Victory after tenant trashed apartment!

[Amy A.]

I recently made some tenants move out of their 2 bedroom apartment because they were allowing their dogs to urinate all over the floors and carpets. The downstairs neighbor said he'd never seen them take their dogs out in a year. The smell was incredible, burned my throat when I went in there! I also found a drug pipe in their apartment, so I think they were often too stoned to care. I had to rip out the flooring and some underlayment and seal the entire subfloor with Kilz.

The tenant soaked the apartment in deodorizer and thought she'd get her deposit back. I never told her she would not, just that I would send her a statement. Once I had a quote from my contractor for a new floor, I sent her a statement with the charges she owed and a summons to small claims court. Since she thought she was getting a check, she signed for the certified mail and saved me the cost of having her served by the sheriff.

Her mom promptly called to argue with me about it and told me she had nothing so I'd never collect. I told her that I wanted it on her record so she could never do this to another landlord. Next, they offered me $2000 (the total was $5500). They said to take that or she'd declare bankruptcy and I'd get nothing. Very cocky. I didn't respond so they called me again to offer more. We settled at $2500, which she would get from her grandmother. I had her sign a statement that the boyfriend is responsible for the remainder, so it'll help when I file against him.

Yesterday I got the bank check! I would rather they had not trashed the apartment, and I'm making no profit from this settlement, but feel satisfied that justice was served with this tenant. Everybody told me not to bother with small claims court, but it really worked for me, and I didn't even have to go to court!
I just wanted to share my little victory story, they seem rare these days.

[John Thedford]

Glad to hear you got some compensation. BTW...many people think small claims court is not worthwhile. I live in SW Florida and used to do small loans. I hardly ever let anyone beat me out of money without filing a suit. I did this by myself because the attorneys wanted to soak me dry regardless of the outcome. Anyways, depending upon your state laws, you can often seize property from the debtor after receiving a judgement and doing the proper paperwork. I only went after their vehicles. It is amazing how many got a conscience and paid me off once their vehicle was seized by the sheriff dept:) On top of that, in FL if they wanted to pay the amount after their vehicle was seized I also received an additional $500 liquidation fee. On a judgement where they owed me $300 I would receive over $800 after interest and the liquidation fee. If you need to use small claims, check your state laws regarding recovery. I never used an attorney for this--did the work myself. It was really quite easy...and sometimes when I tell people this story they can't believe I had peoples car seized for a debt even though I didn't have a lien on it. Look in you legal notices for sheriffs sales and often times they are selling items to help a creditor collect. Small claims can be worthwhile!