Wife threw husband out... - Posted by Chris in FL

Real Estate Investing Apartments
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Posted by Chris in FL on August 31, 2011 at 13:17:56:

I have husband-wife tenants in a house. Wife has been the bread winner and paid the rent since day one. They have had relationship issues for a long time, and she now says, again, that she has thrown him out. Says she is changing locks, and wants a new lease without him on it. She said the same thing not too long ago, and I was hoping it would just ‘go away’, but apparently that is not going to happen.

Is it okay for me to just go ahead and do a lease without him on it, while the current lease has not ended yet, or does that expose me to risk? I am fine with her decision; I just don’t want to put myself at risk should he take action to try to stay in the home. Can anyone let me know what is my best course of action?

Thank you so much for any help.

Best wishes,
Chris in FL

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Re: Wife threw husband out… - Posted by Anna

Posted by Anna on September 01, 2011 at 09:22:25:

I kicked a boy friend out of my apartment once. When I asked the same thing the manager told me that he had to come in and request to be removed from the lease. It was to his benefit to do so because if I had damaged the apt he would have been 1/2 liable for the damage when I moved out. Also 1/2 liable for any back rent I may have caused. From your stand point, I would want to keep him on the lease for that same reason, if needed there are 2 parties to take to court instead of one.

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Re: Wife threw husband out… - Posted by Chris in FL

Posted by Chris in FL on September 01, 2011 at 10:38:05:

I don’t want to take anyone to court. She says if he doesn’t go away, she will move away herself. She pays the rent; he has never had steady employment. I want her to stay - I have never had issues with her as a tenant… If she wants him gone, then so do I… I just don’t want to risk getting myself in trouble. I know he already talked to the police, and they told him that because they are married, and both on the lease, she does not have the right to throw him out. However, she is now trying to get a restraining order. I am taking wait and see approach, but I very well may lose a decent tenant if I don’t help her get rid of him. I might see if offering him a couple hundred bucks to ‘go away quietly’ will work… Have him sign something agreeing to be removed from the lease, and to leave the property and not return. Hmmmmmm…

Best wishes,
Chris in FL

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Re: Wife threw husband out… - Posted by Chris in FL

Posted by Chris in FL on September 12, 2011 at 10:34:36:

As a follow up, wife got a restraining order, and husband is not allowed to go near her or the property. May have also filed some charges. Husband is back in town, staying with a friend, and intends to meet with police at their request, do his last doctor visit, and hopefully then be leaving the state. So far, wife plans to stay in the property - hopefully it works out. I have told her that I will back her staying there, and will try to get him to sign an agreement to be removed from the lease. The marriage is definitely headed towards over, but hopefully they can part without further issue, and I can keep the wife as a renter. Time will tell, but so far it looks like that will be the case.

Best wishes,
Chris in FL

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Re: Wife threw husband out… - Posted by DJ-nyc

Posted by DJ-nyc on September 02, 2011 at 08:50:33:

Ken beat me to it! :slight_smile:

Let her go to voicemail for awhile. “I was on vacation” I read your posts and realize you have great LL tenant relations but I also remind myself that I am not a social worker just a LL. I would re-visit this when the lease is up.

DJ-nyc

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Re: Wife threw husband out… - Posted by Ken

Posted by Ken on September 01, 2011 at 20:03:03:

Stay out of it,next week he will be back and you will be the no good SOB who couldn’t mind your own business.

