Landlords facing an eviction situation need to be sure they have a strong lease in place and are familiar with the Tennessee Landlord Tenant Act. We have a few tips on how to make sure you are prepared for a potential eviction.
The Benefits of a Strong Lease
First, if you’re a landlord managing your own property, we recommend you get a good, strong lease in place. Pay some money, hire a real estate attorney and get a really good lease drawn up. That will be your best weapon in court, when you have something in writing that the tenants have signed and you have signed. Your lease will spell out the full agreement. When the tenant breaks that agreement, it’s right there for the courts to see.
Tennessee Landlord Tenant Act
Get a copy of the Tennessee Landlord and Tenant Act. You will need to know your boundaries, specifically what you can do and what you can’t do and what the tenant’s rights are. It’s not the best or most fun reading, but you need to know what’s in it when you’re doing this on your own. Know the correct notices to send when you’re having a problem and what your timeframes are and what the notices should say. There are a lot of great resources that can help you understand the law.
Hiring an Attorney to Evict
If you do have to evict someone, we suggest hiring an attorney to help you. When people think about an attorney, they think it means big money, but that’s not the case with evictions. Most of these real estate attorneys also do collections, and they have a huge volume of cases. They are extremely experienced. So for just a few hundred dollars, you can turn the case over to an attorney. When they get a judgment, the courts will allow them to add their attorney fees to that judgment. So they are collecting their fees as well as yours. They want to get their money, and when their money comes in, they will take their percentage and send you your percentage. Everyone will be happy.
These are some of the ways to make the eviction process easier on you. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us at Browning Gordon Property Management.
