 MAC-AR (by Kathy [AR]) Jan 2, 2008 7:42 PM
 MAC-AR (by Mac [AR]) Jan 2, 2008 7:58 PM
MAC-AR (by Kathy [AR]) Jan 2, 2008 8:06 PM
MAC-AR (by Quackers [AR]) Jan 3, 2008 7:28 AM
MAC-AR (by Kathy [AR]) Jan 3, 2008 8:33 AM
MAC-AR (by tim [AR]) Jan 3, 2008 8:40 AM
MAC-AR (by tim [AR]) Jan 3, 2008 8:49 AM
MAC-AR (by Kathy [AR]) Jan 3, 2008 9:34 AM
MAC-AR (by Kathy [AR]) Jan 3, 2008 9:38 AM
MAC-AR (by tim [AR]) Jan 3, 2008 10:21 AM
MAC-AR (by Kathy [AR]) Jan 3, 2008 10:53 AM
MAC-AR (by Kathy [AR]) Posted on: Jan 2, 2008 7:42 PM
Message:
State Specific Question About: ARKANSAS (AR)
Hello, My tenant left owing rent and w/o required 30 days notice. I am wondering how much rent he owes. Specifics: He signed a mtm lease that starts on the first of the month. He told me he couldn’t pay Oct rent because he was going in for an operation, so wasn’t working. He said that his mom would pay for Oct & Nov rent on Nov 1 st, so I let it slide (she also called, but I don’t know her at all). But then he refused to communicate with me and skipped out about Nov 15 (I am currently looking for a new tenant – not the best time of year for that, is it). Rent is $500/mo. So, does he owe 2 months (Oct & Nov) or 3 months, since notice would have put him in the middle of Dec, but it’s month to month? Must admit I am glad that at least I didn’t have to go to court to get him out. By the way, MAC-AR, you were referred to me by Gloria, Gary, Irish and Ernie in the chat room. Thanks to anyone. --69.107.xx.xx |
MAC-AR (by Mac [AR]) Posted on: Jan 2, 2008 7:58 PM
Message:
Hi Kathy -
I have rental houses, but No Renters.....Interesting Concept, I know......so I can't answer that for you. Maybe some day.
Quackers (AR) - - Tim (AR) - - and Erin (AR).....would be able to help you with that. Good Luck with that. --64.12.xxx.xxx |
MAC-AR (by Kathy [AR]) Posted on: Jan 2, 2008 8:06 PM
Message:
MAC-AR (by Quackers [AR]) Posted on: Jan 3, 2008 7:28 AM
Message:
Kathy, he definitely owes you for 2 months. Whether or not to go for the 3rd month depends upon your local judge and how Socialist -er- tenant-friendly he/she is. Most judges in Arkansas will not give you the 3rd month, unless you're in NWA.
There is also the practical aspect of whether you will actually collect from this person. --76.203.xx.xxx |
MAC-AR (by Kathy [AR]) Posted on: Jan 3, 2008 8:33 AM
Message:
Thank you. The prop is in Hot Springs. That's sort of SW. Well, guess I can ask. --69.107.xx.xx |
MAC-AR (by tim [AR]) Posted on: Jan 3, 2008 8:40 AM
Message:
In AR when you're on a M2M the only rent they will be responsible for will be if they are living there or if their belongings are there. When you take over and put it for rent the only rent damage is rent loss by not giving a 30 day notice-the following month.
If a tenant has abandonded property you have two options. 1)Continue to charge rent until they remove it and pursue them in small claims or 2) Remove and Rerent. You can only charge for property damage. You can't charge for labor to remove items therefore if they were collectable, a bad time of year, and left a bunch of stuff the best option would be to leave the stuff and sue them.
I had a judge give me several maonths rent for property left after the tenant told me he'd sue if I touched his stuff.
Don't forget to send them a statement of what they owe after subtracting their deposit. Like other states AR requires that. --74.194.xxx.x |
MAC-AR (by tim [AR]) Posted on: Jan 3, 2008 8:49 AM
Message:
P.S. The fact you didn't exercise one of AR best defenses for LL's and file a vacate for nonpay back in early Oct would make it a stretch to collect any more rent than what the absence of a 30 day notice caused.
In AR you can file a vacate notice on the 2nd. Doesn't mean you should every time but no reason to find yourself scratching your head the next month. The longest EVER I went without filing a vacate notice was 10 days and that was because I had a long term tenant who had hurt himself on work and I trusted the temp disablity was on the way but trust me when I say he was days away from eviction. --74.194.xxx.x |
MAC-AR (by Kathy [AR]) Posted on: Jan 3, 2008 9:34 AM
Message:
Thanks for your responses. I thought that if I tried to evict while he was having an operation (which he also told the other tenant) that he would be able to claim some sort of hardship and I wouldn't be able to move him out quickly anyway. Though by law AR is a LL friendly state compared to most, I would still think that there could be extenuating circumstances for the tenant. Is this not the case? And even if by law I could have evicted, wouldn't I just look like a scrooge to a judge anyway? How does soemthing like this actually work? Thanks. --69.107.xx.xx |
MAC-AR (by Kathy [AR]) Posted on: Jan 3, 2008 9:38 AM
Message:
Another Question I just thought of... Does anyone know how much I can ask for in late fees? On the lease after the 5th, there are late fees for $5/day. For how long, or what limit are late fees? I have read a lot of the current LL/tenant law, but haven't found that yet. Thank you all for your responses. --69.107.xx.xx |
MAC-AR (by tim [AR]) Posted on: Jan 3, 2008 10:21 AM
Message:
Kathy, AR law doesn't cover near as much as other states. It leaves an opening that you have to do as AR laws says OR what you signed/agreed. You should read it if you haven't. It's directed to the tenant telling them their rights making it that much more important for a LL to read. You can't have a tenant sign their rights away especially if AR law covers it but if it's not covered by law you should be able to cover that in detail in your agreement.
AR LL/tenant law does not cover late fee. I have a $5 per day late fee and my agreement includes details of it but I could only expect a certain total % of a months rent per month therefore I rarely go over $20. Besides I evict fast. I mostly use my late fees to determine if I need to file a vacate notice-if they don't care of late fees piling up they probably don't intend to pay. I'm not sure if late fees apply if they skip out and aren't staying. I wasn't awarded late fees the time I won.
As far as sympathy etc like Quakers stated it would be according to your local court system and in AR it also determines what type of prosecutor, sheriffs office, and clerks office you have. Ours move very slow and has to have phone calls to speed it but here the judges aren't necessarily pro LL it just seems the LL is always right because of tenant mentality. --74.194.xxx.x |
MAC-AR (by Kathy [AR]) Posted on: Jan 3, 2008 10:53 AM
Message:
Thank you tim for your responses. All of you have been so helpful. I actually called a couple of local lawyers about this situation, but got two very different responses. So I thought the best advise would be from those of you with experience. --69.107.xx.xx |
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