Tenants Trashed SFH on their way out

[Nicole DeLeon]

Hello,

We recently had tenants move out, and in 10 years and 8 properties, we've never seen anything like this. The home is large, so there was a large deposit and a pet deposit totaling $2400. There were flies everywhere, actual pet poop all over one room, and evidence of more pets than allowed as seen by abandoned property everywhere. The 800-junk bill alone was $1100. They left half their belongings behind, food and even alcohol. Every drain and toilet was clogged. The A/C was barely functional and required an over $2000 repair due to mold. Needless to say, it was disgusting, and I don't know how people live this way. The place needed paint and carpet along with a LOT of other TLC. The total to get this place back into rentable form was $18,000.

Of course, they refused to give us their forwarding address. Although we have several properties, this is not our main occupation. We both work at other jobs. Our property manager isn't a full-time manager. She just helps us rent the homes. But I think we're going to need help here.

The limit for small claims in this county is $10K. Do we hire a lawyer to get a judgment? Are there collection agencies that specialize in this sort of thing? Any recommendations?

[Chris Seveney]

Quote from @Nicole DeLeon:

Hello,

We recently had tenants move out, and in 10 years and 8 properties, we've never seen anything like this. The home is large, so there was a large deposit and a pet deposit totaling $2400. There were flies everywhere, actual pet poop all over one room, and evidence of more pets than allowed as seen by abandoned property everywhere. The 800-junk bill alone was $1100. They left half their belongings behind, food and even alcohol. Every drain and toilet was clogged. The A/C was barely functional and required an over $2000 repair due to mold. Needless to say, it was disgusting, and I don't know how people live this way. The place needed paint and carpet along with a LOT of other TLC. The total to get this place back into rentable form was $18,000.

Of course, they refused to give us their forwarding address. Although we have several properties, this is not our main occupation. We both work at other jobs. Our property manager isn't a full-time manager. She just helps us rent the homes. But I think we're going to need help here.

The limit for small claims in this county is $10K. Do we hire a lawyer to get a judgment? Are there collection agencies that specialize in this sort of thing? Any recommendations?

 1. I would have filed an insurance claim for vandalism

2. I would get an attorney and do a judgment. I just did it with a property we own as they moved out in middle of winter, left the windows open and pipes froze and destroyed the place. We got the judgment and now have a hearing. It also will alert other landlords when they pull credit they will see the judgment and if smart look into what it is about.

3. Yes there are tons of collection agencies, in some states you an even garnish wages. Be advised a collection agency will take a percentage.