make good faith determination of whether tenant has abandoned premises. certain things are telltale signs: utilities cut off, no food, no clothing, no sign of tenant. if all of these are true, you can reasonably conclude that the tenant has abandoned. this allows you to change the locks, clean the place up, and rent it to someone else.
if none of these are true, or maybe one or two of them, but you have conflicting evidence, DO NOT treat as an abandonment. File for eviction right away, and remove the tenant with the assistance of the court. This PROTECTS YOU.
I have entered into a cfd with the seller of a small rental house in St. Louis, MO. His last tennant has belongings still in the property. I have had control of the property since the beginning of July. I have called and left messages for her with family members or roommates but she has not returned my calls or picked up her belongings. Does anyone know what I can legally do with the stuff in this house? I have renters waiting to move in.
if I am reading this post correctly, you do not yet own the property. If I am right, you should DO NOTHING. You have no legal standing at this point.
But consider this:
the tenant situation is a problem, and you are stil under contract. Try to adjust the purchase price. It sounds like you are about to inherit an eviction.
If a price adjustment is not gonna happen, make this problem the seller’s problem. Delay closing until he can deliver a real tenant or a vacant/clean unit.
If you go ahead and take the situation as is, dot your “i’s” and cross your “t’s.” First, get the seller to acknowledge what this tenant owes in back rent, late fees, etc. You may need this information later. and find out about the deposit, and the condition of the place when the tenant moved in.
Inquire into the tenant status. Is the place abandoned? Are the utilities on? Is the tenant coming and going from the unit. If the place is abandoned, you can enter, change the locks, trash all the garbage, keep/sell valuables to recoup whatever is owed, etc. [right! I have entered 50 units over the years, and thre most valuable thing a tenant ever left behind was a rotting chicken in the frig]. Check the landlord tenant rules for your state. Most states are pretty similar. If the place is NOT abandoned, and the tenant is delinquent, file for eviction. Do not try to force out the tenant with threats. The FED process is fairly quick, so take advantage of it.
I am buying on contract for deed. I took control of the property on July 1. The tennant had moved out at the end of May. The owner had given her some leeway with the removal of the remaining items in the property, but let ker know that I would be taking control of the property and that she will need to get her things out “soon”. I don’t think he gave her a specific deadline or any written notice. At any rate she paid no rent for June or July and has not entered the property for weeks.
I have called and left several messages with a family member where she now lives but she does not call me back or call the owner she knew as her landlord.