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Not yet. I have checked the electricity online and there is no usage since couple days ago.
He stated:
If he says "KEEP DEPOSIT" it means to me that there is no need to return the deposit within 21 days. Correct?
No, as others have said. If you don't follow the law exactly as I explained, the tenant can come back and sue you for it and he'll win. Even if he left the place trashed. He'll just tell the judge that he didn't know the law and thought he had to let you keep it (or some other nonsense), but the law says you had to return it in 21 days, and now he wants it back.
But - because of your costs and the rent he will owe, you will probably get to keep it all anyway. Just do it right, or you can end up with none of it.
Just in case the reason you can't get the place rented for 3 months, is because you don't live nearby, that won't fly in court. The time it takes has to be reasonable for the market you are in - not your personal ability to find time to take care of things.
The lease that's included in that book I gave you a link for, is fantastic and written by CA lawyers. It's easy to read and not intimidating to tenants. The book is also easy to read and understand. I really think you should order it. I prefer a hard copy, but there is a digital version you can download immediately, too.
-He left the place trashed with his garbage.
-He damaged some walls with big hole as your fist get in.
-He stole Carbon Monoxide and Smoke alarm devices that we recently installed.
-He did not answer our text messages and email.
-He did not turn back the keys and remote for garage door opener.
There are 2 options:
1- Get professional help to sue him in hope to get the money back and give him a lesson.
2- Get over it, advertise the place, fix damages, throw away his garbage, clean and rent it out again.
So I want your honest opinion. Is it worth it?
What would you guys do if you were in my situation?
Do you want a different answer than you've already been given?
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1. Throw out the garbage
2. Fix the holes, keep the repair receipt
3. Replace the detectors and keep the receipts
4. So what
5. Rekey or replace the locks and buy a new remote door opener - keep the receipts
6. Take pictures of everything before doing any of the above.
What makes you think it's your place to "give him a lesson"?
Do as you have previously been advised, within 21 days, send by snail mailan itemized list of the repairs you've had to make, include copies of the receipts. Deduct that amount from the security/damage deposit. Send a bill for the rent for the month of February with the above and, if the damages are less than the security/damage deposit, return the balance of security/damage deposit to former tenant.
Get professional help to sue him for rent owed and hire a PM before renting again.
I agree. Just sue him in small claims court. You don't need a lawyer there. Include the cost for the process server to find him and your other court costs in your total claim.
If he doesn't show up, you win by default. You may never collect, but you will legally be able to keep the money you have and with a judgement, you have 10 years to continue to try to collect from him, and then you can renew it for another 10 years.
But, you still have to do the deposit procedure correctly, no matter what.
Do it right, file in small claims court for the balance due (if the money you have won't cover it).
And next time, spend the money to have someone screened thoroughly with landlord references, employment check, credit check, background check, eviction check, and google their name. Screen right and the odds of this happening again are minimized.
-He left the place trashed with his garbage.
-He damaged some walls with big hole as your fist get in.
-He stole Carbon Monoxide and Smoke alarm devices that we recently installed.
-He did not answer our text messages and email.
-He did not turn back the keys and remote for garage door opener.
There are 2 options:
1- Get professional help to sue him in hope to get the money back and give him a lesson.
2- Get over it, advertise the place, fix damages, throw away his garbage, clean and rent it out again.
So I want your honest opinion. Is it worth it?
What would you guys do if you were in my situation?
Get pics of everything. Document ALL correspondence, damages and lost revenue. Get repair quotes. Fix the place rerent it. Keep track of all the costs from repair cost to rerent cost. Then if it's worth it to you take all his info and start a lawsuit against him for the lost rent and the damage/repair costs. You will probably never see any money even if you win in court but you can jack his background checks. Judgements will Jack credit checks too.
Imo what I would do is make sure you have some more stringent tenant screening rules.
I got the place fixed and cleaned. I did all work by myself, so there is no invoice for labor.
I want to send the tenant an itemized list of the repairs and send him a bill for the rent for the month of February.
Do you guys have any sample for the list of repair how it should look?
Did you take photos of the damages?
Why would you not charge for labor? You're certainly legally entitled to do so and not doing so is totally unprofessional.
You simply send him an accounting of security deposit less deductions, listed one by one and the amount to fix. Add in the unpaid rent. In this case the amount due is going to be more than the security deposit so there will be monies due to you.
Give him 10 days to remit the balance. Send the accounting via return receipt certified mail.
If the PO returns the letter to you refused or undelivered, retain it unopened for your court hearing.
If the letter is returned and/or you don't receive the balance, go down to Small Claims Court and file your suit. Do not seek or have any further contact with your tenant unless he contacts you with an offer to pay in full and reimburse your court filing fee.
We are NOT going to go down to Small Claims Court and file suit. It's not worth the money and time because we won't see any money coming back.
Well, that settles that then. No chance you'll see him sending you a cheque for the balance due and since you've decided that taking the next obvious step of going to court isn't worth it, case closed.
Well, that settles that then. No chance you'll see him sending you a cheque for the balance due and since you've decided that taking the next obvious step of going to court isn't worth it, case closed.
So do I need to send the letter or not?
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