As a landlord, I normally don’t just sue any one tenant but hold three judgments against former tenants. I had four, but as I was in the process of finalizing garnishment on a former tenant, she filed and was awarded bankruptcy. I have had people walk away from my rentals owing me and considered the matter to be over with as 90% or more of their leases were satisfied, and the property was left in reasonable condition. Other times, as a landlord, filing a lawsuit against the tenant would have been trivial.
One of my judgments I hold is the first person I put in a rental. He was in for six months when the rent stopped coming. He tried to string me along, but I demanded he packs and moves, which he did. I filed a lawsuit against the former tenant for $1,300+, which I won despite his actually showing up on the court date. I took him to court after the judgment to enforce it, to which he was paying me $50.00/month. Turns out he moved several homes down and got into that landlord’s pockets for $3900+ when the $50/month stopped coming. I plan to renew his judgment before it expires. I do have plans to take his case forward, having tracked him down at a local AutoZone.
The other lawsuit and judgments involve a former married couple and tenants. They came in and stayed a bit. Then the rent stopped coming. Investigating, I found out the husband was violently abusive toward his wife. She got fed up with it and sic the cops on him. I’m happy she did that but unhappy she abandoned the property and left it a mess. I filed a lawsuit against both tenants. I tracked the woman to another state and lost track of her husband. He’s either dead or in prison, but I won’t give up on him. I plan to renew my efforts to track them down, seek garnishment, and renew their judgments. I will never allow my judgments to expire until they’re satisfied.
Now to my new lawsuits! I put a guy into a rental. He stayed for two years and allowed his 27-year-old son to move in. The landlord/tenant relationship seemed good. Then the son brought in his nasty girlfriend. The two love birds were pillheads and pushed the dad around quite a bit, starting in the 2nd quarter of 2012. The dad bailed on the home. The son left his belongings in the home, including a very large aquarium. Turns out, when I told the son to get his crap out, the tank got turned over, flooding the home.
The carpeting was toast, and the floorboards had to be dried and bleached, as well as the floor joists. The daughter came in at some point and moved a TON of stuff to the garage, where it stayed for me to haul to the dump. I’m suing him for $861, the cost of replacing the flooring, hauling trash, and labor. How exactly did I track him down:
- I knew the daughter had moved back to the state to live with her dad.
- The daughter’s credentials were on the original rental application, so I could use that to find her.
- I tracked her down using various methods and got confirmation from a utility that it was in her name.
- I confirmed the father was indeed at that address.
The other suit belongs to the tenant I put into the home after the guy mentioned above split. I put a couple of youngsters (19 years old) into the home (Yah, what was I thinking?) The rent stopped two months into the lease, and I demanded they leave on time or face a lawsuit which also depended on the home’s condition after they left. Turns out the young people turned the home into a party house, complete with recent convicts and drunkards staying there. Trust me when I say these people were the scum of their generation, and that’s me trying to be kind. None of the people staying in the home during this period were tenants.
When I came to the home after they left, I was stunned to see graffiti over an entire bedroom! Someone also broke my door frame, and there was damage to the garage and interior of the home. Again, trash was left behind, and I had to haul it to the dump. I’m suing her for $2901.
How I found her, especially since she left no forwarding address or had her mail routed to another address:
- I had spoken with her grandpa a few times and had his cell number
- I was able to track down the approximate location where the cell phone was purchased
- I found out Grandpa’s full name and, from there, his location
- The tenant led me to believe she was moving in with him
More on these cases in another post.
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