What are your thoughts on pursuing a tenant after an eviction and damages?

[Dani Beit-Or]

I've encountered several situations where tenants not only broke their lease but also caused damages, sometimes even leaving before the lease ended with damages behind.

To clarify, when I mention damages, I'm not talking about normal wear and tear but rather significant repairs costing between $5,000 to $8,000, which don't qualify as vandalism for insurance purposes.

In the past, property managers I've spoken to have often discouraged pursuing tenants for these damages, citing it as not worth the effort.

Here are my questions for you:

- Would you pursue the tenant?

- Does pursuing the tenant involve obtaining a court judgment, or can I simply invoice the tenant and then involve a collection agency if they don't pay? In other words, is legal action necessary? 

- If you have experience pursuing tenants, what approach did you take? Was it challenging or relatively straightforward, and was it ultimately worthwhile?

Any insights or experiences you can share on this matter would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

[Bruce Woodruff]

I agree with JD - we owe it to our fellow landlords to go after these dirtbags. Go to Small Claims, (you will automatically win)...then take the Judgement and get it recorded. Every time the dirtbag tries to rent again, or buy anything on credit, it will pop up and stop them.

You can take the recorded judgement to a collection agency. If we, the good guys, don't make these people pay, they will never stop.