What to Do If Eviction is Certain

If you have gone through all of the eviction help tactics, and you simply cannot avoid being evicted, you may be in panic mode and you are not thinking clearly. Right now, you are probably feeling like your whole world is falling apart and you do not know what to do next.

To be honest, you are in a bad situation, but you still need to keep a cool head so that your situation does not get any worse than it already is. I cannot offer you legal advice, because I am not a lawyer. However, you can use the following tips to help you understand the general process, and find out what to do if worse comes to worse, and you are forced to leave your home.

I Have Received An Eviction Notice, What Happens Next?

In most cases, the eviction notice will guide you to the next steps by directing you to pay the rent or remove your property (and yourself) from the premises. After wards, you will usually receive a summons to appear or you will need to file an answer to the landlord's complaint (his "complaint" is his formal argument for why you should be evicted, i.e.: you haven't paid the rent yet - your "answer" is your reason why you have not paid, or why you think you shouldn't have to pay).

The formal actions in an eviction case (complaint, answer, summons, etc.) may lead you to believe that you have a lot of time to spare. Do not be fooled, the eviction process can be fairly quick as the courts will generally expedite the process because the landlord is in a time-sensitive situation.

Ideally, the best thing to do is show up to your court date with the rent money in hand. If you have found a social service agency to help pay your rent, but you have not received the rent assistance yet, you should show up with written proof of their agreement to assist you. Again, this is not legal advice...this is plain common sense.

My Landlord Has Won The Eviction Case, What Happens Next?

Traditionally, after the landlord wins his case against you, you will be given a certain date in which you have to leave the premises. If you remain in your home, the sheriff's deputies will show up on your doorstep with a court order to evict you on the date specified. You do not want to be in this situation, because they will literally sit you and your belongings out on the side of the street.

If your landlord has already won his eviction case against you, do not sit around and wait for the sheriff to come. I know it may be hard, but you have to get up, dust yourself off, and develop a plan for the following:

• If you have money, you should try to find another place to live as quickly as possible - before the eviction hits your credit report - try searching for move in specials in your area, and read "Getting an Apartment with an Eviction on Your Credit" for future use.

• Make a list of friends and/or relatives who will let you crash with them for a while, swallow your pride and ask them to let you stay.

• Make a list of extended stay hotels in your area, and contact them to determine their weekly rate.

• Contact either the YMCA or YWCA to see if they offer affordable single room occupancy options.

• Contact your local United Way 211 hotline (or similar crisis agencies) to find out about the homeless shelters that exist in your area.

• Contact the local homeless shelters in your area to see if there is space available, and find out what you need to do to get in.

• Sort through your household items to determine what needs to be tossed and what needs to be kept.

• Arrange to store your household items - ideally in a storage unit, but if you have no money at all, you should reach out to friends and family and ask if they will store your belongings.

After you have figured where you are going to stay and what you are going to do with your belongings, you should be able to rest a little bit easier.