much).
I never received the check from the city.
When March 1st came, the day she was supposed to return the keys, she said
a friend of hers was supposed to pick her up and she was packing her stuff.
She told me that she would leave the keys inside the apartment and I could
get them there later in the day. When I returned to the apartment at night, she
was still there with her child and said her friend didn't show up, that she
called her friend and nobody answered. Again, same story nowhere to go etc.
This time I said that I needed my apartment back and I would not allow her to
stay any longer. I still tried to be friendly to her by offering either
to pay 2 days hotel for her or pay a ticket to both of them to travel to
another state where she supposedly had a cousin there. The tickets
would cost me around 500 dollars.
Since it was late at night, very cold and snowing a lot, I told her that I would
come back the next day. I also told her that I would check for better ticket
prices on the internet and I would see what I could do for her.
On March 2nd, I checked for shelters for women in NY area and the airline
tickets which I was willing to pay for her and her son. Then I sent an email
to her saying that I was going there around 1:00pm and I have looked for some
things (she claimed that her CELL phone was not operational since mid-February
and our communication had to be via email which I found out later it was a
completely lie). When I got there at 1:00pm, I knocked the door, rang the bell
and everything was silent in the apartment.
So, I went out in the neighborhood to check for the shelter I got information
about. It was snowing, cold, and I had hard time to find the place so I
came back to the apartment around 2:30pm. I knocked the door again, rang
the bell and nobody answered. I tried to use my keys and the door wouldn't
open. I forced a little bit the door handle and it came off. Then I went to the
super and told him that I had to enter the apartment because I needed to check
the situation there, that the tenant was supposed to leave etc and I was not
being able to open the door. When I reached the window thru the fire escape on
the 3rd floor of the apartment and tried to open it,
all of a sudden I saw her holding the window so that I would not be
able to open it and she was making phone calls using her cell phone!!
As soon as I saw there were people inside the apartment I came down the
fire escape ladder, explained to the super that there were people there and I had
to go to the police. I later found out that she was calling police on the
episode. I really felt bad for the lack of gratitude on her behavior by knowing
that she hid in the apartment in order to avoid talking to me while I was there to
actually find a reasonable solution for both of us. Anyway, I immediately went
to the police station and they instructed me that I had to go to the civil court
to have her evicted from my apartment. I then went to the civil court in the
same afternoon and also stopped at a laywer to get some information about fees etc.
On March 3rd, I started putting together all the papers (contracts, electric
bills, emails, etc) to bring to an attorney. Then, I got a call from police asking
for the clarification on the incident and I explained to him exactly what
happened. He understood the situation and said that he would call her and
would close the case. I assured the officer that I would not go to the
apartment any longer and I would do everything thru the legal system. In
the afternoon, I brought all the papers to the lawyer, paid 425 fee for him to
start the holdover procedure. He also will charge me another 425 if she does
not leave after the termination notice and we have to go to court.
The attorney told me that since I received some money from her it
characterizes a month to month agreement, and a notice of termination letter
has to be sent to tenant before going to court. I understood that by law,
since the contract was from 1st of the month to the last day of the month
and since today is March 3rd, then deadline for her to move out in the
notice is APRIL 30th. So I have to wait at least 2 full months before going
to court.
Now, I need to find out whether I can collect the payment from March
and April and how I should proceed. Let's say what happens if she leaves
the apartment on April 28 (2 days before the deadline) and I have no clue
where her new address is. How would I be able to go to the claim court
to sue her for the unpaid months if I am entitled to it and if I don't
have her new address? I really feel like she has done these things to
me and previously to other people and intend to continue to take advantage
of other landlords (yeah, I know, if there are other stupid landlords
like myself out there).
I wonder also if I got the correct advice from the attorney and whether
there was a better way to have her out of my apartment sooner.
Sorry for the long description. I appreciate any advice.
from September/2008 thru December/2008 with a guy that I didn't get much
info from him (credit report, references, etc) to rent my co-op studio apartment.
I completely trusted him. My contract with him stated that he could not
sublet the apartment, and he could not have anyone leaving there unless
I was notified first and also that my studio apartment
didn't have window guards and thus I could not let a child stay there if
I was not notified, etc, etc. I had a hard time collecting the rent from
him, but he did pay the rent eventually.
The big problem happened when in the last week in December I got a call from
a woman saying that she was living with him and she had a 2 years old baby
living there too. She also said that she was living with him all the time
without me knowing it but she was the one paying most of the rent. She showed
me a check that she paid him for 2/3 of the rent. She said she was afraid of
him because he was a drug addict and she would like to deal directly with me
instead paying him.
I didn't want to do any deal with her because she was living illegaly inside my
property. But she looked really a nice mom taking care of her little child
and said she didn't have anywhere to go. She offered to pay me the 2/3 rent
for the month of January and then she would leave my property. I had a hard
time evicting the guy but he left on December 30th, 2008.
Despite the fact that she violated the law by entering my apartment without
my permission I felt symphatetic to the whole story she told me, etc etc
(not to mention that she really looked like a nice person) and I made my
second big mistake to let the woman with the child to stay in the apartment.
