Post by High Priestess on Aug 8, 2017 4:20:23 GMT
See the discussion here:
airhostsforum.com/t/questions-about-squatters/15816/8
Some interesting perspectives:
I live in Boston and almost all my guests are for 30 days or more. Mostly more. They come from all over the world and they are going back to where they come from so I’m not the least bit concerned that they will become squatters. They come here for one of three reasons. Educational program, work, or are relocating to Boston and need a place while finding housing. If their reason isn’t one of those three then I am curious and ask more questions.
I do everything through the Airbnb system. That’s important. No leases ever, no off system deals, and I never use the words “rent” or “apartment”. It’s MY house and they are simply guests.
I’m booked in advance so people have to leave. And they are going to one way or another.
Demand for space of all kinds is very high in Boston as we have a booming economy. I think it’s the same in San Francisco. I don’t think you would have a problem if you qualify the potential guests properly.
You can’t have the issue be about tenants rights or a lease if you want to get them out. It has to be about safety in your home. Here in Boston if you call the police because you may be unsafe with a person in your home the police must come right away. If they think you are correct they will ask that person to leave immediately while they are still there. Too many times when they haven’t someone has been murdered. Usually it’s a spouse. Now they are very strict on it.
I had a guest who the police removed. A mother and daughter. They got into an argument. The daughter called the police. They came and realized that it was really a lot of nothing, they didn’t even go upstairs to talk to me. They explained that because of the nature of the call they had to ask the mother to leave. They stayed until she left. I slept through the whole thing, never knew what happened until the next day. The police in Boston do not take any chances with safety. They err on the side of safety. The do not want to read in the papers there’s been some violence because they did not take a complaint seriously.
So you just have to make it a safety issue and not a rental issue. The police will come and remove the person. Have a restraining order ready to go.
Another interesting comment:
In my situation, with a guest room in my house, I would never get involved in leases or deposits or any of the rental stuff. I suppose if you have property that you rent it’s a different story.
Nobody should do anything they’re not comfortable with and that they don’t feel safe about. That’s the most important thing. For me it’s simple…they’re going out and I can explain it in a way that will resonate with them. They will “get it”. They can recite their legal rights, they can even recite the Bible. But they will do it from the street.
You may have family members that can help. Perhaps they are police officers and that would be excellent. Or a friendly attorney who can help. Or just some friends who will back you up. Here in Boston that’s life in the big city. You can’t hesitate when someone tries to punk you, as they call it. It’s not going to get better by playing their game. You have to turn the table on them.
This is what I do. I’m NOT recommending anyone else do this.
I had a business acquaintance who had an apartment building in sketchy part of town. I asked him how he handled evictions. No problem, he said. Only talk in person. No letters, texting, or phone calls.
He sent in his “maintenance” team to “repair” the front door of the apartment. Actually, they removed it, took it with them and disappeared.
Probably helped that he had a heavy Russian accent.
What would you do? If you had a squatter? Would you very carefully go through the required legal process to evict them, which might be months long, during which time you may not be getting paid any rent...or would you get a friend with a Russian accent and the tools to remove a door?
airhostsforum.com/t/questions-about-squatters/15816/8
Some interesting perspectives:
I live in Boston and almost all my guests are for 30 days or more. Mostly more. They come from all over the world and they are going back to where they come from so I’m not the least bit concerned that they will become squatters. They come here for one of three reasons. Educational program, work, or are relocating to Boston and need a place while finding housing. If their reason isn’t one of those three then I am curious and ask more questions.
I do everything through the Airbnb system. That’s important. No leases ever, no off system deals, and I never use the words “rent” or “apartment”. It’s MY house and they are simply guests.
I’m booked in advance so people have to leave. And they are going to one way or another.
Demand for space of all kinds is very high in Boston as we have a booming economy. I think it’s the same in San Francisco. I don’t think you would have a problem if you qualify the potential guests properly.
I’m not clear on when or how a guest can becomes a tenant who is renting? There’s no lease ever. The agreement is to stay for the length of time prepaid. I’ve more than likely got a the next guest ready to arrive.
One way or another they are going out the door. They can argue but they’ll do it from the street.
One way or another they are going out the door. They can argue but they’ll do it from the street.
You can’t have the issue be about tenants rights or a lease if you want to get them out. It has to be about safety in your home. Here in Boston if you call the police because you may be unsafe with a person in your home the police must come right away. If they think you are correct they will ask that person to leave immediately while they are still there. Too many times when they haven’t someone has been murdered. Usually it’s a spouse. Now they are very strict on it.
I had a guest who the police removed. A mother and daughter. They got into an argument. The daughter called the police. They came and realized that it was really a lot of nothing, they didn’t even go upstairs to talk to me. They explained that because of the nature of the call they had to ask the mother to leave. They stayed until she left. I slept through the whole thing, never knew what happened until the next day. The police in Boston do not take any chances with safety. They err on the side of safety. The do not want to read in the papers there’s been some violence because they did not take a complaint seriously.
So you just have to make it a safety issue and not a rental issue. The police will come and remove the person. Have a restraining order ready to go.
Another interesting comment:
From my experience, it is pretty easy to get a guest to leave if a total stranger (i.e. the next guest arriving) is there to help you get the first guest out.
I think the main reason for this is psychological. The first guest, who might be reluctant to leave, most likely established a sort of “relationship” with you during the time he was staying in your house, but he doesn’t have any relationship with the new guest, so chances are he will accept the new guest’s right to move in.
I think the main reason for this is psychological. The first guest, who might be reluctant to leave, most likely established a sort of “relationship” with you during the time he was staying in your house, but he doesn’t have any relationship with the new guest, so chances are he will accept the new guest’s right to move in.
In my situation, with a guest room in my house, I would never get involved in leases or deposits or any of the rental stuff. I suppose if you have property that you rent it’s a different story.
Nobody should do anything they’re not comfortable with and that they don’t feel safe about. That’s the most important thing. For me it’s simple…they’re going out and I can explain it in a way that will resonate with them. They will “get it”. They can recite their legal rights, they can even recite the Bible. But they will do it from the street.
You may have family members that can help. Perhaps they are police officers and that would be excellent. Or a friendly attorney who can help. Or just some friends who will back you up. Here in Boston that’s life in the big city. You can’t hesitate when someone tries to punk you, as they call it. It’s not going to get better by playing their game. You have to turn the table on them.
This is what I do. I’m NOT recommending anyone else do this.
I had a business acquaintance who had an apartment building in sketchy part of town. I asked him how he handled evictions. No problem, he said. Only talk in person. No letters, texting, or phone calls.
He sent in his “maintenance” team to “repair” the front door of the apartment. Actually, they removed it, took it with them and disappeared.
Probably helped that he had a heavy Russian accent.
What would you do? If you had a squatter? Would you very carefully go through the required legal process to evict them, which might be months long, during which time you may not be getting paid any rent...or would you get a friend with a Russian accent and the tools to remove a door?
