Tenant left owing over 10k and can't be found

[Evan L.]

My previous tenant left with unpaid rents(6 months) 8k and damages about 9k. I ended up not repairing the damages and sold it for less than it would have been if damages weren't so bad. Now the debt collectors can't find him. The pms never got his social security number even though he said he did.

Im considering suing the tenant if that's possible being that he's missing, but wondering if I should be suing the pm instead for neglect and not getting their SS#.

Does anyone have advice for this? Thanks.

[Kevin Sobilo]

@Evan L., I don't know the laws of your state (assuming your rental is local to you) but I will give some general things to consider.

First off, you always sue right away! You sue right away for a number of reasons but first is that you use their last known address which is your rental! They likely had mail forwarded at the post office for a time.

You don't need their social security number to sue.

Even if you do sue and win, depending on the state it can be difficult to collect the judgement. Many landlords don't bother to sue simply because they don't know how to enforce a judgement and because there is no certainty of collecting.

As for your PM, was this a legal licensed PM? In most states a PM has to be a licensed real estate agent/broker? Some states have separate licensing for PMs I think and a few might not require a license.

If your PM is licensed, then you may be able to use threat of a lawsuit to get a settlement from them. They would carry errors and omissions insurance to cover losses caused by their mistakes. So, if they don't compensate you and you sue, likely the insurance company will end up settling with you or paying any judgement.