The guy/family doesn't want to leave. Says they can't find a place to move. They have a court order to move on the 15th. They have had many months to do so but I think someone will "save "them..

What should I expect? I have heard that a sheriff or some other officer might remove them and their property and I will have to pay to store their stuff? If so what then? Do they have to pay storage fees to get their stuff back?

Bear in mind that I am not a lawyer & do not pretend to be one. It's been my experience that in MA it works basically like this;

LL takes tenant to court & obtains a judgement.

Tenant has period of time when they can appeal the judgement. I presume you are at this stage.

Once the appeal period is up LL can get an execution from the court to have the tenant removed. This is your next step.

A constable or a sheriff has to be hired to enforce the execution against the tenant. Usually at this time the tenant gets a few more days to more their "treasures" out.

If they don't willing remove their "treasures" & return possession to you then you hire a constable or sheriff to oversee the removal of their "treasures" by a bonded moving company. Their "treasures" are put into a bonded warehouse from which the tenant may redeem them.

All of this constable / sheriff fees, court costs, moving fees & storage charges are paid for by the Landlord. You will be able to add these expenses to the amount that the tenant already owes.

At our last LL meeting between the various members, an eviction moving / storage company & our local Housing Court Judge, we determined the average cost not including lawyer fees was $5,800.00 for a 3 bedroom apartment.

You might want to consider some kind of cash for keys to speed up the process & lower your actual out of pocket expenses.

Mike,

I'm not in MA so I don't know your local system. You've been given some great advice already.

I HAVE done over 300 evictions so this is MY general advice:

-never assume

-never believe the res' promises. This is crazy and desperate time for them so listen but stick to the judges' order.

-stay on top of it. KNOW what's happening, not HOPING they get out.

-we keep communication open to keep the peace and encourage them to clean to keep their bill lower, but do NOT let him talk you into changing the court order

-be ready for surprises. Sometimes they disappear over night. Sometimes the judge gives them extra time. Sometimes they hunker down with a shotgun and refuse to leave.

-be patient and let the law work FOR you. Let the Sheriff or the judge argue with them, not you. Clever comebacks only make people mad.

-do NOT get "cute" or creative to get them out. Just call the court. The res can break all kinds of rules but if YOU break one they can lock you up.

Good luck!

BRAD

Mike, I've been through this a couple times and the to actually move out an evicted tenant will cost you thousands!!

By far the smartest approach would be to offer "cash for keys".

Offer them $500 cash if they would voluntarily move out, give you the keys, and sign a document stating that they are voluntarily moving out and anything left behind is abandoned. Don't pay till they give you the keys and sign the document. Then rapidly change the locks.

If they don't bite on the "cash for keys", you will pay have to pay the sheriff/constable and the moving company.

I've done hundreds of these in GA. so this is the GA way.

after dispo court they have 7 days to appeal but if they appeal they must pay rent into the court. None appeal. So after the 7 days we file for the WRIT of Possession for 25.00 that we have not taken any money. Once the sherif gets the writ from the magistrate court he acknowleges he has it and we schedule the set out. That takes about 4 or 5 days.

So sheriff says i will be there at 8AM on the 7th. WE supply the set out crew-- you must have 4 adults minimum we usually have 6. Sheriff knocks and if there home he tells them to get there personel stuff. crew comes in and removes treasures to right of way by street. we change the locks put notice on door 'do not enter" and leave. done and done. People come by and steal the stuff if no one is guarding it. Next day we load up pick up and remove whats in the yard to dump.