But since something was not looking right to me, I wrote an agreement for
January stay only where I detailed that for "humanitarian reasons" (she had a
baby, cold winter, nowhere to go, etc) I would let her stay in my
apartment in January only for 2/3 of the usual monthlyrent and then she would
have to leave. I also made clear in the agreement that she was an intruder in my
apartment and I was just helping her for that month.
I was abroad the whole month of January (she was supposed to leave the
keys with the super on Jan 31st) and on January 31st she sent an email
asking to extend the agreement for one more month. When I arrived in NY
on Feb 2nd, I talked to her and she said she needed to stay
one more month but she didn't have money to pay. She then offered the
February rent by doing some grocery shopping (she had found out that she
accrued a couple of hundred dollars in food help from the city) and also
doing the work to paint the main area of the studio apartment herself
(she said she had the skills for it and had done that in the past) and
to complement she would give the remaining amount as a check she would
receive from the city for dwelling purposes. All that would cover for
the February rent plus the electric bills owed for the months of January
and February.
Even though it was something hard to accept, I made my 3rd mistake to
take that offer (I know, I am really stupid!!). We did do grocery shopping
for the the amount she wanted to pay in the supermarket and at the last
week in February, she said it was time to paint the apartment. So, I bought
the paint and everything and brought to her. She did do some painting (she
claimed to be experienced, which was not true ... but anyway, I just wanted
her out of my apartment at the end of the month, so I didn't bother too much).
I never received the check from the city.
When March 1st came, the day she was supposed to return the keys, she said
a friend of hers was supposed to pick her up and she was packing her stuff.
She told me that she would leave the keys inside the apartment and I could
get them there later in the day. When I returned to the apartment at night, she
was still there with her child and said her friend didn't show up, that she
called her friend and nobody answered. Again, same story nowhere to go etc.
This time I said that I needed my apartment back and I would not allow her to
stay any longer. I still tried to be friendly to her by offering either
to pay 2 days hotel for her or pay a ticket to both of them to travel to
another state where she supposedly had a cousin there. The tickets
would cost me around 500 dollars.
Since it was late at night, very cold and snowing a lot, I told her that I would
come back the next day. I also told her that I would check for better ticket
prices on the internet and I would see what I could do for her.
On March 2nd, I checked for shelters for women in NY area and the airline
tickets which I was willing to pay for her and her son. Then I sent an email
to her saying that I was going there around 1:00pm and I have looked for some
things (she claimed that her CELL phone was not operational since mid-February
and our communication had to be via email which I found out later it was a
completely lie). When I got there at 1:00pm, I knocked the door, rang the bell
and everything was silent in the apartment.
So, I went out in the neighborhood to check for the shelter I got information
about. It was snowing, cold, and I had hard time to find the place so I
came back to the apartment around 2:30pm. I knocked the door again, rang
the bell and nobody answered. I tried to use my keys and the door wouldn't
open. I forced a little bit the door handle and it came off. Then I went to the
super and told him that I had to enter the apartment because I needed to check
the situation there, that the tenant was supposed to leave etc and I was not
being able to open the door. When I reached the window thru the fire escape on
the 3rd floor of the apartment and tried to open it,
all of a sudden I saw her holding the window so that I would not be
able to open it and she was making phone calls using her cell phone!!
As soon as I saw there were people inside the apartment I came down the
fire escape ladder, explained to the super that there were people there and I had
to go to the police. I later found out that she was calling police on the
episode. I really felt bad for the lack of gratitude on her behavior by knowing
that she hid in the apartment in order to avoid talking to me while I was there to
actually find a reasonable solution for both of us. Anyway, I immediately went
to the police station and they instructed me that I had to go to the civil court
to have her evicted from my apartment. I then went to the civil court in the
same afternoon and also stopped at a laywer to get some information about fees etc.
On March 3rd, I started putting together all the papers (contracts, electric
bills, emails, etc) to bring to an attorney. Then, I got a call from police asking
for the clarification on the incident and I explained to him exactly what
happened. He understood the situation and said that he would call her and
would close the case. I assured the officer that I would not go to the
apartment any longer and I would do everything thru the legal system. In
the afternoon, I brought all the papers to the lawyer, paid 425 fee for him to
start the holdover procedure. He also will charge me another 425 if she does
not leave after the termination notice and we have to go to court.
The attorney told me that since I received some money from her it
characterizes a month to month agreement, and a notice of termination letter
has to be sent to tenant before going to court. I understood that by law,
since the contract was from 1st of the month to the last day of the month
and since today is March 3rd, then deadline for her to move out in the
notice is APRIL 30th. So I have to wait at least 2 full months before going
to court.
Now, I need to find out whether I can collect the payment from March
and April and how I should proceed. Let's say what happens if she leaves
the apartment on April 28 (2 days before the deadline) and I have no clue
where her new address is. How would I be able to go to the claim court
to sue her for the unpaid months if I am entitled to it and if I don't
have her new address? I really feel like she has done these things to
me and previously to other people and intend to continue to take advantage
of other landlords (yeah, I know, if there are other stupid landlords
like myself out there).
I wonder also if I got the correct advice from the attorney and whether
there was a better way to have her out of my apartment sooner.
Sorry for the long description. I appreciate any advice.