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Re: Wife threw husband out… - Posted by Chris in FL

Posted by Chris in FL on September 02, 2011 at 13:56:40:

I understand what you guys are saying, but as my original post stated, I already tried to ‘just let it go away quietly’. It is past that, and if I don’t try to help out my existing paying half of the relationship - the wife - then I will probably lose her. They have had major issues for over a year now, and both say it is over - final and for sure. Only thing is, wife says she is afraid of husband coming back (he is out of state right now) and doing something to her or the kids, and that she will move out if he tries to come back. Husband says he wants to come back just long enough to make his last doctor appointment, which is follow up to a prior car accident, and gather his stuff, then he will be leaving the state. I have good relations with both parties - and I am trying to calm them both down so that level heads can prevail, but maybe my best course is to try to buy him off… Offer him a couple hundred dollars travelling money, if he stays away from the house, and I will bring him his possessions at a nuetral location. Plus, have him sign an agreement to stay away from the house, and to be removed from the lease. Perhaps that is the best way to head trouble off at the pass. She said she is going to change the locks, and is already trying to get a restraining order against him, and he has already talked to the police, who told him she does not have the right to throw him out if they are married, and he is on the lease… If I lay back and do nothing, he will come back, she will move, and I will have to start over with an empty house. Not the end of the world, but she pays good, keeps the place decent, and it is one of my worst houses - old frame house - and I don’t want to let it come empty if I can help it…
So my question was along the lines of, can I get in trouble if I do a new lease with only her on it? If trying to buy him off doesn’t work, what can I do to satisfy her, without putting myself at risk of legal issues (if anything)? Thanks.

Best wishes,
Chris in FL

P.S. - Lease doesn’t end for 6 months. Without resolution, she may be gone in a week or two. Some tenants, in some houses, I would be fine letting them leave. Some, it is in my best interest to try to keep them - she is in one of my worst houses, paying decent rent, keeping the place nice, and I might have a hard time doing as well with the next tenant… Some houses I have had the same tenant for over ten years - this house, I have had at least 5 tenants in ten years, and only one as good as her (they moved because they bought a home with acreage, and I didn’t have any with acreage).

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Re: Wife threw husband out… - Posted by Frank Chin

Posted by Frank Chin on September 04, 2011 at 10:48:30:

Chris:

I’m with you on this. If they both are agreeable to just her having a lease, then by all means just have her on the lease. Rental turnover is a time buster, and money loser, so better the devil you know than the devil you don’t know. Since this is the only major issue, it doesn’t sound so bad, and if you have another tenant, you’ll have to figure out a whole new set of problems.

If she is the one paying the bills, give him a “release of lease”, so there is no question he is out. There is more positive than negative with him gone IMHO.

Good luck.

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Re: Wife threw husband out… - Posted by Phil-TX

Posted by Phil-TX on September 03, 2011 at 09:52:19:

“Husband says he wants to come back just long enough
to make his last doctor appointment, which is follow up
to a prior car accident, and gather his stuff, then he
will be leaving the state. I have good relations with
both parties - and I am trying to calm them both down
so that level heads can prevail, but maybe my best
course is to try to buy him off… Offer him a couple
hundred dollars travelling money, if he stays away from
the house, and I will bring him his possessions at a
nuetral location. Plus, have him sign an agreement to
stay away from the house, and to be removed from the
lease. Perhaps that is the best way to head trouble off
at the pass. She said she is going to change the locks,
and is already trying to get a restraining order
against him, and he has already talked to the police,
who told him she does not have the right to throw him
out if they are married, and he is on the lease…”

Have you thought about hiring an off-duty peace officer
to meet all of you at the location when he comes to get
his belongings? Instead of giving him the $200,
perhaps you could use that to pay for him a motel room
for a couple of days while he sees the doctor. In
exchange, he can sign the release of the lease, she has
the locks changed and you keep the paying tenant.
(This is not legal advice, just my thoughts)

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Re: Wife threw husband out… - Posted by DJ-nyc

Posted by DJ-nyc on September 02, 2011 at 15:47:55:

“she is in one of my worst houses, paying decent rent, keeping the place nice, and I might have a hard time doing as well with the next tenant…”

Chris - I understand. :slight_smile: I have a vacancy now like this and its alot finding the right person for these situation. Just be careful dealing with relationships… dysfunctional relationships can be tricky…
DJ-nyc

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In my opinion stay out of the matter for some point of time. Just as one of the user mentioned that let her calls go on voice mail as in you are on vacation. If the situation still doesn’t improves then change the locks and remove the person from the deed.