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My grandmother had been renting out her home (she doesn't live there) in NY to a family who had always paid their rent on time, then they just vanished a week ago. They left the place clean, locked up, etc, but the problem is they had a few months left on their lease, which expired at the end of February.
She has their security, and they havent made an effort to collect it, but my grandmother is worried because it will be very hard to fill this rental with a new tenant this time of year.
When she spoke to the neighbors of the vanished ones they had said the people were friendly to them and had mentioned moving to Virginia, now my grandmother wants to know what recourse she has for any uncollected rent with people she can't find in another state. If it matters the sum involved is $6,600 (Dec-Jan-Feb), though it would really be $4,400 with the security I guess.
She also mentioned the guy was self-employed, so I don't think a wage garnishment would even be possible. And yes, she is actively seeking new tenants too.
Any advice on recourse she has is very much appreciated, we're not sure if the courts are an option in this case?
It's probably not worth it to go after them. You could file in your local Small Claims court (check your jurisdictional limit on monetary damages) for a pretty nominal fee and, if the tenant can't be found for service, then your grandmother would win by default. This would put a blemish on the tenant's credit report but it's highly unlikely your grandmother would ever see any money. Anything through the higher court system will cost an arm and a leg in attorney fees and, since you don't know where the tenant has moved to, rather a waste.
Be happy that they weren't behind in their rent and left the house clean, locked up and ready to re-rent. It could have been a LOT worse!
Crap, think you're right, from what I can see to sue in Westchester county NY the defendant must live or work in the jurisdiction, and theyre not here anymore, and the sum is too small for a federal court.
Well, if anyone else has any input we'd still appreciate it.
My grandmother had been renting out her home (she doesn't live there) in NY to a family who had always paid their rent on time, then they just vanished a week ago. They left the place clean, locked up, etc, but the problem is they had a few months left on their lease, which expired at the end of February.
She has their security, and they havent made an effort to collect it, but my grandmother is worried because it will be very hard to fill this rental with a new tenant this time of year.
When she spoke to the neighbors of the vanished ones they had said the people were friendly to them and had mentioned moving to Virginia, now my grandmother wants to know what recourse she has for any uncollected rent with people she can't find in another state. If it matters the sum involved is $6,600 (Dec-Jan-Feb), though it would really be $4,400 with the security I guess.
She also mentioned the guy was self-employed, so I don't think a wage garnishment would even be possible. And yes, she is actively seeking new tenants too.
Any advice on recourse she has is very much appreciated, we're not sure if the courts are an option in this case?
You could hire an investigator and try to track them down. Assuming that you had a rental application, you should have the names and addresses of family and friends who might give you a lead as to where they went. A good skip tracer could probably locate them with very little effort (people are very predictable).
Since I do not know the laws where you live, I can only tell you that in Missouri, the security deposit doesn't have anything to do with the rent. If the house was left clean and damage-free you would still OWE them the security deposit back regardless of the rent situation. You would have to sue for, and collect the full amount separately and independently of any desposits that you hold. Again, this is only true in Missouri so you will have to check on your state's laws about that.
You could hire an investigator and try to track them down. Assuming that you had a rental application, you should have the names and addresses of family and friends who might give you a lead as to where they went. A good skip tracer could probably locate them with very little effort (people are very predictable).
Since I do not know the laws where you live, I can only tell you that in Missouri, the security deposit doesn't have anything to do with the rent. If the house was left clean and damage-free you would still OWE them the security deposit back regardless of the rent situation. You would have to sue for, and collect the full amount separately and independently of any desposits that you hold. Again, this is only true in Missouri so you will have to check on your state's laws about that.
20yrsinBranson
Knowing where to send the security deposit to would certainly help with the rent situation.
In NY the security is either/or, meaning to cover damages or unpaid rent.
I don't think they will ask for the security back seeing as how if she can't fill the place they come out ahead financially.
The private investigator sounds like more trouble than its worth, the rental application just asked for a prior address, prior landlord and employer, which are old info and wouldn't lead anywhere (I didn't design the application, I would have been more thorough )
I wonder if they gave the post office a fowarding address and if so is it possible to find out what that address is?
To do this, you send a letter to the old address, and below the return address, print the words ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED. There is a fee for this, but it would get you the information you need.
To do this, you send a letter to the old address, and below the return address, print the words ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED. There is a fee for this, but it would get you the information you need.
This would only work if they left an address with the post office though right?
Make sure your grandmother sends the letter regarding the return of the security deposit to their last known address (the rental) CRRR within the alotted time. You would not want them to come back in six months and sue her for the deposit plus extras.
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