When you get your first Eviction work order, it can be both exciting and intimidating. It's exciting because you will most likely be working with the police to perform this WO. It can be intimidating because you'll probably be changing a lock with the police standing there looking over your shoulder.
Most people move out before the police come to forcibly evict them. On the other hand, we've performed evictions with as many as eight officers in body armor and guns drawn (There were no shots fired!)
The work orders you receive to perform an eviction can be a little confusing. You may receive as many as four WOs simultaneously for one property. However many WOs you receive, these are typical tasks required by these work orders:
• Pre-eviction inspection (go to the property within 72 hours prior to the scheduled eviction, to see if the property has been vacated; if it has, perform an initial secure, and call the police to cancel the eviction)
• Eviction (call the police to inform them that you will be there at the scheduled time to provide access to the property)
• Remove Personals (when you come to the property for the eviction, you should have a truck and/or trailer and a crew there to haul all of the personal property to a previously-arranged storage facility, or to the street in front of the house)
• Initial Secure (this is performed after the eviction and removal of personals)
Don't hesitate to request that the police remain there until you complete your work (lock changes, winterization, etc.) if your feel you might be in danger from the evicted residents.
Even if the residents tell you that they don't want anything that they've left on the property, DO NOT dispose of any personals, unless you get a signed statement from the residents. We had a resident tell us they didn't want anything that was left at the property, but a few months later they threatened to sue for $175K because they said we disposed of their personals. Nothing came of it, but the next time we got a signed statement!
Whether or not you actually are there with the police to assist them in evicting the residents, always remember to complete all of the tasks associated with an Initial Secure, or a Final Condition WO, if applicable. One time we failed to provide a bid for mold on an Eviction WO, and it ended up costing us $18K!