I always avoid pets at my multi family properties because it just leads to tenant drama (dog barking, dog poop, dog bit me, etc).

Collection companies and attorneys are paper pushers for the most part and have a bunch of bark but little bite.The companies that will actually get somewhere are the judgment recovery companies.

We Will Laugh SomedayThe wild experiences with tenants - the crazy excuses they give, the damage they do ...Then, there are the things that happen to the property - the repairs, the deterioration, the “normal wear and tear”, the relentless pests ...Add to this are the experiences with the neighbors – do those dogs bark while sleeping?

You have to go to The Barking Crab by the Seaport area, its the best seafood in town.

Seperate living spaces have been popular for decades and sell.As to the back, you won't need a full length lower deck or patio, but using bark or gravel along the length of the house nicely landscaped really sets the back entry off with a smaller area for BBQ and seating.Post some pics of the back, I'm sure you will get plenty of ideas.....

You're barking up the wrong tree by trying to change title to the property.What you're bumping into is "jump and dump".

I think in the 13+ years she was with us she might have barked 4 times.all cash

I don't really think rehab702 is necessarily always the case, but those people sure can bark the loudest...I am pretty certain that if I get a check from the govt, it's going into my Etrade savings acct and earning 5.05% APY.

If you're looking for quick returns then you shouldn't be barking up the SFR tree.

(this is usually NOT the best course of action)All the attorney will do is hire a collection company that has more bark than bite and rarely collects any money.The other option is to use a judgement recovery company.They usually pay the court costs and filing fees and then split 50/50 of whatever they recover.Sometimes they will buy the judgement outright for real cheap.In this case you get your cash right away and move on.Judgements depending on the smarts of the tenant can take 3 months to years to collect.Some tenants are judgement proof.This can happen when:1.The funds are retirement funds in a bank or social security where money can't be taken.2.The tenant works a job where their income is at a level where they cannot be garnished by Federal Law.Even when you can garnish you can only take 25% each time.If their are other judgements already garnishing then the 25% gets split up among the garnishments.85% of judgements never collect a dime because of the work involved.Even if the judgement company you employ chases the tenants for money the tenant may pay or they might just file BK if they have other debts.A chapter 7 costs thousands so it would depend on their other total debts and how much your judgement is for.This is why it is important to carefully screen tenants.They need to have good credit,a good job with long work history,etc. or something where you know you can collect if they default.If you have multiple tenants staying in one place and they all make minimum wage it will be hard to collect on them later versus one person showing great income.Hope it helps.