How to sue for back rent from a tenant

Question

I have evicted a tenant in florida and never collected a dime from him for 75 days.  I wanteda cashier's check after first month and security deposit bounced.  What can I do after eviction to collect the rent? He is working and can I garnish wages? :

Jon Holdman · Answer

You may be able to take him to small claims court.  Call or drop by the court and find out the process.

So now you know, first month rent and security deposit IN CASH before they get the keys.

Steve Babiak · Answer

We just got lucky on one at end of 2010.  Girl who was evicted and owed moey was getting married, and they wanted to buy a house I guess.  Paid judgment in full.

And a guy I know got really lucky last year.  He won judgments for possession and dollars.  He asked me what will happen next.  I said he is coming out as well as could be expected by most if he gets the keys back and their stuff all gets moved out.  On the day the sheriff was there to put the stuff out, he got paid in full in CASH.  Sometimes you just get lucky, but don't count on it.

Just Don · Answer

I havent collected a dime on any judgement I have had in last 20 years,,,I quit doing them wasting my time money and brain power.

First of all you have to have a valid address and place of employment before the sherrif will even atempt to serve summons in first place,,,if they move out of area not worth the hassle.

Will Barnard · Answer

Jon gave you very important advice. All deposits and 1st month's payments must be paid in cash, cashiers check, money order, or hold until personal check clears before giving out keys.

File small claims, win the case, they probably will not show. You have their bank info from the ckeck so you can have their account "raided" in many cases. (Check you state laws)
You can also contact a collection agency who will know exactly what you can & can not do to recover funds.

David Alyea · Answer

Thanks for your comments on this issue.  I'm owed $3,500 in rent, but my tenant moved from NC to NY.  I know she and her husband both have jobs, but they were supposedly having bank account issues.  I have the mother's name and address.  I have email contact with my tenant, but she won't give me her address (I have mail to forward to her since she just moved out 2 weeks ago).  On the plus side, she left the house in good shape.  Still, I'd like to pursue getting what's owed me.  Do you think it's worth my while having to find a valid address in NY and then getting her served?  My end goal is to work a settlement with her for like 60% and then release my complaint.

Joel Owens · Answer

Yep many judgments never collect.

Just like deficiency banks will go after a borrower sometimes and wait.

With both types they just pay an attorney to file and record it.You leave it alone and eventually one of 3 things will happen.They will file a BK.They will want to buy a house or clean up the credit and will offer to pay part of the balance for a release or pay in full.

So if the amount owed is substantial you pay the attorney to file and play the percentages on collection.

Bryan Hancock · Answer

I agree with Just Don...unless they damage things considerably I don't see how it is worth the time to get a judgement.  It may make you feel good, but good luck collecting blood from a turnip.

Steve Babiak · Answer

Pat's profile indicates gender to be female, so her is the word you wanted to use ...

Joel - nice detailed explanation!

Joel Owens · Answer

Mitch 2 years!! LOL Just kidding.

I would like to add cashiers checks,money orders etc. can be fraudulent as well !

Chase bank where I have my accounts will hold the cashiers check for so many days before crediting it.I wouldn't let any tenant move in until payment was verified.

Chase has told me they have even had social security checks bounce from the government.I am not joking...............

On what you can do to collect you first have to get a judgment.The in most areas you can go for a bank levy or a wage garnishemnt.

For the bank levy you cannot touch social security,pension,or retirement funds.If those are pulled out the money will be reversed back to their accounts and credited.

On a wage garnishment you can only collect up to 25% of income from their check and that's if they make over the federal poverty guidelines.If they don't make over the guidelines you can't do squat.

If they make over 25% that is the total that can be taken out period.So if 2 garnishments are before yours you get what is left over out of that 25%.Generally the people will not stay at the job and will move to an all cash job to avoid the garnishment or they will file BK.

There are collection companies that will buy the debt from you outright for very cheap or you can have an arrangement where they get so much of  a percent of whatever they collect and the rest is yours.

You can set it and forget it and put your time to other uses.Judgments are easy to get and very hard and time consuming to collect.

The moral of the story is to screen your tenants very wisely and make sure the money is in hand.When I sell stuff on Craigslist I only take cash and I have a pen to check the bills.

Some might call that over the top but I have never been scammed.Just like my friend said I was paranoid always looking for cops so I wouldn't get a ticket.

My driving record is perfect and he has 2 tickets in the last year jacking up  his insurance rates.

no legal advice

How to sue for back rent from a tenant

Most Popular Reply