State Specific Question About: WISCONSIN (WI)

Hello,

I am very new to this landloridng, as my husband normally takes care of it, but is out of the country ddeployed. We have a tenant who has not yet paid JUNE rent, and was suppose to be out of the unit by June 30th. Today, I had scheduled to do her walk thru, and get things ready for the new tenants. Instead, i find out that she hass not even moved out yet!!!! I have tried contacting her and she will not take my calls. Can someone please guide me as the best course of action to get her out ASAP so that I can get the new renters in? Threatening her with the thought that she will have to continue to pay rent, or lost rent, will not matter, as I think she is now dead broke and still owes for june rent.

Please help!

You must tell this person that you are taking her to court and that she will have bad credit for the rest of her life if she is not out by the end of this weekend.

This is kind of a late move and people here will tell you that you should have filed for eviction as soon as the rent was late so that she would be out by now.

Do you have anything in writing from the tenant stating that she will leave at the end of June?

Stephanie..I am not sure what county you are in, as some Wisconsin laws are more strict for Dane County and I think around Milwaukee...not sure.

If it was me, I would post a 5 day notice to pay rent or quit, which says if she does not pay the ENTIRE rent due (June and July), you will file a small claims suit for past rent and eviction. I believe that she will have 5 Business days, to get out. She will probably not move. Then you will have to file an eviction as soon as possible to get her served while you still have a current address. I usually file for eviction and small claims judgement at the same time but state that the money judgement will be determined after she is out. I usually estimate it for court but do not put an amount under the money judgement area or you may be held to that amount, even if it becomes much more.

File for the eviction as soon as the 5 business days are over, not including the day posted on the door. I usually post one copy on the door and mail a second one to your property address where she lives with a return receipt.

It will cost you for filing (about $85 here) and service by the sheriff or process server (about $40 here per attempt). That is the ONLY legal way to get her out and it will take time to do so. It is best that you let your new tenants know this now. Hopefully they can stay where they are another 1 or 2 months, if she does not move on her own.

If I have it arranged for a new tenant to move in, where the old tenant is supposed to move out, I make the new tenant understand that you cannot guarantee that old tenant will be out, just so they are aware of that and possibly have a plan B.

I would suggest going to the courthouse and just sitting in on eviction cases to get an idea. When your case comes up, be sure you are prepared with copies of paperwork, proof of sheriff service, copies of correspondence, etc, so you can prove your case.

Let me know if you need more assistance later and I will try to help. This may take a long time to get her out.

Yes you should have filed for eviction back in early June, as she may have been out by now. Good Luck.

If you truly do not know the procedure for eviction, it would be best to hire an eviction attorney (that knows the procedure, not just any attorney) and take notes. Then you can do future ones yourself, if you learn how.

Making one mistake can delay things even longer.

Forgot to mention that in the unlikely event that she comes up with all the rent, late fees, etc due to you within the 5 days, the 5 day notice gives her the right to stay. If you do a 14 day notice, she needs to leave regardless.

Please research these documents. As I said a couple counties in Wisconsin has more strict rules.

The deadbeat tenant will take you for a ride until the very last minute while in the meantime living rent free.

Since this is your first eviction, bite the bullet and hire the meanest eviction lawyer in your area. Yes,it will cost a few bucks, but a tenant that does not vacate is also costing you money too.

John

Stephanie, I am sorry for the position you find yourself in. However, with your husband deployed, you need to learn aome things very quickly.

You need to get aggressive on rent collections. If the rent is not paid within a short time of the first (some say by the 4th, others by the 10th, but check your state law and decide what works for you), you need to take action.

Action: You start the eviction process by serving a Notice To Pay Rent Or Quit. (Check local laws on service requirements.) Generally, this gives the tenant the right to move out within the specified time period, terminating the lease. Or to pay the overdue rent and cure the breach of the lease.

If the tenant does not pay the rent and does not move out, you next file an Unlawful Detainer lawsuit. There will be a trial and the judge will issue an order to the local sheriff to remove the tenant from your property. Once the sheriff does so, you can go in and fix the place up for the next tenant. This is a very superficial overview of the eviction process. This is how you regain possession of your property.

When the tenant first fails to pay the rent, if the tenant makes excuses, and if you want to believe the tenant and if you have a soft heart (or if you don't want to lose the tenant), you can still serve a Notice To Pay Or Quit but not proceed with the eviction until you see if the tenant will perform. For example, if the tenant gives you half of the rent and promises the second half on the 15th, I might serve the Notice To Pay Rent Or Quit (a Five Day Notice in Nevada) on the 10th. That way, the tenant can pay on the 15th as promised, and the Notice To Pay is satisfied. But if there is no rent money on the 15th, I can file the eviction on the 16th (or however long I want to give the tenant). That way, even though I accepted the "I'll pay you on the 15th" promise from the tenant, I can move forward with the eviction as soon as the tenant doesn't keep his promise. The tenant may have scammed me for a couple of week delay, but I am ready to move forward as soon as the rent money isn't there as promised.

Also, I NEVER rent out a unit until I have possession back, and until I have it ready to rent out. Many of the people on this Board will show a unit during the last month of the tenancy, and will accept applications and will even enter into a lease before the place is ready. I do NOT. Because I fear the consequences of being in breach of a lease, if the new tenant shows up expecting to move in and the old tenant has decided to hold over or if I have not been able to get teh place ready in time.

I am fortunate enough to be able to afford to let the unit sit empty for a week or more, so that I can get the place fixed up before I advertise it.

As a woman, if you are going to a party or an event, do you want people to see you in your housecoat, with your hair in curlers and your face unmade? I want a prospective applicant to see the house for the first time when she (the house) is ready for a grand entrance, in all her glory. First impressions count!! I want that house to sparkle when I show it. So I don't advertise it or show it until all the paint is done, the carpets are clean, the countertops are scrubbed, ...

Stephanie, you got yourself into a bind because you believed the tenant. Next time, you will know that you need to be able to force the tenant out -- that means serve the Notice To Pay, and be ready to evict! Get yourself a FLAT-FEE eviction attorney who is mean, and learn from him.