How do I find out where my evicted tenants moved to?

John UnderwoodPro Member

Investor · Greer, SC · Member since 2014 · 13k+ posts · 17k+ votes

7y

Often you are throwing good money after bad and will never see a dime from them.

I charge a larger deposit than just one month rent and this seems to have help prevent these type situations for me.

Greg M.

Rental Property Investor · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2017 · 2k+ posts · 5k+ votes

7y

Contact the Post Office. They have a service for getting you the forwarded address. This is cheap, but only works if the tenants put in a change of address with the USPS.

Marc Winter

Real Estate Broker · Northeast PA · Member since 2017 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes

7y

First a few questions: how often was the property inspected during the tenant's occupancy? Who was listed as an emergency contact on their rental application? How long is the eviction procedure in your location? How well did you screen these people?

For some answers: you can do an FOIA request to the postmaster at the post office closest to your property. IF the tenants submitted a forwarding address, you will get that information. Many times a skipper won't give their next address--yours is probably not the only bill they ran out on.

You can subscribe to a skip/trace service. We use Experian TLOxp which will give you almost everything but the subject's blood type. Or you can hire a private investigator/skip tracing agency.

However, right now you are too emotionally involved in this matter to move on it. Take a deep breath, take a break and think it through. What will going after them really accomplish? Even if you can wring any money out of them (very doubtful) it won't pay for your costs in time, money and stress.

What I would recommend is spend another $50--75 to record the judgment in your County records office so that other landlords can be notified about these thieves and vandals. If we all did this, we all would be better off.

AND, sometimes a tenant is ready to buy a house themselves, and their representative will be calling you asking you to settle the judgment so they can close on their property.

That happened to us this week. Nope, not very often, but hey, ya neva know.

12 Reply

OP

Realtor · Charleston, SC · Member since 2017 · 116 posts · 88 votes

7y

@Marc Winter interesting. He posted on social media that they are moving then will be buying a house. The judgement has been filed with the courthouse, so hopefully that will stop them.

Thanks for all the tips everyone! I appreciate the help!

Thomas S.

Member since 2016 · 13k+ posts · 12k+ votes

7y

If you are lucky enough to know where they work all you do is follow them home. Defiantly file in small claims, it will screw up their lives going forward, and they often come back to settle and clear their records.

Pat L.

Rental Property Investor · Upstate, NY · Member since 2012 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes

7y

Originally posted by @Sarah Young:

@Marc Winter interesting. He posted on social media that they are moving then will be buying a house. The judgement has been filed with the courthouse, so hopefully that will stop them.

Thanks for all the tips everyone! I appreciate the help!

Buying a house!! A judgement could screw that plan. We had an old judgement for a water bill & a months rent that ran for several years collecting interest & we had our collections guy on it. Then one day they wanted to buy a home & we received a complete payoff.

OP

Realtor · Charleston, SC · Member since 2017 · 116 posts · 88 votes

7y

This is how I’m feeling. It’s the principle. If they had left nicely, none of this would be happening, but because they decided to do all this damage, I just can’t roll over and let it go. I’m not as concerned with the money as I am with justice. If a judgement will stop them going forward, that’s what I’ll do.

I’ve spoken with a PI in the town they are moving to and it would not be difficult or expensive to track them down. I tried calling USPS to get their forwarding address, and they said giving out people’s addresses is strictly forbidden. 🤷♀️

Greg M.

Rental Property Investor · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2017 · 2k+ posts · 5k+ votes

7y

Nope. It's called Return Service Requested. The basics is that you send a letter to the tenant at the old address with Return Service Requested. Since there is a forward on file with USPS, the USPS returns the mail to the sender with a sticker on the letter with the new address on it.

5 Reply

Dennis M.

Rental Property Investor · Erie, PA · Member since 2018 · 6k+ posts · 9k+ votes

7y

I’d fire your pm while your at it . Yet Another reason to self manage

Bob B.

Investor · Jasper GA · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes

7y

If they are able to buy a house then they have decent credit and income you will probably be able to collect on a judgment one day. I'd send them their required notice for damages and rent to the current address with the notation to forward and address correction noted. When you find them then file the judgment in the county they reside and it will become a lien on their home. Then go after their wages.

Steve K.

