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I'm currently out-of-state and using a property manager to manage a house in FL. The tenant ended up not paying last few months rent along with trashing the house (ruined several rooms in the house). Of course, he did not leave a forwarding address. The worst part about this is that the individual can easily be found on social media.
What are my options now? Find his address and take him to small claims court? It's simply a matter of principle now, as I loved that house and took great care of it.
Follow the laws of Florida in regards to holding the security deposit for damages, then go to small claims court for additional damages with everything documented. You are paying a property management company so have them do it. I am sure they have before.
Follow the laws of Florida in regards to holding the security deposit for damages, then go to small claims court for additional damages with everything documented. You are paying a property management company so have them do it. I am sure they have before.
True, but the tenant did not leave a forwarding address. The damages exceeded the security deposit.
I'm sorry to hear about your loser tenant. We have rentals and have had our share of sad stories. We had one that was really bad and we took the tenant to court for the back rent due plus the damages. We had to follow a legal process which cost more money to hire to the sherriff to deliver the papers. We finally evicted her and she left mountains of trash at the house. Luckily with a little detective work we found out where she was now living so we could provide a address for her to be served. While she was in our house we found the tenant on facebook and she was having parties all the while we were paying for it. It was a long road and 2 trips to the courthouse but we were finally able to reach an agreement through a mediator. Not that she has been living up to her end so we will probably be heading back to court. What was really upsetting was we found out that she was bouncing checks all over the place and there is a difference between goods and services. The law will go after you if you bounce a check for goods but give you a pass if it is for services which renting falls under. In some states the lousy tenant actually has more rights than the landlord and I believe this is to prevent slum lords. The book of renters rights in Mass. is about 400 pages whereas the landlord rights is 100.
I don't know the rules in Florida, you should consult a attorney to find out what you can do. Sadly in most cases it isn't worth it but to pick up the pieces and be more careful next time you rent.
The tenant ended up not paying last few months rent ......
What are my options now?
Sue the Property Management Company (PMC) for the rent and damages as they FAILED in their duty to you. The PMC should have served a Pay or Quit Notice and followed with the eviction process the first time they were late with the rent. Either the PMC is a clueless useless waste thats been scanmming you out of your money or someone with the authority to do so (property owner) authorized them to NOT take legal action. Which is it?
Sue the Property Management Company (PMC) for the rent and damages as they FAILED in their duty to you. The PMC should have served a Pay or Quit Notice and followed with the eviction process the first time they were late with the rent. Either the PMC is a clueless useless waste thats been scanmming you out of your money or someone with the authority to do so (property owner) authorized them to NOT take legal action. Which is it?
This makes sense! -- What does one pay a 'Property Management' company for, if not to 'manage' the property (eg; collect rent, conduct maintenance/repairs, keep an eye on renters, initiate legal actions). Unfortunately, you probably signed a 'CYA PM Contract' which absolves them of any real responsibility. --- Such is the often high cost of gaining experience.
Every time I see one of these posts it just adds another brick in my don't use a PMC rule. I am sure there are some good PMCs out there. Trouble is for every good one nine are worthless IMO.
Every time I see one of these posts it just adds another brick in my don't use a PMC rule. I am sure there are some good PMCs out there. Trouble is for every good one nine are worthless IMO.
Agreed, but, if one is renting/leasing distant property on a remote basis, there are not a lot of alternatives. One can hardly travel back-and-forth to manage the property themselves.
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