notice to quit

What are U trying to do, get out of a lease agreement? If U want responses, you should list exactly what occurred, what your intentions are and what you expect to happen.

mike

If you have a lease in place it's way more complicated than if you have a month to month tenancy and you have to first serve a "cure or quit" notice via return receipt certified mail documenting the lease violation(s) and giving the tenant a specific date by which a cure has to be effected with notice that if this isn't done then the tenant will be given notice to leave. If the cure isn't effected then you proceed with notice to quit and if that doesn't work then you proceed with eviction through the court.

If the tenancy is a month to month you simply give the tenant (in writing, return receipt certified mail, minimum one month's notice to leave and need give no reason at all. If the tenant doesn't leave then you file for formal eviction. If your return receipt letter is returned to you by the PO as undelivered/not picked up, retain it unopened as you'll need it to provide it to the Court if eviction follows, as proof that the tenant was properly advised.

Hope that helps.

PS: You can find cure or quit notice templates on line easily enough,

Thanks, OT. This is a month to month situation where the tenant has not paid rent. I believe that I can ask the person to be out in 14 days but was not sure if any notice to quit found online would do since they seem to be listed by state.

The other concern is being off island with no one to help.. I suppose I'll need to return for the duration.

Not a pleasant situation.

There are very few states which mandate anything less than a month and we're not one of them, so send the notice to quit as explained giving a month's notice as of rent due date. Really impossible to be an absentee landlord and you may want to consider in future having someone handle the rental for you. Along with the notice to quit, tell your tenant that if he doesn't make good on the owed rent you'll be forced to go to court. Hopefully you have a security deposit which will cover some of your losses. Good luck!

I agree with OT, you should have someone to handle the rental of your property down there. I own a 4 unit apartment here in NY and can't imagine it being feasible if I wasn't close by to address the issues that constantly occur. I am renting my place out in STX and have a property manager to address these things such as yours. A little less stress for not a whole lot of money in my mind. I can't just drive over to deal with it. They will also deal with all the nonsense of not paying rent, serving them and going to court. Hope all works out for you, as I have had both good and bad experiences here in NY with tenants.

I have been a landlord most of my adult life. Sometimes from afar, sometimes not.

The key ALWAYS is to screen your tenants well on the front end to avoid issues on the back.

THEN fix everything that needs to be fixed as soon as possible. Have a trusted handyman you can call.

Get on a plane and check your property when necessary.

If you do this, you don't need a property manager.

I've screened many a tenant, and trust me it's not always 100% accurate. My last tenant had glowing reviews from everybody. Come to find out he was a total nut job. His previous landlord told me everything I wanted to hear so that he could get rid of him. Just glad that he wanted out after 2 months and moved on. Now I have the best tenant in the apartment. You just never know. And getting on a plane costs just as much as having a property manager there on island, so that doesn't really make sense.

I agree with Dave, I too have rented property and no matter how you screen them, you will always get bit by the least suspected person(s). Most charge the first months rent and like $100.00-$200.00 a month to oversee your property. Cheap investment considering all they do, like advertising, screening, maintenance and all those other pesky little details like non paying renters. If you live fairly close by then you can do your own, but if you don't, it's a cheap peace of mind.

mike

Screening is a sensible tool but certainly not a guarantee as daveb722 pointed out - and his experience is something I too have dealt with. Unfortunately it's not at all uncommon! Just as tenants should be screened, so should property managers. Hope you get this all sorted out without too much pain involved. 😀

I've screened many a tenant, and trust me it's not always 100% accurate. My last tenant had glowing reviews from everybody. Come to find out he was a total nut job. His previous landlord told me everything I wanted to hear so that he could get rid of him. Just glad that he wanted out after 2 months and moved on. Now I have the best tenant in the apartment. You just never know. And getting on a plane costs just as much as having a property manager there on island, so that doesn't really make sense.

Since when is a trip to the Caribbean a bad thing. LOL

I would not trust a property management company to select tenants or maintain my property. If I had to I reluctantly would, but I don't have to.

Never said it was a bad thing 🙂

Finding good tenants is hard, but can be done. Property managers to me are like an insurance policy, as at least I can have them check on things and provides me with a little comfort that I do have someone that I can call when the Sh!T hits the fan. Tenants all have that same intention to be good in the beginning, then something in their life changes and you are the least of their worries, especially if your not nearby to remind them of their responsibilities.

It's amazing when they can't pay the rent, but they are calling you from their cell phone, while surfing the internet watching cable tv. *-)

Anyways, hope the OP doesn't get screwed to much and gets this settled ASAP

Thanks to everyone. Just left 2 weeks ago but never mind coming home to stx. Now, on STX, who are these great property managers you speak of? And what is typical fee?

You'll find a bunch listed here:
http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=property+managers+st+croix&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

Once you've narrowed the field you can ask for references from people who use their services and hopefully there are contributors to this forum who can also provide input.