Tracking down evicted Tenants?

Question

Hello BP,I have a couple tenants that I inherited that ended up not paying rent and/or trashing their unit, which left me with many thousands of dollars out of pocket. My property manager has gathered the paperwork needed for collections, but we cant figure out where they live to serve them the paperwork. We found that when we sent the paperwork through regular mail, it must have forwarded to a new address, but the the tenant didn't respond. We tried sending the paperwork certified, but certified mail won't forward for some reason.Anyone have a good way of tracking people down? I assume the private investigators in the movies that serve people paperwork are real, but wanted to check first to see if there was an easier way.Thanks for your help!

Austin Davis · Answer

@Tom Keith, @Matthew Kreitzer, Account ClosedJust wanted to thank you all for your replies. I definitely looked into all of them and ended up hiring a private investigator that found a tenant for $150 and served her for $75. The court date is coming up soon, so it will be a great investment if I can get the 5K back that the tenant owes me.Thanks again guys!

Jeff B. · Answer

The sad part in these cases is, by the time she declares her income and living expenses, there's zippo to collect for your claim.Yeah it sure stinks, but I've found that the time and effort to track down, serve, go to court is wasted, so I just write it off as Bad Debt. Mine last one was $9500 bucks too!

Corey Arnemann · Answer

Hi Austin, Good question. I'm going to have to side with Jeff B. on this one. I myself in the last 7 years of property management with over 100 rental properties have had 4 tenants owe rent, and damage the property and disappear. When I found them, all that work to find them, only to discover they have no money and no job was even more of a waste. A good habit to get into as a DIY landlord is to regularly check on the tenants financial situation, and life situations before they happen to avoid these costly expenses. Use Facebook, and perform property maintenance to get every opportunity to talk with the tenants. I love when a tenant calls and has a maintenance issue even if it's nothing. It's an invitation to come into the property and see how things are going, ask questions about their life, etc... All the while, you are gaining information on them in case the worst happens. Good luck with your court date!

Account Closed · Answer

Probably not a LEGAL option, but www.familytreenow.com/search is collecting information on people for ancestory / family history. You could search for them using that for free and if there are any county, city, or clerical records of them, they could appear in there.Also, I would recommend searching your name, and your families name, and you can request to remove your records from the website. I did this to avoid this very thing.

Matthew Kreitzer · Answer

There is an entire industry of legal professionals dedicated to this line of work who have databases they use specifically for tracking people down. Many of these professionals utilize contingent fee models so the landlord is not out any kind of money from the process. My recommendation would be to speak to a collections firm in your local area and discuss how you may work out a mutually beneficial arrangement. You will likely have to go with a smaller shop, however, if this is the only account you need tracking down. However, there are likely a few local attorneys willing to do it.

Dick Stevens · Answer

Facebook also works well for tracking down tenants.

Tom Keith · Answer

@Austin Davis, keep us posted Austin. Looking forward to the end of this story.

Tom Keith · Answer

Send them a regular letter in mail. Above and to the right place this; Address Correction Please It will come back to You with new address instead of being sent on to them.

Jeff Wilson · Answer

Hello Corey. What ended up happening? It sure is a learning experience! After turning over new tenants - I will be going after the previous tenants. I'm still licking my wounds and painstakingly screening new tenants in a D class neighborhood. Its taking awhile to find anyone even close to worthy to my new qualifications. I'm finding myself already lowering the bar -- like a 600 credit score is non-existent..

Austin Davis · Answer

@Dick Stevens Thanks for the tip on facebook. I should work it into my systems to check on them every once in a while.@Tom Keith -Will do. I am hoping to get something out of it. If nothing else, it will be a learning experience.@Jeff B. -The tenant still had a good job with good income when the papers were served, so I am hoping for the best.@Corey Arnemann -Those are great tips! I always would prefer to be more proactive than reactive. I will just hope for the best and keep you all updated. Like I said above, it will be a learning experience if nothing else.