Landlord Tenant

For the average American, real estate is one of the most common ways to build wealth. Many people purchase income properties as a way to increase their income and assets. When analyzing the market to make a first purchase, the investor calculates how much income should be generated, taking into account some lag between renters, and finds a property that will generate more revenue that the cost of financing the purchase.

However, many first-time investors fail to recognize how disruptive a poor renter can be to the entire financial calculus. If the tenant misses one or two payments, suddenly, the landlord is forced to dip into his own income to pay a second mortgage. This is excluding the chance that a bad renter will do serious damage to the property through negligent or reckless behavior.

Fortunately, Michigan law provides mechanisms through which a landlord can eject tenants. Summary proceedings to recover possession of property are a specialized type of action. Summary proceedings progress much faster than ordinary proceedings—although, sometimes not fast enough for the landlord to keep the revenue stream flowing.

There are a number of very technical procedural rules that must be followed when evicting a tenant. Since the action is expedited as a summary proceeding, all those rules must be followed precisely. Any error will cause the entire proceeding to fail, and the landlord will have to file a new action, further extending the amount of time the property will be occupied without generating revenue.

To be sure, there are a number of litigation “strategies” that can be employed by a tenant to prolong the eviction process. There are websites dedicated to frustrating landlord when trying to obtain possession of their property, some of which are quite effective. Do not assume that an eviction will be as simple as telling the court the tenant has not paid rent and expecting a sheriff to go remove the tenants.

Ultimately, eviction matters can require experienced legal assistance. If you are in need of assistance with any landlord-tenant related issue, contact the experienced attorneys at Neumann Law Group for a free consultation.