Non-Paying Residents

If your resident is not paying the rent as agreed you need to step in and get control of the situation. I recommend the following steps to solve the problem:

Note: This procedure is applicable in Sacramento, California. If you own property in another area contact us and we will put you in touch with a manager in your area.

1. Communicate with the resident on the phone or in person as soon as the rent is late. No matter what the story is, go to step #2.
2. Prepare and serve a 3 Day Notice to Pay Rent or Quit. This notice gives the resident 3 days to make a decision as to whether they can afford to continue to live at your property.
3. Contact a local residential eviction attorney and send that attorney the completed notice and the rental agreement that you have with the resident. The attorney should have a reasonable flat fee charge to process and handle the eviction, including the cost for the sheriff to do the lockout.
4. Drive by the property at least once per week to see if the resident has skipped during this process.
5. If the resident offers to pay, and you are willing to take payments, obtain a stipulation from your attorney and work out a payment schedule. It is best to get the resident current as soon as possible. Don’t forget to put the attorney fees into the stipulation payback amount.
6. If the tenant does not answer the complaint you will get a call from the marshal’s office to perform the lockout. This will be about 3 weeks from the time you started.
7. If the tenant does answer the complaint you will have to go to trial. This will add a couple of weeks to the process and you will have to make a court appearance. It is usually a pretty simple matter that will get you possession about 6 weeks from the time you started.
8. You can skip all the above steps at any time by contacting us at HomePointe to step in and work for you. We will handle all the details and find you a new PAYING tenant when we get the current tenant taken care of.