Seller keeping rent after closing

[Pete Harper]

We closed on a property on March 29th. Two of the units are section 8 housing. The housing authority mistakenly sent the April rent to the previous owner. It took me a while to track the money down. The seller finally admitted she received the payment. After a few emails back and forth she agreed to refund the money. When we received the refund I noticed we were short of full payment. Seller explains she is keeping 10% “management fee”. I notified her that she was not entitled to any of April’s rent because we closed in March. No response from seller.

What are my options? Should I take her to small claims court? We are both out of town investors. Can I file in my local court or do I need to file where the property is located?

Thanks, Pete

[Patti Robertson]

@Pete Harper - If you send SEC 8 a copy of your HUD I believe they have the ability to pull the money out of her bank account to pay your the months you were entitles. Then you can refund the seller the partial payment she gave you. Just another option other than suing her.