Should I sue for back rent?

General Landlording & Rental Properties

Should I sue for back rent?

Member since 2019 · 55 posts · 55 votes

Hi everyone!

Just wanted some opinions on my current situation. I have a multi -unit home just outside of Boston ( SUPER TENANT FRIENDLY STATE). I live pretty close to the home and thought hey, I can handle this house, its in the next city over. WRONG !!!!!

Long story short, I rented out one of the Units back in June, and I had nightmare tenants from the start. They paid late the second month, made every excuse in the book. Paid late again the third month, I had to serve a Notice to QUIT both months. Now, in September they didn't pay at all! I literally could not deal with them and ending up hiring Property Management. They reserved another notice to quit, and they vacated on their own. Thankfully. The girl had a wicked attitude and demanded her security deposit back. Which obviously I have to return because it can only be used for damages.

Anyway, its obvious I got stuck with what they call "professional tenants". I'm tired of people getting away with not paying and the landlord having to eat the cost. Property management advised me that its not worth going to court over. Its not the lost rent that irritates me, it is the principle, that they do this to other land lords and ultimately get away with it. Should I sue them in small claims court, or is it really not worth pursuing? Thoughts?

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Rental Property Investor · Northern, CA · Member since 2012 · 5k+ posts · 5k+ votes

7y

Why do you say “obviously” you have to return the tenant’s security deposit because “it can only be used for damages”? Security deposits can be used towards unpaid rent, and that’s what you should be using this tenant’s security deposit for. Don’t let this professional tenant bully you into returning it if they legitimately owe you money for rent.

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Andrey Y.
Specialist · Honolulu, HI · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
6y
Originally posted by @Sharon S.:
Thank you @Kyle J. for finding all that information! It is incredibly confusing for me, because I have Property Management telling me I can't keep it - and others in the area who are telling me the same thing. Then, seeing information online saying that I can!

I tried consulting with an attorney in the beginning to serve my Notice to Quit's and they wanted to charge me a $3500.00 retainer just for the notices and first court date. I will try to consult with another on this matter.

I am going through the exact same thing as you. See my thread here:
https://www.biggerpockets.com/...
The first law firm I contacted said it costs $350 + a $2500 retainer. Then he said it would cost me $1500-2000 if they voluntarily left on their own, or up to $10,000 if they decided to fight in court. $10,000! Makes no sense because online it states that the average eviction in Hawaii costs $300-500.
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Ashley Byington
Rental Property Investor · Victor, ID · Member since 2017 · 51 posts · 31 votes
6y
@Sharon Steenbergen
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Angelo Mart
Professional · Parsippany, NJ · Member since 2013 · 384 posts · 262 votes
6y
Did you screen these "professional" tenants from the start? Either way it is not worth suing in small claims court unless it exceeds approximately $3000 (This is advise from my lawyer in past)
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Ray A Delfi
Rental Property Investor · Poughkeepsie, NY (Hudson Valley Area) · Member since 2019 · 188 posts · 102 votes
6y
@Sharon Steenbergen there is a black list out there for Tennant’s in my market. Join one of the land lord associations, your opinions matter. And yes it is not worth chasing them to Court. In my case it took six months to evict and didn’t get a dime, you are in a better position as your apartment t was in tact and you can focus your efforts to rent it out. While my apartment needed a full body suit and a shovel to clear out. I could have been on one of the hoarder shows. I can’t say take the loss, you had a decent turnover, could have been much worse.
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Quincy Lockett
South Holland, IL · Member since 2017 · 374 posts · 432 votes
6y
@Russell Brazil
That’s easier said than done. To get to class A property ownership Investors that are not ‘born of the manor’ have to struggle with class D and F properties to scale to the point where they can afford to purchase Class A properties.
I’d imagine that the poster can’t afford A Class properties at this point in her journey.
Only gluttons for punishment would purposely pursue D and F properties when they have better options.
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Dieudonne T.
Investor · Des Moines, IA · Member since 2019 · 62 posts · 17 votes
6y
@Sharon Steenbergen
my unprofessional advice is to not worry about other investors as it may be an important experience for new investors to learn why they should do proper tenant screening, i would hate to go through what you went through but hopefully you learned something from this that will help you in your future investments
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Brian Quimby
RI · Member since 2019 · 3 posts · 0 votes
6y
Congratulations @Sharon S.. You just got the best education money can buy! We had a similar situation the first time we rented our SFR. Tenant was a nightmare. Had to remove them with an eviction in court. Took weeks to clean out the unit (and they were only there about 3 months). Never got a dime from them except first and security. Made us rethink how we advertised, our criteria, our process for screening tenants. Now, when we put the unit up for rent, we can spot the "professional tenants" a mile away and have had the nicest sets of tenants for 5 years and running. They respect the property, pay on time, and most important - have given us proof that we need to get more units, not less.
In short - if they are now out of your life - leave them there!
Good luck!
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