[potluckdesign]

I am a landlord in Michigan and had a tenant that signed a 12 month lease. They were late after the first month and many other problems with paying half rent then no rent, etc. I asked tenant to pay back rent and rent due for current month (Aug) They refused and I filed a right to quit form. There were many problem in the home. