| I personally hate to hire an attorney for anything. | | | | error or unusual circumstance, the judge throws |
| Have you ever noticed how many things require | | | | out the case. I know for a fact the judges give |
| you to hire an attorney? Did you ever wonder | | | | attorneys the benefit of the doubt and allow |
| who wrote those laws? It is a racket, pure and | | | | some lee way. Now, I am not talking about |
| simple. They should make it illegal for a profession | | | | forgetting to serve a 3 day notice or anything |
| to write laws that benefit that profession. But, let | | | | crucial, just simple stuff. |
| me get off my rant for just a moment. | | | | In Florida, the law requires you have an attorney |
| Our Tampa property management company has | | | | if the judge wants to question anything, and you |
| been doing our own evictions for about a year. | | | | are not the owner of the property. For example, |
| We decided that we could save our clients some | | | | a judge is supposed to not allow a meeting with |
| money by filing the paperwork for them instead | | | | the tenant if the tenant has not deposited money |
| of an attorney. Yes, the paperwork is a bit | | | | into the courthouse for the rent in question. |
| confusing, and the courthouse instructions to fill | | | | However, if you are filing it yourself instead of |
| them out is spotty at best. Yet, we figured this | | | | using an attorney, they do it every single time. It |
| stuff is not advance mathematics so we decided | | | | is absolute nonsense. |
| to work it out. | | | | You are much better off hiring an attorney to |
| After you complete half a dozen evictions, you | | | | handle your evictions even though it pains me to |
| really do learn most of the ins and outs of the | | | | admit it. The judges stack the deck in favor of |
| eviction process. There are special circumstances | | | | their profession and stick it to the little guy. We |
| when it comes to dealing with tenants that | | | | have also found that attorneys know the law and |
| contest an eviction. However, we asked the | | | | will often prevent a judge from over stepping |
| clerks at the courthouse and they told us what to | | | | their authority. I have personally had judges give |
| do. | | | | tenants a week to come up with say $2000 even |
| The challenge with doing your own evictions is the | | | | after I spent $275 in court cost and 45 days |
| judge hates it. They stick your case at the | | | | going through the eviction process, and the tenant |
| bottom of the files and take all their attorney | | | | put not a single dollar with the clerk of the court. |
| buddies first. This ends up costing you more than | | | | This has never happened to me when I hired an |
| what it would cost to hire an attorney because | | | | attorney. |
| you are not taken in the order they receive your | | | | Regardless of how many rentals you have in your |
| file. | | | | property management company, you should just |
| After a while, we discovered the judge will also | | | | bite the bullet and realize the game has been |
| examine your case, and if they can find one single | | | | fixed and hire an attorney. |