Florida ranks second in the country for moves associated with foreclosure and eviction.
As a landlord, you dread having to evict a tenant because it's both stressful and causes you to lose money due to vacancy. That being said, having a poor tenant that puts your investment at risk is worse than having no tenant, so you need to take the necessary measures to rid yourself of them.
In today's post, we'll discuss eviction protection and the three things Fort Walton Beach, FL landlords need to know about it. Please keep reading and you'll better understand the eviction process and how to go about it legally and efficiently.
1. There Are Three Reasons for Eviction
Before you take measures to try and evict a delinquent tenant, it's important to understand Florida's laws around eviction. For example, a recent change to the law now requires landlords to give 30 days' notice, up from 15, to end a month-to-month tenancy.
When it comes to evictions, the most important thing is the reasoning behind it. In Florida, you can evict a tenant for three reasons - they failed to pay rent, broke the lease agreement, or damaged the property.
If the tenant's actions fall under these categories, you can begin the eviction process with an official notice.
2. Follow Due Process
Under no circumstances should you attempt to evict a tenant without following the process laid out by the state. It all starts with an official eviction notice, which differs depending on why you're evicting the tenant.
Failure to pay rent, for instance, is served with a 3-day "pay or quit" notice that gives the tenant 3 days to pay the overdue rent. If they fail to do so, you can head to the court and officially file an eviction.
For most lease violations, you serve the tenant with a 7-day cure or quit notice. When they've done irreparable damage or conducted illegal activity on your property, they get a 7-day unconditional quit notice.
3. Gather Evidence
If the tenant fails to obey the notice, you take the steps to file the eviction and wait for the court date, which is given to both parties. Leading up to this, you'll need to gather evidence to support your eviction case.
This might include pictures of property damage, statements proving a failure to pay rent, and correspondence with the tenant about the stated problems. If your case is successful, the tenant will be given a date that they need to officially vacate the property. Failing to do so will result in forcible removal by local authorities.
Hire Property Management for Eviction Protection
Evictions are a huge source of stress for Fort Walton Beach real estate investors. That said, you can avoid a lot of this stress by hiring a quality property manager who offers eviction protection for landlords.
True eviction protection starts at the screening phase. At All American Realty, our tenant screening and placement services guarantee you'll have the best tenants Fort Walton Beach has to offer. In the event you do need to evict, however, we'll handle the entire process for you.
Contact us today to schedule a consultation and learn more about our amazing services.
