Debt collection success stories

[Nat C.]

Let's talk about debt collection. It's a prevalent topic now more than ever because many states are letting tenants stay in our investment properties for free and taking away the landlord's right to evict.

I've noticed that many landlords don't sue for unpaid rent or damages after an eviction. I believe the general belief seems to be that you'll never collect on those debts anyway.

I would like to hear some success stories of landlords who did get a judgment order against a tenant and were able to garnish wages, bank accounts or something else. 

You may not recover the money immediately but even if it's years down the track, it's worthwhile. More importantly, these people who I basically think are scammers, will be held accountable for their actions.

If you do have a success story to share, please do include the step by step action you took, so the community can learn something. 

[Darius Ogloza]

On the few occasions we have had to deal with it, we generally try to negotiate a resolution rather than going through with a forcible eviction.  As we tend to rent to higher quality tenants who care about their credit and references, this method tends to work bet.  In exchange for avoiding eviction and reducing the amount owed, we have the tenant sign a promissory note reflecting the agreed upon rent that will be owed with a reasonable interest rate and a higher rate in the event the obligation is not paid.  The note also requires that the tenant cover the costs of collection, including a reasonable attorneys' fee.  Using this method makes collection far easier.