Renters and bk?

[jbr12]

I am having an issue with my current landlord. Sept 1st, $700 rent was due. My lease is a month to month basis and I must provide him with 30 day notice prior to moving out. There are no stipulations for late fees, etc in the lease. He is an individual that owns the condo we're renting. Sept 1st, I was out of a job and had no income coming in. I informed him that I was giving him the 1 month notice and I would get him what I could of the rent ASAP. Sept 7th I deposited half of the rent, $350. While I do now have a job, I still have been unable to come up with the $$ to pay the remaining rent. I have a paycheck coming up next week, but I need that money to pay the rent and deposit to move into a new place.

He has sent me a letter demanding that I give him the remaining rent with my next paycheck. He has a friend that works with me, so he knows when we get paid. He lives on the other side of the country now, so everything has been done via email. I am meeting next week to discuss filing Chap 7 with 2 attornys.

I don't necessarily want to tell him I am filing to bk, but I feel I should tell him that to maybe get him off my case a little bit. I am doing what I can to come up with money, but there is just nothing I can do short of forcing my fiance, 17 month old daughter and myself to sleep in a car for a month...

[CATCHMEIFYOUCAN]

dont tell

i wouldn't let him know about the BK, that would just give him time to think what actions he could take against you!

good luck, catchmeifyoucan

[jbr12]

I guess my question is, if I do not pay the remaining rent and move out next week to a new place, is that something that can be included in bk?

[Viper]

Have no more contact with him. You can include whatever money you owe him in your BK.


-Viper

[SinkingFast]

I guess my question is, if I do not pay the remaining rent and move out next week to a new place, is that something that can be included in bk?

Yep!

We did it.

We had a terrible Landlord that was giving us fits. On our attny's advice, we "skipped out" 2 months early on our Lease. Moved to a new place and included our old Landlord in our BK. We BK'd on 2 month's rent, plus unpaid propane, plus any damages the other Landlord may have come up with.

Since we didn't have a known $$ amount to work with,.......... You wanna leave that open in case your Landlord claims you did some sort of damages,....... Our attny listed the amount as $1.00 with the comment of "Any and all claims arising from an unexpired lease signed on or about << Date >>.

If you go with an attny to file your BK, he/she will have their own way of including your unexpired lease. The problem you might run into is the old Landlord pushing you to file sooner than you might want to to avoid a Judgement from a Law Suit.

[jbr12]

Thing I have going for me is I'm in Michigan and my landlord lives in NW Canada... so I don't see a law suit coming anytime soon... but I do plan on filing within 2 months anyway...

I am currently a month behind on the electric there. When we move into the new place, can I just have them turn on electric in my fiance's name and call it good? When I turned it on in our current place, they didn't askwho else was living with me, so I'm hoping they won't bother her about that either...

[SinkingFast]

We know someone who did that with Cable service. He owes from a previous time when they had Cable and the Cable company won't give him service in his name. So they have Cable in his SO's name instead. She has no credit problems with the Cable Company so they gave her service.

I imagine it would work for other Utilities. If your fiance hasn't had service in her name before, you might have to come up with a Security Deposit tho.

[jbr12]

Ok, so my landlord is demanding I give him the rest of this month's rent with my next paycheck... he's upset because him and his wife don't have the available funds to pay the losses from me not paying rent. The way I see it, I've been doing him a favor. He moved unexpectantly from Michigan to Canada to get married. He owned the condo I live in and he knew that he wouldn't be able to sell it because theres 10-15 units on the market in this same complex with no one buying. So I was basically covering his mortage with my rent... If I wouldn't have moved in, he would've been out of luck anyway...

If I read right, he can not evict me without a court order. Anyone know if this is correct? I am supposed to be out on Saturday, but my fiance is worried he may try to force us out sooner. Also, the only way he can get the back rent and any damages to the unit is through a court order as well, correct? And as long as I file before he gets a court order, the stay would protect, I believe?

[SinkingFast]

Your best bet would be to ask your BK attny these questions. He/She will know how quickly the whole "eviction" process works.

Here's a link for you to a Landlord/Tenant relations pamphlet that was published by the State of Michigan. Eviction procedures start on page 14 of the .pdf, page 13 of the actual pamphlet.

http://www.michigan.gov/documents/La...5_142052_7.pdf

According to the pamplet, the Landlord has to give you notice in writing, at least 7 days prior to the planned eviction. And there are specific things that have to be stated in the written notice.

Only after the Landlord has given proper notice of eviction can he/she pursue legal action in a Court of Law.

Looks like you should be safe to stay there to the end of the week.

[jbr12]

SF- thanks for all your help and insight Definitly been a great help with all of my questions. I am planning on file Pro Se, but I do have 2 consults this week, one tomorrow, so I will be sure to ask...

[SinkingFast]

Having been there, done that, I feel your Landlord's pain. We left our house, for sale, on the market, sitting empty. We had to make those mortgage payments and pay rent here too. It was not pleasant.

But your Landlord's problems are just that. His problems. You have to take care of you.

[chmastal]

Well said SF, you shouldn't let yourself feel bad for your landlord & try to cover his needs before you provide for the needs of your own family. Landlords should be aware of the dangers on relying from month to month on the tenant to pay the mortgage on the property. Your landlord should have a backup of about 2-3 months mortgage for just the situation he has right now with you. If your landlord failed to do this that is not your fault!

Your family always, always, always comes first. That truly is your ultimate responsibility! Keep that in perspective with every decision you make & you'll be OK.