Tenant didn't pay rent - evicted. Still owes money

[Naji Ray]

Hi all. I have a property that was on rent for over a year with the same tenant. The tenant was usually late in paying rent in the last few months but still used to make payment during first or second week of the month. Then one month the tenant didn't make any payment. I tried to contact them (tenant and cosigner) via emails, calls, and none of those were answered. After waiting for a month and a half of no rent, I started the eviction process and the tenant didn't show up at the court either so I got the decision of eviction by default and got my property back in posession. However almost two months rent was not paid, no notice was given, lease was terminated and tenant left the property with all the junk & some broken furniture. Can you suggest that what option do I have now to recover the unpaid rent or reporting it to their credit scores?

[Cory J Thornton]

@Naji Ray - Getting payment out of tenants who were evicted is a time consuming and often fruitless effort. If there was a co-signer on the lease who had a decent credit score, then that would be the person I target. Usually I will make a few collection attempts, send a notice to all signers saying that if I don't receive payment then I am turning the debt over to a collections agency. If they end up getting turned over to a collection agency, then that's going to show up on their credit along side the eviction. 

I know Hunter Warfield is one collections agency that will work to collect on past due or unpaid rents. I am sure there are other agencies that have similar specializations. 

Even if I have to give up half of the amount collected to the agency, it's better than nothing and it's worth the time to focus on more positive endeavors with a better chance of seeing a return. 

Every poor tenant or collection experience I have ends up making me that much better at identifying tenants who will be dependable and take care of the home they lease. 

I hate that you're having to deal with this situation. Learn what you can, and hopefully you can eliminate some future headaches. 

If you find a solution that leads to positive results, be sure to let everyone know. 

Best of luck!