Real Estate Broker · Naples, FL · Member since 2013 · 9k+ posts · 6k+ votes
Wasn't sure where to post this. Former tenant yanked me around. I got a judgement for over 4K. The though occurred to me today: if he passes away, would his estate have to pay me off?
Don't assume that a former tenant that couldn't pay the rent, actually has an estate that can pay off any outstanding debts. If they don't own a house, their car might have a monthly payment, and they might not own much of value.
Agree with Michaela. If they can't afford the rent, when they pass they will likely leave a lot of debt. Fortunately for their family (unfortunately for you), if there are no secured assets, any debt they have dies with them. A vehicle or home can be repossessed as they are secured debts. However, if they rack up $50K in credit card charges and have a house full of electronics, that stuff simply belongs to the family and the CC company has to write off the debt as uncollectable. That's why they have outrageous interest rates to cover these eventualities.