do you want conjecture or the real steps?

Give the details. Did they just skip? Didi you know they were planning on leaving? Did they GIVE the keys because it sounds like they left and you just walked into the unit.

Someone who skips that has a lease-- they owe the remainder of the months on the lease---- BUT the LL must try re-renting to mitigate the damages incurred to the tenant. If the tenant is on month to month-- they owe the month they skipped and the next month (30 days)) for improper notice to leave.

If LL's would file with the court (yes it costs money) you HAVE dinged their credit. It's public record.

As others have said #1 get your property back making you income. Going after the deadbeat is secondary--

It depends, and unfortunately there isn't a lot of info here to go off of.

My overall take is "yes, it absolutely makes sense." But you have to be willing to do the work.

It all starts with a few basic concepts:

1) Is the tenant collectable? Can you garnishee wages in your state? Does the tenant receive wages from a W-2 job or are their only sources of income judgment proof (social security, most pensions, etc)? If they are self-employed or mainly tipped employees, that's hard (but not impossible) to collect.

2) Do you know where the person is to get them served court papers? In my state, you cannot obtain a money judgment without personal service of papers. A skip trace service might be able to help find them if you have enough information, like birthdate and last 4 of their social security number.

Step 1, find them.

Step 2, serve them papers.

Step 3, obtain money judgment.

Step 4, collect on judgment.

By filing a judgment with a collector, they will appear on the tenant's credit report. There's one such service here on the Mr. LL site as a sponsor. Be aware most collectors charge a fairly hefty fee (30-50%), but as I remind folks it's better to get 50% than 0%.

Go get what's owed to you!

Sid I would like to remind you and all here. There is no reason you can't add the collection fee equal to what an outside company would charge when you do this yourself.

Was the person who skipped out on you actually collectable? If you don't think they have a job and they are living in a fringe underground life style where they are in hiding - you might be better off reviewing your screening processes.

Depends on your state laws ... are they LL friendly of tenant friendly.

In MA collections is a game of adult "hide'n seek" I don't have time for. Can't serve them at work. Nobody to hand the "job" off to ... I offered my lawyer 50% of anything he could collect. He said "it's a waste of time in this state".

i can look up not only civil suits but criminal in my county and others. I can look at a pay check -- if it's real and see a collection taken out. I can look at court records and marry up old pay stubs, old dv license addresses. When i look up john Doe and there are several dispo's in the record I can marry up those and see pathos's and find my person.

ALL without spending one penny of the applicants app fee.

Funny I can see judgments also.

We don't need SS#'s to ID folks. donPA funny I can see a list of names on the court record and without even knowing it's my person just through this question out to them. Did you live at such and such address? or did you live here or there?

Last judge in my area made it a no-no to collect a judgement and have collections fees. I can have attorney fees but when I send to collections they get their third of whatever they collect.

It stinks because that was a hefty deterrent for the deadbeats. Court costs, attorney fees, damages AND then another 33% of what was owed added on for the collection agency. All this and 8% interest.

I file on anyone I need to now. Even if I can't collect on them because of BK, SSI, self employed or whatever excuse they have. This makes it easier for the next LL to see what is going on.

Have one deadbeat that went on disability and then stopped paying. I evicted her and the lawyer said well, that was money tossed away. Maybe six or so years went by and then she starts trying to contact me to pay up. Turns out she is trying to buy a house I think and they aren't fond of the judgement against her not being paid.

She must have lost the house deal because she didn't pay it all off but is paying maybe $20/mo toward it. At 8% interest she is going to be behind for some time.

I love collecting the money but I never expect to get it. Just makes me happy that they have to think about me every once in a while.