State Specific Question About: MINNESOTA (MN)

I am new to the landlord life! I have a signed lease beginning Oct. 1st. Due to circumatances I was nice enough to allow him to move-in on Sept 24 and pay 1/2 of the months rent on the 26th and the other on the 3rd of Oct. Security deposit was to be divided between the first 3 months of rent. Needless to say he has not paid. They already moved-in on the 24th and have paid less than 1/3 of the agreement. Can I void this lease? What steps can I take. He has started to send me emails about repairs that are not even in my opinion legitimate. Bird's nest in Chimney, woodpecker whole in siding, falling roof shingles, cracked tar on driveway. Needless to say the house was and is very well maintained. Where do I go from here. I love my home and do not want him to trash it. Yet, can not afford a bad tenant. I need to pay my mortgage and would appreciate his funds ASAP. (which I doubt I will ever see) How do I get him out?

You cannot void the agreement, but you can insist that it be followed. Follow your state law on issuing a pay or quit for your money owed. If not paid, you will need to evict him.

You need to send him a notice to Pay or Quit. There are forms available on this website. Look at the top of the page and it says in one of the blocks "State Specific Rental Forms". Click on that and find your state and a Pay or Quit notice which you put on the door and send regular mail and certified mail and ask for a return receipt so that you can prove you sent it when you go to court.

If he does not pay when he gets this then go to the court house and file for his eviction.

You can't be "nice" to people until you know them. Always get security deposit first and in cash or bankcheck plus first month's rent before you give anyone a key. And you need credit checks. If you can't find a credit company in the yellow pages that will work with you then you go to a realtor and let them find you someone.

So, he has NOT paid, right? Evict for non-payment. Don't be soft and give into the tenant's excuses or threats. Act now!

John

Kim,

What part of MN are you in? Reason I ask is that eviction process varies a little bit depending on which judicial district you're in. I'm in the 3rd district.

I posted these instructions on Mr Landlord website on June 6, 2008 for how to do a MN eviction. The steps for my district are:

1. LL serves an unlawful detainer notice to tenant via a neutral third party. This is the "I want you out in 30 days or less" notice.

2. When tenant fails to leave, LL files an eviction complaint in district court. This complaint costs about $90 to file. A court date is then set, typically 2-3 weeks after complaint is filed.

3. Once a court date is set, in MN, LL is obligated to have a neutral third party deliver to tenant a notice of time and place to appear in court for eviction hearing. This notice must be served least 7 days before the court date (cannot serve on holiday or weekend). If tenant won't or doesn't answer the door, notice may be taped to door.

The neutral third party that serves the tenant with the notice of upcoming court date must also sign a form called an "Affidavit of Posting" in the presence of a notary. Then the notarized form must be filed with the court at least 3 business days before the court date.

3. LL and tenant attend court hearing. Judge rules. If judge rules in your favor AND you want tenant out, rather than to receive back rent, YOU must file a "Writ of Recovery" with the court. A Writ costs about $75-100. The Writ is then served on the tenant by the sheriff (NOT YOU!!) for an extra fee. The Writ will state that the tenant must be out within 24 hours. Note that the sheriff's office is not responsible for insuring the tenant leaves in 24 hours. That's your job. If the tenant doesn't leave, the LL then has up to 30 dyas to SCHEDULE a set out by the sheriff. This set out costs extra (approx $100-150) for the deputies to stand there while the tenant packs up and leaves.

Thank you! Jody, thanks for all of the information. Wow! Since they just moved in a week ago maybe we should PAY them to leave. It sounds like it may be cheaper.

Thanks,

Kim,

Jody,

Thanks for the heads up Minnesota John. It's one thing to find someone who's done tons of evictions. It's quite another if there's a history of "getting things mixed up." Have used them for numerous things and they didn't mess anyting up with me. Like anything, though, let the buyer beware.

Kim,

Kim,

Hi,

Great advice! I spoke to a gentleman today that states that he charges $120 for the whole process and does everything but appear in court. He states that he has done hundreds of evictions and stated that the next available court dates are the 17th and 20th. I asked how he knew that and he said "sweetie, I do this all day long. the sooner you start the better you are. If you move now we can have them out in 3 weeks". He stated that it costs $252 to file to court paperwork but that we will do it and all I have to do is sign and show-up for court. He stated that 90% of the time the tenants never show but the process itself takes time.

You go girl! Now, let me know if this attorney does anything different than what I posted above for eviction steps. If I missed a step, I surely would want to know beforehand. If I ever need to evict, I will also use an attorney for my first time. Watch and learn. People on this board say that after one done by a pro, you often can do the next one all by yourself.

Great! Thanks everyone!