Collection agency or attorney for non-paying tenant

[Jack Tou]

Hi all, new to the community here and thanks in advance for any advice.

My family got into commercial real estate 2 years ago with a small retail shop. The existing tenant has been a real PITA. We've tried to work with him but to this point he has accumulated 3 months of overdue rent (including late charges). The first 5 years’ lease term is coming up in June and he just missed this month’s rent again so I have had enough of this.

My question is if I hired an attorney to evict him right away I am afraid I cannot collect the missing rent:

1.A family friend told us from his experience that it will be difficult if not impossible to collect debt after the tenant was evicted.

2.The overdue rent exceeded the Small Court limit ($5,000???), not to mention the late charges and legal fees.

3.I am currently overseas on work assignment and difficult to attend to any court hearing or handling matters in person.

Is it advisable to first hired Collection Agency in attempt to recover the rent? Is not like I will be able to find an replacement tenant right away and meanwhile the current tenant is liable to pay rent under the lease agreement.