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Avoid all unnecessary one-on-one personal contact with the tenant during the eviction process unless it occurs in a structured setting -for example, at a neighborhood dispute resolution center or in the presence of a neutral third party.
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Keep your written communications to the point and as neutral as you can, even if you are boiling inside. Remember, any manifestations of anger on your part can come back to legally haunt you somewhere down the line.
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Treat the tenant like they have a right to remain on the premises, even though it is your position that she doesn't. Until the day the sheriff or marshal shows up to evict the tenant, the tenant's home is legally her castle, and you may come to regret any actions on your part that don't recognize that fact.
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Pay to Leave
Quite often a tenant who hasn't paid rent can't leave even if they want to because if they don't have the money to pay you, they sure don't have what it takes to move.
Before you proceed with an eviction consider whether it might be cheaper in the long run to pay the tenant a few hundred dollars to leave right away. A potentially lengthy lawsuit - during which you can't accept rent that you might be unable to collect even after winning a judgment - may be more expensive and frustrating than buying out the tenant and quickly starting over with a better one. Especially if there's a possibility that your tenant might win the lawsuit (as well as a judgment against you for court costs and attorney
fees), you may well be better off compromising-perhaps letting the tenant stay a few more weeks at reduced or no rent.