I need help in finding a deadbeat tenant

[Najia Safi]

Hello, I need some help in finding a deadbeat tenant that didn't pay past rent, broke the lease and left the propery in a total mess. This whole process has been a nightmare. Walls, carpets, two appliances, custom cabinets were heavily damaged. It has taken us over two months and thousands of dollars to get the property back to what it was. I really need some ideas/advice on how to locate them. I have already received a judgement for some of the damages and will be getting another one too. Any advice/help would be greatly appreciated.

[Bill Gulley]

Well, first off if you have a judgment against them you can post it! Post the name!

What do you know about them? Occupation? Did you get an emergency number for them? What information doyou have about them?
Do you remember them saying anything about what they did, kids in school, favorite places to go, clubs? IE. Ham radio operators, car clubs, cycling? Any unions?
Did they leave trash behind? Envelopes with return addresses from friends and family can be handy. Where did they shop? What were their interests?

You can, in some states, search the DMV for registrations. You could then file a lien on the vehicle. On my applications I always had make, year, model, color of vehicles and license #.

Since you have a judgment you can run a credit report, the new address might pop up after awhile.

You might ask the next time you go to court for the court to order the disclosure of the SSN (but you should have nad that) they probably have it as service was probably required.

People are creatures of habit, begin with what you know. Ask neighbors who came over to visit, they may have a friend around who knows. This is where pretexting comes in. If they know you, get someone else to do this for you and canvas the area. I have said that I had a lawn mower, a ring or something of value that needs to be returned to them.

A PI will have some other sites that are available to them, insurance reports, utility records, and name-address cross referrences and more in public records.

Since there was so much damage, and you have judgments and seeking another, I'd ask the prosecutor's office about criminal charges, that will open the doors. Good luck