Eviction process in Virginia

[Melissa Crimp]

We are in the middle of the eviction process and I have so many questions. Court date is set for August 13, her lease ended on July 28 but she did not move out. We live in Utah, but just happen to be in VA and will be able to appear in court for this upcoming date. Assuming the judgement is in our favor (she owes 2.5 months of rent and is now a holdover), will we have to go back to court again to garnish wages? Do we have to know her current employer in order to garnish wages or is she required to give us that information?

I have the 5-day Pay or Quit, the eviction filing, a list of all payments made, a total of rent owed, a copy of the signed lease, pictures of text messages between us and the tenant. What else should I consider taking to court?

Thinking about the possibility of this happening again in the future (obviously not ideal, but always a possibility!) - how do out-of-state landlords deal with this? Hire an attorney to appear in court on our behalf? Can that cost be added to what the tenant owes us? 

Any words of encouragement, advice, experiences or just the cold hard truth are welcome! 

[Wesley W.]

Despite being able to attend the eviction, hire an attorney to quarterback this for you.  It will be money well spent and piece of mind.  If this gets thrown out on procedural issues (here in NY each tenant gets one free adjournment - and they all use them), you'll be back in Utah when this comes around again and be a couple months of revenue poorer.