My tenants left me with a damaged house and unpaid
rent. From their applications, I have their social
security numbers. How do I go about finding them so I
can serve them (and then I will work on getting and
collecting the judgment, which I think I can handle
though I don’t have my fingers crossed). Total
documentable rent and damages is $5000+
Posted by John Merchant on August 29, 2010 at 11:15:28:
Here, in Puget Sound, we have a LandLord Ass’n or two that aggressively keep up with bad tenants by adding them to their “careful, better not” list and regularly disseminating that list to their members.
From personal experience I’ve come to believe the best strategy is careful screening BEFORE you accept any Tenant, as when they shaft the LL later on, it’s usually too late to do anything about it…and rarely worth suing or pursuing the bad T further.
The LL Assn’s do these screenings, including credit checks and most of us have learned its certainly worth the few bucks upfront to look at them hard upfront.
Re: evicted tenant gone - how to find them? - Posted by chi ming
Posted by chi ming on August 28, 2010 at 13:53:00:
I like using collection agencies because of the work
involved. My leases add their fee to what is owed. The
won’t file a lawsuit until they have identified whether
or not there is anything to be gained from it. When they
do, the cost gets added to what the deadbeat owes.