All Forum Posts by: Joseph Montes

Yeah, that is probably the most ideal scenario. Do you think I could arrange this myself between them without the need to get a lawyer involved?

Hi, I'm in a sort of weird situation with a land contract I'm trying to complete. The person I'm selling my property to has fallen on hard times and hasn't been able to pay me the last few months. Prior to this, they paid consistently. There is only a little over $3k left (a significant amount to me, but not enough worth trying to take him to court).

The odd part of this situation and where my question arises is that his mother is offering to pay what's left under the auspicious that I will not tell him she did so. She's afraid that if he knows he won't pay her back since he's down on his luck right now. She asked that if she does that I could just send her the deed. I already told her my contract is with her son. I don't want him to get upset and potentially have him take me to court if he finds out.

She's actually agreed to pay me the sum and let me hold the deed until she's gotten him to pay her back. She only asked if I could give her something notarized in writing to prove she paid. Am I still taking a risk if I go this route? I figured worst comes to worst I just send my land contract buyer the deed. I very much want to get out of this property and the finish line is in sight. Is there any other creative solution I'm missing?

Thanks for your help.

Hey, @Kurt K. thanks for the info. I read the same last night about small claims. It seems like there are a lot of steps, but think I'd have a pretty straightforward case, given that I have court documents they signed that admit they did not pay me, and that it would be feasible to collect from them.

An alliterative would be trying to bring a claim in circuit court with a lawyer. Has anyone attempted this?

Thanks @Aaron Montague . That's good to know that they can work a percentage basis. Do you or anyone else know how the collection happens afterward?

@Rob K. the judgement was written so that no money judgement was entered "at this time" and also acknowledged the amount of rent owed at the time (which they signed a statement acknowledging) and that the defendant may be liable for money damages after moving if additional rent is owed or there was damage to the property. It seems like I may still be able to go after them.

To begin this process would I seek out a lawyer or collection agency or both? Do you know if fees for hiring a lawyer might also be collected to offset the cost? Thanks for your help.

@Chris K. Wouldn't that be nice!

Hello BP community,

In January, I made a post (http://goo.gl/B42l3t) detailing the woes I’d encountered while trying to wrangle payments from the two tenants in my 3BR SFH in Lansing, MI. It’s March now and, after stumbling through the court system & getting a writ of eviction issued, the tenants have finally vacated the property, leaving behind a mess of their junk.

My question to the community: is it worth trying to go after them in small claims to get the money I lost as a result of this process?

Here’s a short list of what I might try to claim:

1. Rent: $2,250 for three months or $3,000 if March can be counted, although I don’t know which day they left. Regardless, the unit won’t be ready this month.
?2. Legal & court costs: $700
?3. Cost to rekey, remove their junk, and clean up (including labor): about $300
4. There may be additional repair costs from letting the pipes freeze

The total payment I might seek would be around $4,000 or more, which may not be much for some but would be big for me. Of course, the $750 security deposit I collected will also factor in. I don’t know where the tenants (a couple) have gone & do not have much info about them. I do know, however, that at least one works so there may be potential there to garnish wages.

So, do you think it’s worth it? Have you dealt with this before? How do you do it? I plan to research this thoroughly myself, but wanted to hear from experience first. Thanks for your help.

Joseph

Does anyone have someone they'd recommend to help prepare taxes in the Chicago area? Traditionally, I've used used TurboTax, but wanted to try having someone help me given that I bought my first property in this tax year. Thanks in advance for your help!

@Samson C. thanks for the suggestion. i'll reach out to you if i do have to go so far as removing them from the premises.

@Joe G. maybe this one will work (see above).

thanks, Rob K.

@Joe G. i think the linking failed in my reply back to you (above).