The Matt Philly System's Next Test

It looks as if my tenant eviction system (Matt Philly System or MPS) will be put to the test. Property Chi's downstairs tenant never paid, even though she said she had the money.

As I wrote in an earlier blog, my system is simple. The tenant has until the 6th of the month to pay the rent penalty free. After that is a $35 late fee. If it's not paid by the 15th, a 3-day notice is sent, giving you 3 days to pay the rent. On the 18th, an eviction is filed and we go to court the week after. By the 25th, the judge would usually give the tenant 72 hours to leave. Once they leave, it gives me two to three days to get the apartment ready for rent.

There are, however, variables to the MPS. Firstly, the tenant may be able to come up with the rent before the court date. In this case, the landlord takes the money and charge them the eviction fee. If he/she wants to be sneaky, they can charge the full eviction fee to the tenant while going to the sheriff's department to try to get some of your money back.

Secondly, the tenant can simply move out, in which case you try to get back as much as you can from the sheriff's department. It always helps to be very friendly with the tenant during the process. That way, they'll sometimes feel bad about not letting you know they're skipping town. You always have the option of telling them they can leave and you won't take them to court, especially if they are a pain in the ass and you just want them out. After they leave, you can still go to court and have the eviction on their record, even if they don't show up. It helps the next landlord know what he's in for.

Thirdly, the judge may lend a sympathetic ear. The tenant may talk about what problems there were with the apartment and that they withheld the rent until it was fixed. They may even have some code enforcement documents to support their claim. In this case, you have to cover your bases. Either have the problems fixed before court or if you don't have the money, lie. Have a friend that runs a company (or pretend to run a company) write out a bunch of invoices stating that they tried to come over on specific dates but no one was home. Or make up fake invoices for work that was never done. After the court case, however, the tenant may get pissed that you lied in court and may end up destroying your place, so it's best to be honest, fix the problem, and take pictures.

There are other variables, but these are the main ones. You don't really lose any money in the long run because you're simply using the tenants' security deposit to fix up the place, then getting 1st month's rent and security deposit from the next tenant. But every system needs to be tested, so let's see how Property Chi's downstairs tenant's situation plays out. And, even if she does come up with the money, I'll still send her a 30-day notice and blame it on problems with Social Services. Enough is enough.