A lesson learned in court

[Cal C.]

I recently had a court date in Fulton County, GA, probably one of the most tenant friendly jurisdictions in a landlord friendly state. Obviously, that is all relative.

My tenant's lawyer was a few hours late and I was able to witness several eviction (disp.) cases. I won't get into the nitty gritty details of any of those cases, but I had one huge take away. Come prepared.

Have your paperwork in order. Make extra copies for the judge and the opposing side.

Present your case in a coherent and concise way. Stick to the point.

Invariably, the person who was the most prepared won their cases, even when it seemed as though the losing side had valid, but undocumented, arguments.

Fortunately I was prepared, but observing those cases underscored the importance of preparedness.

[Account Closed]

@Cal C. having the heart.. so very true. This is a business. You have bills to pay and people that work for you or depend on you need that income. Would you go to work every day if your boss stopped paying? Probably not.

While a tenant may have a sob story. Maybe they lost their job because of something out of their control. It stinks for them, but at the same time, if you let them live there, others will be losing their jobs because you won't be able to pay your bills.

In the end, if a customer entered a restaurant and ate a meal at $30 cost each day, then ran out and didn't pay. Would you let them keep eating for free each day?

$30/day is about $900/month rent. Think about it!