Ex-Tenant Wants to Pay Off Balance Over Time

[Joseph D.]

I have an ex-tenant that vacated a SFR last month. He left a major mess and only paid 1/2 of his last month's rent. Owes about $1700 between missing rent and damage/repairs (I've already deducted his security deposit). He has offered to pay $50 per month until the balance is taken care of. Does it make sense to accept this offer or should I open up a collections case? If I take the $50 per month for a few months and he stops paying will that make it more difficult to collect later on?

He was chronically late with rent but always paid eventually.  It's going to take a long time for him to pay this debt at $50 per month but I'm thinking at this point I'd be happy with anything I can get from him.