This is high-volume, deadline-driven work where the notice you serve at the beginning controls what a district court can do for you at the end. A defective notice restarts the clock. The firm handles these matters for landlords, property owners, land contract sellers, and the occasional tenant with a real defense.
Evictions and possession
- Demands for possession and notices to quit, drafted to match the tenancy and the lease
- Summary proceedings in district court for nonpayment, holdover, and lease violations
- Commercial evictions, including tenants whose business license is tied to the premises
- Money judgments for unpaid rent, damages, and holdover use
- Writs of eviction and coordination with court officers
- Guaranty enforcement against the individual who signed behind the entity
Land contract forfeiture and foreclosure
When a land contract purchaser defaults, a seller generally has two routes: forfeiture, which is faster and goes through district court summary proceedings, or foreclosure in circuit court, which can reach a deficiency but takes longer. The right choice depends on how much of the purchase price has been paid, whether there is equity, and what the contract says. After a judgment of possession in forfeiture, the purchaser has a statutory period to redeem, and the length of that period depends on how much has been paid in.
Changing the locks is not a remedy in Michigan. Self-help lockouts and utility shutoffs expose a landlord to statutory damages and can hand the tenant a counterclaim worth more than the unpaid rent. Commercial landlords get caught by this constantly.
Related work
- Lease drafting built to make enforcement clean if it ever comes to that
- Security deposit compliance and disputes
- Wrongful eviction and illegal lockout claims, on both sides
- Post-judgment collection on rent judgments
- Property management agreements and owner-funds disputes
Common questions
How long does an eviction take in Wayne County?
An uncontested nonpayment case commonly runs three to six weeks from notice to writ, assuming the notice was correct and the tenant does not raise defenses. Contested cases, commercial matters, and cases with counterclaims take longer. A defective notice is the single most common cause of delay.
What is the difference between land contract forfeiture and foreclosure?
Forfeiture is a summary proceeding in district court that ends the purchaser's interest and returns possession, but it generally does not produce a deficiency judgment. Foreclosure runs in circuit court, takes longer, and can reach a deficiency. Which one fits depends on the equity, the contract, and what you actually want.
Can a commercial landlord lock out a tenant who stopped paying?
Michigan requires judicial process to recover possession, and self-help lockouts can trigger statutory damages plus liability for the tenant's losses. A lease clause purporting to permit a lockout does not reliably change that. Get a judgment first.
Can I recover my attorney fees from a tenant?
Only if the lease or land contract provides for it, or a statute allows it. This is one reason lease drafting matters — a fee-shifting clause is a few lines that changes the economics of every later dispute.
Speak with the firm about this
Describe the situation and any deadline. The firm responds to time-sensitive matters the same business day.