Commercial Tenent Abandoned Property

[Rawn Wilson]

I own a commercial automotive shop in Pearland, TX and leased it out in October 2019 on a 5 year lease. The tenant recently abandoned the property in the middle of the night. All of the equipment and signage is gone, and I posted a lock out notice. Unfortunately, there is nothing left to help recover rents. He was behind on rents and said he was approved for the SBA PPP and would pay when it was received. As of June 1st, he is behind $11,600 and left $149,900 on the rest of the lease that runs till September 2024. Small claims court will only file amounts less that $10,000. Any suggestions? I have looked into contacting a collection agency, hiring a lawyer to file a claim, or just move on. It will take about 3-4 months to find a new tenant while I still pay the mortgage. Luckily I have a reserve for this case.