Realtor · Boulder, CO · Member since 2016 · 3k+ posts · 5k+ votes

7y

@Sarah Pursell Sorry this happened to you. Have you considered hiring a collections agency? May be a lot less expensive than Magnum PI and Perry Mason. One thing I always do when going separate ways with problem tenants is to inform them before move out that if they cause any damage I will not only keep the full security deposit but also send them to collections for every penny of damage, which will wreck their credit and limit their ability to rent an apartment ever again, and if the property is vandalized I will press criminal charges. I know it’s unlikely the cops will do anything (not a top priority for most departments) but the tenants probably don’t know that and the warning usually works. They just leave poop in the toilet instead of urinating on the carpet.

OP

Realtor · Charleston, SC · Member since 2017 · 116 posts · 88 votes

7y

@Steve K. Thank you for that suggestion. I hadn’t thought about a collections agency. Do I need a judgement to use them?

I also hadn’t thought of reporting the vandalism to the police. They kicked in a door, had their kids draw all over the walls with Sharpies, left dirty diapers all over, the new carpet is saturated with urine, there are holes in the wall, and they obviously intentionally threw their trash all over the house and land. (I went to the property the day we had the court hearing for the eviction and saw no trash on the land. They emptied the dumpster and spread it all over the land before they left). They left exploded food in the freezer and microwave. I have friends who are cops in this town...I may call one tomorrow to see if I have any recourse. I already had a repair guy out there all day today fixing things, but cleaners can’t come until this weekend, so might be good to have them see the property while it’s still looks (and smells) horrible.

Robert Fornwalt

New Boston, MI · Member since 2016 · 54 posts · 31 votes

7y

if you can find their new address I would forward all photos and information to their new landlord.

Hubert Kim

Property Manager · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2017 · 216 posts · 110 votes

7y

You will need a court judgement to use a collections agency. It is an option, but depending on the specifics of the circumstances, collections agencies may or may not be a very good option in terms of collecting money.

I could be wrong, but I don't believe the police will assist, as evictions are civil matters and not criminal.

I suggest to ensure good documentation of all the damage, written and photographed. If your conscience demands it, try all of the above and you never know, but you might gets results. The action of filing a small claims complaint may worry them into reaching out to you and trying to settle. Good luck!

Todd Powell

Rental Property Investor · Corvallis, OR · Member since 2018 · 840 posts · 1k+ votes

7y

@Sarah Young boy, do I know the feeling. I took a chance on a section 8 one time ! She changed within months. Got hooked on meth, lost 70 pounds, lost her 5 year old son, changed my locks, cops calling me, tenants near her wanting to move and first time in 12 years I had to hire a lawyer to evict.

I won in court but she then stabbed two women and got arrested so the Sheriff could not arrest her. All .org this true and it happened last year on April Fools day! Her friends then trashed the place. I was emotionally wrecked by Danielle! My regret was I did not pay the attorney the last fees to put judgement on her, but I knew I would never see the money. Furthermore, I was $7000 in the hole from lost rent, attorney costs and rental damages.

I ALWAYS screen harder now and she is serving 8 years in prison. My one horror story in 12 years in RE ! I hope your people want to buy a house and you can recover from them

Amy Beth

Rental Property Investor · Edison, NJ · Member since 2016 · 753 posts · 565 votes

7y

@Sarah Pursell. Wait a few weeks and look online. House sales are typically listed online but take a few weeks to post. Usually the local news paper will say so and sold their house at this address to so and so for a certain price. The tax records also will show it. So keep googling the names and the new city or town they moved to until it pops up.

OP

Realtor · Charleston, SC · Member since 2017 · 116 posts · 88 votes

7y

@Amy Beth They aren’t buying a house right now. They’re moving in with his sister in Albuquerque so they “can save money and buy later this summer”. He posted this publicly on his FB page, so it was easy to figure out where they are going (and their plans to buy). I’m going to keep checking his FB because he gives a lot of info out there! Lol

I’ve also figured out who all his sisters are because his son has a bunch of aunts listed under his FB page. I’ve narrowed it down to two Aunts because all the others live in a state outside of NM. The PI I spoke with yesterday recommended a website to find out more, but you have to pay for the report, I’m thinking I may want to wait a bit until they are settled and have forwarded their mail.

Steve K.

Realtor · Boulder, CO · Member since 2016 · 3k+ posts · 5k+ votes

7y

Originally posted by @Sarah Young:

@Steve K. Thank you for that suggestion. I hadn’t thought about a collections agency. Do I need a judgement to use them?

