Quote from @Richard F.:
I am not clear what you mean by "second cause", probably a difference in the legal process in your state. Nonetheless, we have typically had to file two separate cases, one for possession, the other for a money judgment. They were usually handled at the same time, just two different results. The first one would cause the Sheriff to physically set the Tenants and their property out, usually within about 10 days of the hearing, but in Tenant friendly states these can get postponed by the Tenants if they are creative. I had one fake a heart attack, EMS was called out and took the Tenant to hospital. Setout was postponed another 10 days, Tenant was back on property in about 4 hours. The money judgment becomes a separate "public record" that also hits their credit. Depending on the Tenant you MIGHT see a random check in the mail a few years down the road. Basically, if they are on the downhill side of life with lots of problems, no job, bad record with the law, etc. they are not likely to land a decent job and work their way out of the abyss. BUT, if they are just young and dumb, there is hope...hope that one day they will want to buy a home, or get a nice car, but that darned credit report is causing them problems. So, they make payment. You do have to renew those every 7, or maybe it is 10, years, and they will remain on the credit report until cleared. Just be sure you have an attorney or collection company that is monitoring it, and that they have your current contact info.
Thank you for your detailed response @Richard F. Greatly appreciated. Yes you are correct that second cause is a money judgement. In my situation this is the last month of lease ending July 31. It is most unlikely that an eviction court date will come up until early August. If the tenant has already vacated by then, the eviction process will not move forward. Assuming they leave me with some costs large enough to justify a money judgement, can this process be pursued independent of the eviction process? Since my property is not high rental value, I need to consider whether the costs and hassles of the court process are justified vs just taking a hit on possible clean out/repair costs and moving on. Thank you.
