If a tenant who was late with his rent and did not have a lease with you skips is that the end of it? He's gone and your out of any further monies!

No, that's not the end of it. If you had a verbal agreement, then that stands as law in most states.

If he skipped out then you should
a) Document with notes and pictures that he indeed skipped, and
b) File suit for the amount that he owes you. If it's small claims, then you can file it easily yourself. If it's over the amount for small claims in your state, then you should get an attorney to file it for you, or
c) File the amount due with a local attorney or collection agency for collections - and be sure that your deal with them includes their getting a judgment against the person for the amount due.