My mother and her husband, both able-bodied, have lived rent-free for the last 15 years. They are both in their 70s. I purchased their home because they fell on hard times. I put my life on hold to help them. Shortly after I bought their home, I had them sign a month-to-month lease, and they would pay me rent of $400/month. By any measure, this is a bargain. I did it so they could get back on their feet.
To make a long story short, I was in the military overseas, got divorced, COVID, etc. and time flew by. I've never received a penny from them. Every time I ask, there is a new crisis that prevents them from paying. I was mad at myself because I put myself in this situation based on faith that they would work to get back on their feet. Come to find out, my mother was manipulating me from the beginning. I was in shock, but on some level, I was happy because it made me realize that she manipulated me all my life. I was always the kid that saved the day. As a result, I had no boundaries and found it hard to say NO.
Today they travel, never visit, never call, and just live in a free house. I told them I was done supporting them in writing, and they would have to pay rent or leave. They have ignored my requests with more excuses and shaming tactics. My brother and my aunt stopped talking to her years ago. My mother no longer talks to me, and her husband is the primary excuse-maker. I'm starting to process to evict both of them. Unless there are other options, I can't see another way. Thoughts from anyone dealing with this or something similar would be great.
Evict them, block their numbers on your phone and don't look back.
You are better off without them in your life.
And let this be a lesson learned, so you never make that mistake again.
But it was done. You were gone. You let it slide. You had a plate too full to deal with it, and it was easier to put it off.
Chickens, however, are home to roost.
You now have an attorney, a specialist. I would follow his advice and hope it goes without a further fight, then get that house up to it's former glory and resell or live in it. I hope it goes fairly seamlessly. You have nothing to be guilty about. You attempted to do a good thing for everyone and at the time it seemed to make sense. It didn't work out. You can grieve for your parents and their irresponsibility, but you cannot fix it and you cannot change it.
I sure wish you good luck and hope you will update us on how it goes for you. Tenants right vary state to state. Were you in San Francisco you would have to give them 50,000 to move along with your firstborn. So there's that. Hopefully your state/city isn't quite that bad. Good luck, Free.
They sometimes expect too much and there are usually hurt feelings. So, it’s just not worth doing business with our family members.
That's disgusting how they took advantage of you and your generosity.
You say they are in their 70's now and have been living rent-free for the last 15 years. My friend, 15 years ago they weren't even retirement age. They should have still been working. In fact, they should have saved quite a nest egg living for free for the last 15 years.
Evict them and have no guilt about it. You are the one who has been treated wrongly and taken advantage of not them.
Tell anyone who says otherwise to go pound sand.
Due to me living out of the state, I cut and pasted the exact bill pay and direct deposit instructions from my bank and attached it to the lease with my account number, rtn, bank phone number, and address. If I had not done this, the tenant could request to make the payment in person, and the bank must be within 5 miles of the house. If there is no bank within 5 miles, they can claim all sorts of hardships and they will receive a free attorney to assist. Also, you can only ask for the past year in back rent. Anything after that must be a separate court case. The whole process is estimated to take 6 months.
The bottom line is that you should hire an attorney to draft your lease contract. Downloading a generic one is asking for trouble. I got lucky by cut and pasting the information. More to follow.
There is a good chance that you will not be able to recover what they owe you.
A quick calculation they owe you $72,000.00 and that is on the low side. You could try to sue them for that but as the saying goes you can't get blood from a turnip. If they have assets it might be worth it but I would cut my losses and just get them evicted and out. That is going to be difficult enough as it is.
I know you realize it now, but 15 years is a long time to keep thinking they will end up paying you.😊But believe me, you are not the only one.
My GFs Dad passed years ago. The mother remained in the home and the son bought it from her because she could not afford it. She too was suppose to pay so much a month and never did. I live in NJ the #1 state in the US for the highest property taxes. (I pay over 6k a year for a 70x100 lot with a 7 room house) So now the son retires and his State pension is cut $500. He could not afford the taxes and the upkeep on the house. So he told Mom she needed to move out because he was selling the house. She moved in with a granddaughter (Mom was showing signs of Dementia) and his sister, who was living there, with my GF. Both having health problems of their own.
So, if you are paying the Mortgage and taxes, selling the house could be ur excuse to evict them. You just no longer can carry the burden. And having a month to month lease (very smart) means you may only need to give them 30days notice. Your not renewing their lease. Please come back and tell us what the lawyer says and how things work out. We learn from each other.
Refer them to social services for their county and Section 8 housing options.
What jerks. You can't choose your family but you can choose how you engage with them... or not. Wishing you success in getting them completely out.
She also said that due to COVID, many people around the country are more aware of eviction laws due to the period of time that landlords couldn't evict. However, she said that even though landlords can now evict, the tenants have several attorney fee waivers available to them if you have to go to trial. Of course, their are no waivers for landlords/owners they pay full price attorney fees.