Suing an ex tenant in small claims court

[Alex Tang]

Hello,

i am an out of state landlord with a 3bd 2ba SFH outside of Atlanta and am looking for some advice in whether to take an ex-tenant to small claims court. This person and his partner broke the lease early as they bought a home. The damages plus cleaning fees could exceed $10k. This person is a pilot for Delta Airlines but never left a forwarding address. I've never taken anyone to small claims court so any advice on how to proceed or whether it's worth it at all would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

[Kevin Sobilo]

@Alex Tang, YES!

I would absolutely sue them in small claims court. Collecting on judgements is VERY VERY hard on average BUT in your case you have a MUCH higher than average chance to collect your money.

Once a judgement is unpaid, you generally have to file it with the county and it becomes a lien on any property they own in that county. You can then work to execute based on that lien to do things like garnish wages etc. That may or may not work as depending on earnings and the family size etc many are not collectible.

However, you have a second avenue to collect. The house they bought! Your lien will attach to their house. As a primary residence in my state I cannot foreclose on it with a judgement lien, but they won't be able to refinance or sell without paying off the lien! Plus in my state I can charge 6% interest on the money. So, even if it takes 20 years, I will be fairly compensated.