Tenant gone AWOL

[Kush Khandelwal]

Weird situation I find myself in. 

I'm a remote landlord and recently placed a new tenant at my SFR in Macon, GA in August. Conducted standard due diligence (credit scores, income verification, prior references) and I talked to her multiple times.

She moved in August 16 as agreed. She however has not paid me any rent. She did pay the security deposit when we signed the lease but did not pay last month or this month’s rent. I typically collect rent via Hemlane, which has worked quite well so far. 

I have attempted to call an email her multiple times to remind her, but to no avail. She’s totally ghosting me now. 

What are my options? Should I start an eviction process? Or is there  simpler way. I’m remote so this makes it all a little stressful. 

[Theresa Harris]

Hop in the car or on the plane and go there to see what is going on.  Never hand over the keys until you have the deposit and the first month's rent.  The deposit should be collected when they sign the lease (or a good chunk of it) and that is held and non-refundable until they move in.  Once they move it, it becomes their security deposit.  Have you phoned or or talked to a neighbour to see if there is a car in the driveway?