First Eviction - Getting Money Back?

Question

Hey everyone -

Likely dealing with my first eviction; the tenant still has 3 days to pay before it gets filed with the court. Has anyone had any luck getting paid the money the tenant owes?

I'm not so concerned with removing the tenant, but she's going to owe a few thousand dollars from not paying her rent the last 2 months. Is there any way to actually recoup this money? Has anyone had any luck with garnishing wages, bank levy, debt collections, etc.

Mary See · Answer

How do you send them to collections?

Nathan Gesner · Answer

Kevin provides some good advice. My preference is to lead them out of the rental with a carrot rather than beating them with a stick (somewhat satisfying, but a lot of work and doesn't pay the bills).

When a tenant leaves owing money, I send them to collections and assume I'll never see a dime. I get the satisfaction of knowing it will sit on their credit report and perhaps prevent them from buying a house, scamming another Landlord, or maybe even qualifying for a Kohl's card. If I get paid, that's a bonus.

Laura Stayton · Answer

If you know where they work and have a judgment you can garnish their wages (in Delaware)

Bjorn Ahlblad · Answer

Getting a judgement is doable. Turning it into $ is a whole other story. Just focus on getting the tenant out and screening new applicants.

Kevin Sobilo · Answer

@AJ Cerbo, focus on getting them out and getting it rented back out! Depending on your state, it could take several weeks to months to get them out and if you are not proficient with the process it can take longer and be more costly. So, your making sure you handle that well will absolutely save you money!

How you are able to collect and whether wage garnishment is even possible depends on the state but its not easy nor does it have a high degree of success. In my state (PA), you can only garnish for owed rent and only those who earn enough. So, an entry level earner with children is likely immune to garnishment altogether. In addition its not a simple process and even if garnished you only collect a small amount each pay.

In my state the best hope is that they eventually want to buy a house and need to clear the judgement lien before they can get a mortgage to buy.

Your best chance at collecting may be to threaten garnishment etc and negotiate acceptance of a smaller amount to clear the debt. I would even negotiate not filing for the eviction.

For example "Pay 1 months rent and move out by October 1st and I will not evict or sue. That will allow you to have a clean record and not impact your ability to secure a good rental or affect your future ability to buy a home".

You are MUCH better off taking half and getting them out without going to court than evicting and trying to collect a judgement.

First Eviction - Getting Money Back?

5 Replies