How do you report evictions and collect debt?

Question

I've had to evict several people in the past few months, how do you go about reporting that so other land lords know?

And is there a way to garnish wages or go about collecting that debt or will they just get away with not paying rent?

It's terrible to think that people could get away with something like this, all help and suggestions are appreciated!

Luke Miller · Answer

@Cody Furman how big of a property? You're in the commercial section of BP so I just assumed you were talking large multifamily. I can't really speak to that side since I will only use a third party property management company.

If you're working on small properties (SFH, duplex, triplex) I would use Cozy. I have used it in the past and it's a free tool that is a no-brainer for smaller landlords.

Matt Clark · Answer

@Lucas Miller here’s a good summary article: https://www.reliablebackgroundscreening.com/news-and-articles/industry-news/2017/06/act-eviction-judgments-disappear-credit-reports/

Luke Miller · Answer

@Matt Clark you're right. I should have said they show up during the background checks that I run. Background, includes criminal and credit. If something has gone to collections or there is a civil judgement, that's an obvious sign of an eviction.

What credit regulation are you talking about? Didn't hear about any new regulation.

Matt Clark · Answer

@Cody Furman, I think it’s worth noting- evictions don’t show up on a criminal background report like one of the other replies said. Evictions are a civil matter, not criminal.

Similarly, if there is a monetary judgement it no longer appears on a credit check due to credit regulations that took effect recently (I think it was mid 2018). It would only appear on a credit report if the debt was properly reported to the credit bureaus, and that’s usually done by a collections agency. That’s why it’s important to use a screening company that specifically offers eviction reports. They do that by aggregating and scraping public records of participating court systems, so it’s not 100% accurate. Not all court systems participate.

While we as landlords would like to warn other landlords, the onus is really on the other landlord to properly screen.

Some people have success garnishing wages, but it’s not guaranteed. I’ve gone through the process several times in years past and never received any payout. It just added to my time expense and actual expense due to service fees, filing fees, etc.

Michael Forbes · Answer

@Cody Furman - With a bigger building, it would serve you well to pay for a management software like Appfolio, Buildium, or Rentec Eirect (my choice). They have screening software built in. It's helped me tremendously.

George Hoover · Answer

@Cody Furman glad you are tackling this screening issue now.  I use Cozy for my 1 SFH rental and absolutely use the screening tool.  The credit and background check is your first line of defense along with the application itself.  If the rent is more than about 1/3 of their monthly income, I will usually pass.  You may also want to talk to their employer to not only verify employment, but to see if they are in good standing.

But for your 41 units, you may want to use Buildium.  We currently use that now as a property management company and it is a lot more robust.  You'll especially need it for your accounting, which will make your accountant happy.  It of course allows you to take electronic applications, screen tenants and offers an online portal for tenants, vendors and owners.

All the best!

Cody F. · Answer

@Lucas Miller I see,  yeah we have a 41 unit apartment complex.  We just purchased it back in August so it's been a sharp learning curve so far.  I've had 1 rental property for about 7 years now and it's been great because I've only had 2 tenants in that time that were low maintenance.  Unfortunately that didn't give me much experience, which I'm having to catch up on now.

Cody F. · Answer

@Lucas Miller thank you, do you have a recommended way to screen tenants? I used my smart move last time but it was expensive and didn't provide much detail

Luke Miller · Answer

@Cody Furman evictions show up on a criminal background check so if they were done properly, landlords who do background checks will see them.

Assuming they aren't on non-garnishable wages (SSDI, Child support, etc) you can go through a collections company. I recommend RD Fuller, but only because I know the guys that run it. Good luck!

How do you report evictions and collect debt?

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