My former property manager is living in my property without a lease.

Submitted by 1stTimeLandlord t3_10ognci in baltimore

First time poster.

Throwaway account.

I own a home in Baltimore City and I started renting it out March 2020.

When I first moved out of the home, I hired a Property Manager (PM).

The first tenants she found decided to not renew the lease, the PM needed a place to stay, and I allowed her to move in. (DUMB MOVE, I'M AWARE).

Surprisingly, she does not pay her rent on time. I'm not some investment banker, I live month to month like the rest of us - and it is REALLY stressing me out financially.

She has not signed a lease. She has not given me a security deposit.

She's been in the Property since September.

How do I get her out of the house?

What are her rights? My rights?

What Baltimore City institutions can help me?

Thank you so much.

31

Comments

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Bismark1871 t1_j6eyvu0 wrote

Simple answer, you need to retain a lawyer and proceed with evicition.

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1stTimeLandlord OP t1_j6f3znc wrote

I was hoping there were things I could do before this step.

and what kind of lawyer would I be searching for exactly?

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ohamza t1_j6hm4r2 wrote

DM me. I have a friend who had an eviction, I can see if I can get a contact.

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nzahn1 t1_j6elb0c wrote

Contact Carol Ott at the Fair Housing Action Center of MD..

32

vees t1_j6g2bc1 wrote

You really going to tell a city landlord to call Carol? That’s not very nice.

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ScreenAlone t1_j6f9j4m wrote

Don’t have any insight but damn can you imagine just chilling in a house knowing you are pulling something over on someone and being ok with it. Especially someone you met personally.

Do they have friends over? What do they tell them? Do they answer the door or your calls? They just go about their life as normal? Crazy. I’d have so much anxiety it wouldn’t even be worth the free rent.

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MammothBookkeeper418 t1_j6fbqsw wrote

Unfortunately there are people out there who think the world owes them something and are more than willing to do this and have no remorse.

I live in Harford County and the property next to me was occupied by a squatter for months. She knew what she was doing and did not care because she was a single mother, had 2 young children and was trying to get her own business off the ground…so in her mind she deserved to live in a place for free until things “got better” 🙄🤦‍♂️

It was the first time I ever encountered a situation like that. She’s been gone for months now and it still boggles my mind lol

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1stTimeLandlord OP t1_j6fh1c1 wrote

She definitely knows what she's doing.

She pays rent, but whenever she feels like it.

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Autumn_Sweater t1_j6g0kvb wrote

everyone deserves to live somewhere for free

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TeachGullible t1_j6ia5sd wrote

Damn, can my wife and two dogs move in with you? I'd love to live somewhere for free.

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Autumn_Sweater t1_j6ikvmm wrote

Wait do you want to move in also or just have your wife live with me

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TeachGullible t1_j6il5oy wrote

Ah shit ya got me! Lol. We're in the same camp respectfully though. Landlords shouldn't exist imo but I don't think it's terribly sustainable to go as far to say that everyone should have free housing.

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MammothBookkeeper418 t1_j6g11uy wrote

I agree but unfortunately that’s not the world we’re living in. If there was a way to make it happen where all of us did have a house for free, I’d be all about it. But it’s not reality.

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1stTimeLandlord OP t1_j6fgvro wrote

She's definitely pulling one on me for sure. She knows I'm not comfortable with confrontation.

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MammothBookkeeper418 t1_j6fheym wrote

Some people are so shitty! Sorry you are dealing with this. I’ve only ever owned the property I’m currently living in so not sure how to go about this but I hope you can get her out soon.

3

Hamburg48 t1_j6gpugd wrote

Squatter story from Baltimore County. Local small 20 acre farm. Owner and wife would go to Florida for three months December > February. On their farm a small cottage that would be available as barter accommodation for a worker farmhand. Upon returning after months away - a previous worker knew their routine and had moved in to the cottage, signed kids up in school, established residency. After months of pursuing them through the court system, postponements and appeals (thousands in legal fees) they finally got the squatters out.

7

addctd2badideas t1_j6f29hm wrote

When you say you hired a property manager, are they a representative of a company or just a single individual?

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1stTimeLandlord OP t1_j6f3qos wrote

Well, she has her own LLC. It's a consulting firm.

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addctd2badideas t1_j6fkbc3 wrote

Did you sign any documents for the management of the property? Obviously a lawyer should be asking you all this but what you should look at is if the business agreement affects the verbal agreement that you had with this property manager. You might have a way to make this a larger civil court issue.

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LukeW0rm t1_j6i6k5b wrote

And I thought bay management was the worst PM haha. Sorry you’re going through this

5

mmscheeler t1_j6jhhxc wrote

As was mentioned above start with a 30 day notice to vacate. Send it certified so you have proof it was sent. Even if it gets returned. If she hasn’t moved at the end of that notice you will want to begin the eviction process of tenant holding over. In between now and then you will want to begin filing failure to pay rent notices. You will have to wait five days after the first of to file and there is a notice that you intend to file and that is a 10 day notice. Send that in the second of the month you should be able to find the letter on the courts website. You will want to keep track of what you a spending to get her out as those likely can be reimbursed to you. Do you have an agreement in writing?

Edit- here’s the notice of intent to file document.

Second edit- I am not an attorney but have worked in property management in the Baltimore area for 10+ years.

4

moediggity3 t1_j6hq6i7 wrote

Unfortunately there isn’t anyone you can just call to get this resolved. Anyone suggesting a phone call to a state agency has no idea what they’re talking about. The terms of your agreement aren’t included in your post, but because she had permission to stay there, there is at least an agreement in place. This makes her a tenant and not a guest. You also didn’t mention if you’ve asked her to leave. Regardless, start with a 30 day written notice to quit (keep evidence of your notice, either by having a process server deliver it and file an affidavit or having FedEx deliver it, signature required). If she leaves, problem solved. If not, you’ll need to file an ejectment action in the district court and start the eviction process (and it is a process). If you’re looking for an attorney, pm me for a recommendation.

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kaybeem50 t1_j6intea wrote

Stupid question maybe but have you asked her to leave? Tell her you found tenants who will sign a lease or whatever.

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sxswnxnw t1_j6fo0dk wrote

March 2020 is when the pandemic started. So you moved out sometime before then, and hired this property manager. Maybe they used the pandemic as their reason for being behind on rent initially? I am curious, how long were your original tenants in the house and how long was their lease, since March 2020? Maybe this was the plan all along for the property manager, maybe the original tenants left because they weren't doing their job...

Good luck. That's crazy.

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dej95135 t1_j6fpl8p wrote

Notify the state board for realtors

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Interesting_Loan_425 t1_j6fn2sm wrote

Not being an absentee landlord is a really good way to avoid this.

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