Comments on: The Art of Dispossessing Deadbeats: “Cash for Keys” Unraveled

By: jp moses

jp moses — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 20:18:00 +0000

Hi, Marrinb123 – sorry to hear your landlord’s not keeping your property up.

I’d say if you’re ready to go, then yes, a good move would be to tell your landlady so…and suggest she invest in giving you back your security deposit back and getting the property back quickly, versus a lengthy, drawn out eviction process. Make sure it doesn’t sound like you’re blackmailing her…not the approach to take at all. Just an offer in compromise of sorts. If your approach is right, I’d bet chances are she’ll seriously consider it – it’s in everyone’s best interest!

Thanks for commenting, and good luck on the situation.

…jp

By: Hopefulhomesolutions

Hopefulhomesolutions — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 14:26:00 +0000

I’m not a lawyer so I am not giving you legal advice, nor do I know what state you are in, but you should receive some sort of notice of a court date. Go down there with your returned November check and anything showing you gave her an October check (copy of check register or whatever you have). I would suggest you write her a letter and list all of the issues above, if you haven’t put it in writing already. Keep copies, and send it out certified mail, return receipt requested. Take copies of anything you have sent to your landlord to the courthouse, along with photos of what you are talking about (appliances outside, motorcycles in the garage where the appliances were), copy of your lease stating they could be housed there, etc. Also, if anyone threatens to kill you, call the police immediately and report it (every time)!

Check the exact wording of your lease to see if you have any options in terms of getting things fixed yourself (if they haven’t been taken care of for a certain period of time) and taking that out of the rent. You would usually want to put the money being withheld into an escrow account until this is resolved.

In any case, it sounds like you should try to expedite getting moved into your house that you are purchasing. If you’re purchasing, you’re not going to have to worry about another landlord pulling your record and seeing something negative on there.

If you wind up not paying the October, November, December and any further rents, I’m assuming that will more than cover the $2,000 security deposit she will withhold. As long as you do the right thing as you go along as you stated above (not damaging the house, etc.) you will be fine. Also, the court may throw out the case if you go with all of the above anyway. At the very least it should buy you more time so you can get your move accomplished in peace.

And no, I doubt she’ll even offer the cash for keys option to you.

Best of luck!

By: Marrinb123

Marrinb123 — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 13:08:00 +0000

I’m not a deadbeat tenant, having paid our rent every month. My landlady just doesn’t like the fact that I expect her to keep things maintained (bathtub plugged for over a week now – no plumber), disposal not working for over a month, neighbor/tenant moved our laundry appliances out of the garage to a covered patio to make room for his motorcycles, it was in my lease agreement that my appliances and a bookcase/shelf for laundry supplies could be housed in there. The same neighbor tenant plays loud music til 2 a.m. and she does nothing. Then there is her crazy son who threatens to kill us and has the means to do it (a battery of guns in his basement two doors away). I have given our notice,kept her fully informed about our intended move (buying a house), explained we had to wait for escrow to close and anticipated move date. Nothing satisfies her and she has filed eviction papers with the local courthouse. I’ve filed the appropriate response and our move date is 8 days from now. Should I still pursue a ‘cash for keys’ approach to her, because I think this ‘eviction’ nonsense was a legal strategy to keep my security deposit of nearly $2000.00. I will not damage this home, and I will leave it in ‘broom clean’ condition regardless. I just want this eviction thing to go away. How can I achieve this without paying her more money than I already have? She claims I didn’t pay October rent, but she never cashed the CHECK!! Then she returned Novembers check with a 3 day notice. I’m in shock over all of this.

By: Lanelabbe

Lanelabbe — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 22:42:23 +0000

Thanks a bunch for the cash for keys agreement from one investor to another

Lane Labbe'

By: file cabinet parts

file cabinet parts — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 17:16:02 +0000

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By: Anderson Hickey File

Anderson Hickey File — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 15:02:25 +0000

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By: Lost File Cabinet Key

Lost File Cabinet Key — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 11:18:00 +0000

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By: 20liberty

20liberty — Wed, 12 May 2010 00:50:16 +0000

Trust me, reclaiming your house in weeks rather than months helps a lot in easing your hurt pride over the whole thing.

By: scri8e

scri8e — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 04:45:48 +0000

Thanks for the 2 forms. How do you handle the security deposit? I would imagine that you carry on as usual.

Do the security deposit accounting and send it to their forwarding address or to their old address that is your rental. You do not deduct for the past rent owed then? Or do you? =shrug=.
Also is the amount of $500 standard. If you offer less does it not usually work? In CA a flat fee eviction lawyer is $595 usually. I can garnish wages. It would depend if the tenant is collectible IMO if this method would work out the best for me.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 23:27:00 +0000

Now the government is using Cash for Keys…The government’s mortgage modification plan hasn’t helped as many defaulting homeowners as was hoped, so the Obama administration will try a different tack to avoid foreclosures. Instead of trying to keep people in their homes, the government will pay them to leave, The New York Times reported.Under the new program going into effect April 5, homeowners at risk of defaulting would be allowed to sell for less than they owe. They could also get an additional cash payment.Banks and other lenders will have to accept the short sale, forgiving the difference between the market price of the home and what they are owed.The government money would serve as an incentive to bring all the parties to the table. Aside from the $1,000 payments that servicing banks get for loan modifications, they can get another $1,000 toward a second loan if one is made and, for the first time, the homeowners themselves would get a payment of $1,500 to help them relocate. More than five million households are behind on their mortgages and risk foreclosure, according to the Times.The goal of the $75 billion Home Affordable Modification Program, introduced last February, was to help banks make temporarily reduced mortgage payments permanent. But administration officials concede the program has been slow to take off and more needs to be done.By the end of the year, economists predict 2.4 million borrowers could lose their homes. That would be an increase from 2.1 million foreclosures and short sales in 2009.