I(first off Im sorry this is long but I need help please!)
just bought a house less then a month ago. The tenant was the granddaughter of the owners. We just learned today she never paid them a dime thats why they had to sell for so cheap. Techniqully my mother bought the house then "resold" it to us. I pay her complete loan and signed papers with her laywer that its in my name etc- you could call mother our bank. No bank would give a mortgage on this house. We learned after we bought it that there was a leak in the roof on her side, plus some mold on her side. We asked her to move her things out of the way so we could fix them. She refused then called the health department on us! HD is on our side thankfully. She then sent us a letter saying she refused to pay rent until we meet her conditions of new weather effecient windows, new insulation, along with complete acess to our garage and outbuilding to store her bikes, grills and snow shovel. (can you believe that crap?) She refused to sign our lease which I had paid to have drawn up. Under the original purchase agreement between my mother and the previous owners the tenant was to stay for one year as follows " Tenant, tenants son and tenants dog will stay for one year at 350 a month. " Well day after we bought it she moved in several more animals and a boyfriend and his animals. She doesnt realize that my mother "sold" it to us. Which would void out her being able to stay for 1 year at 350 So wouldnt that make it so we could either raise the rent or toss her out with an eviciton?
So we filed a three day, paid the sheriffs to deliver it. They told us the next step is to file to regain property. I went to do that today and court clerk told me to not do it since I didnt have a lawyer it would get tossed out and the tenant would win. I called the local laywers and only a handful deal with tenant/landlord stuff. Two have a conflict of interest and turns out the third was hired by our tenant for this! What rights does she have? She wont pay rent, violated the original purchase agreement which she still thinks is still standing. She has damaged the property since we owned it. Plus my homeowners insurance will cancel out this week due to her having a pellet stove on her side which is a fire hazard since its in wrong and code enforement even said so. She wont let us remove it or hire someone to remove it. Threatened to sick her dog on us if we enter the premises. I told the cops this and they said oh well. The sheriffs basically said the law is on the tenants side and landlords cant do anything.

By the way we are in upstate NY. Other landlords in the area have told us that if we have paperwork from insurance company and code enforcement then we can go in and remove it and she cant sue us or whatever. They have also said that after we serve a three day, thirty days following that we can change the locks and toss her stuff out. No lawyer will talk to me without paying a min of $200 for a consult. I have no money left after paying the entire mortgage and fixing all the damages caused by tenant.

What can I do!@@

Leases usually survive property sales, unless the sale is a foreclosure or tax sale.

The tenant has the right to the original lease until its term is up. No agreement between old and new owners can change this. You are wrong to say the second sale somehow voids the lease. And you have no right to draw up a new lease until the original lease ends.

But if the tenant violates the terms of the original lease (e.g. more animals, extra people), the tenant has broken the lease. Nonpayment of rent also breaks the lease. And you are not required to provide anything new that is not on the original lease. Violating the insurance requirements is also breaking the lease.

Leases usually survive property sales, unless the sale is a foreclosure or tax sale.

The tenant has the right to the original lease until its term is up. No agreement between old and new owners can change this. You are wrong to say the second sale somehow voids the lease. And you have no right to draw up a new lease until the original lease ends.

But if the tenant violates the terms of the original lease (e.g. more animals, extra people), the tenant has broken the lease. Nonpayment of rent also breaks the lease. And you are not required to provide anything new that is not on the original lease. Violating the insurance requirements is also breaking the lease.

There was no lease between the old landlord and the tenant. She is the granddaughter or the prior owners. She never paid them rent and they were forced to sell for low price since she caused them to go belly up- there now stuck in a real crappy old folks home. Of course we didnt learn of any of this till we purchased the house.

She refuses to pay her water/sewer bill which of course has to be under the landlords name. So now were stuck with that bill, the utility company bills are under her name and were afraid that when they get shut off since she rewfuses to pay them that our pipes will freeze and she will cause even more damage.

I left a notice on her door today due to her leaving garabe and other junk all over the front porch which makes it so we cant enter our portion of the house that we will be residing in. Also she turned our yard into a junk yard. I told her that all the items must be removed within 36 hrs or we will have it removed and billed to her. I truly dont know if we have the right to do that due to the fact no laywer in cortland county will take the case since tenants are god and can walk all over the law as much as they want apparently.

I am at my witsend. This lady is driving me insane. She threatened to attack us with her dog and the cops wont do anything. We managed to see the inside of her apartment when we had Barrier windows go in and measure for new windows (which wont happen till after she's gones) The apartment is trashed, looks like a landfill. She hasnt moveed anything out and instead has moved her boyfriend in and tons more animals. The leak in the backroom we asked her to let us come in and fix is getting worse but she refuses to let us fix it even though she reports it to the health department. I dont know how anyone can rent, being a landlord stinks.

I was told by several other landlords in the area to just change the locks after 30 days since the three day notice, but since no laywer will take the case I havent been able to find out whether its lawful or not.'

what do I do to get rid of this horriable non paying property damaging tenant?

Can you not go to the courts without a lawyer and have them file an eviction notice? I know here in Oklahoma, they will serve her with a 30 day notice to vacate. If she doesn't follow the notice, the sheriffs department will place all her belongings outside.

As far as the water leak, send her a certified letter stating that you will be there on so and so date to fix the leak. Also state that if noone is home, you will be entering with your own key. Tell her to have all animals pinned up or you will not be responsible if they get loose. Make sure it's certified so that she has to sign for it. This will also show the health department that you are trying to fix the leak.

Im not really sure because I havent been able to find a lawyer to even talk to me without charging a rediculas amount just to sit down for a half an hour. Im ready to pay though. Some landlords around here say give a three day pay or quit notice then 30 days later toss there crap out. So I contacted the sheriffs and they said no, they wont do anything without a judge order. Well Ive purcahsed the paperwork to file to regain possesion of real property and I couldnt figure out where to sign and what to fill out in the zillion blanks. So I need a lawyer to make sure I do this right since it costs quite bit just to file.
For the past week she has called the cops on us saying we are stealing her stuff, holding her stuff in a locked shed. But she doesnt know what the stuff is so the sheriffs realize once we told them it was bs all because she hasnt paid rent they basically said they'd ignore her from now on. Every day is a different thing. The workers we have in there during the day during the week are being to loud she said today as she called the cops. (we are fixing up our side of the house) Guess what the workers were doing. Painting, and its two guys who barely say a word to one another so trust me theres no noise unless someone coughs. We had a guy from barrier windows come out to the house tonight to give a new estimete for our side and her and her boyfriend threatened him for trespassing on her property! Her property?! She has been telling people its her house and were the tenants!

Supopsedly she told the sheriffs that she would be out the 1st or middle of december (hasnt told us anything). plus she told the post office worker that her new address should be available around the 1st so she would change her mailing etc. So all I can hope is that she does leave, and I can then go thru the process of trying to get the money and damages from her (fat chance)

I had a person call today interested in seeing the apartment. Theres no way the tenant will allow us in to even fix thigns let alone to show the apartment. So I had to tell her that I contacted the health department and would notify them and the code enforcement if she didnt allow us in to measure the small mold stain by the window. So i will discreetly show the person the house as I measure the mold that is truly cuased by her leaving a window open.

Im at my wits end. This lady is truly a evil large chick.