I also hadn’t thought of reporting the vandalism to the police. They kicked in a door, had their kids draw all over the walls with Sharpies, left dirty diapers all over, the new carpet is saturated with urine, there are holes in the wall, and they obviously intentionally threw their trash all over the house and land. (I went to the property the day we had the court hearing for the eviction and saw no trash on the land. They emptied the dumpster and spread it all over the land before they left). They left exploded food in the freezer and microwave. I have friends who are cops in this town...I may call one tomorrow to see if I have any recourse. I already had a repair guy out there all day today fixing things, but cleaners can’t come until this weekend, so might be good to have them see the property while it’s still looks (and smells) horrible.

Most collection agencies will want a judgement but there are some out there that will work without one. In my one instance using collections I didn’t have a judgement and collections took it on a contingency basis anyway (they had a relationship with my PM). They made one stern phone call to the tenant warning about garnished wages, wrecked credit, etc. and the tenant agreed to make voluntary payments until the debt was paid in full so it worked in that case. I thought you had a judgement? As far as getting cops involved, if you have friends that are cops there it could be worth it. Typically they’re too busy for stuff like this and it can be hard to prove the tenants themselves did the vandalizing without witnesses. They can be responsible civilly but not guilty criminally (think OJ Simpson). There are some old threads on here written by ex-cops about it. But like I said if you know officers in the area definitely worth a try, maybe they can do something and if nothing else at least a criminal report helps the civil side of things. Also if you can get the tenant to admit they did it maybe that changes things. Document everything!!

Patti RobertsonBusiness Member

Property Manager · Virginia Beach, VA · Member since 2016 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes

7y

On my rental application my tenants give me permission to do background and credit checks for the initial approval and for purposes of enforcing any lease that is signed. If yours does too, wait a few months then rerun their credit. If they have updated their address with any creditors the new address will pop up on their report.

757-472-2547

10 Reply

Account Closed

Investor · Milwaukee, WI · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes

7y

Originally posted by @Patti Robertson:

On my rental application my tenants give me permission to do background and credit checks for the initial approval and for purposes of enforcing any lease that is signed. If yours does too, wait a few months then rerun their credit. If they have updated their address with any creditors the new address will pop up on their report.

Now that's clever.

Patti RobertsonBusiness Member

Property Manager · Virginia Beach, VA · Member since 2016 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes

7y

Originally posted by @Account Closed:

Originally posted by @Patti Robertson:

On my rental application my tenants give me permission to do background and credit checks for the initial approval and for purposes of enforcing any lease that is signed. If yours does too, wait a few months then rerun their credit. If they have updated their address with any creditors the new address will pop up on their report.

Now that's clever.

I like to think of it as Professional!

757-472-2547

OP

Realtor · Charleston, SC · Member since 2017 · 116 posts · 88 votes

7y

@Patti Robertson I do have that permission! Thanks for the tip!

I filed a report with the police for Vandalism. The deputy I spoke with thinks we may have a criminal case. If not criminal, the report can be used for a civil case.

I also called my insurance agency and vandalism by tenants is excluded.

2 Reply

Wesley W.

Rental Property Investor · The Vampire State · Member since 2013 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes

7y

Here's a trick I have successfully used that I got off a blog called "The Dark Park":

In Section 507 of Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service Domestic Mail Manual, I found Exhibit 1.5.1 which is titled, “Treatment of Undeliverable First-Class Mail, First-Class Package Service and Priority Mail”. There are a number of options, but if you look at “Return Service Requested”, you will see that you can find out the new address without the addressee ever finding out.

All you have to do is mail an envelope to the person’s old address with “Return Service Requested” TYPED 1/2 an inch above the delivery address (handwritten will not always work). I enclosed a short letter because I wasn’t sure if this would work, but it was not necessary. After two weeks, I got the original letter back with the person’s new address printed on a yellow label. They have to have a forwarding address, or you will just get the letter back without any information.

That’s all there was to it. They guy has no idea I did this little bit of detective work and he will probably be shocked when he sees a letter from my attorney arrive in his mailbox. It didn’t even cost me anything.

4 Reply

OP

Realtor · Charleston, SC · Member since 2017 · 116 posts · 88 votes

7y

Thanks @Wesley W.! Very helpful detailed info! I appreciate it!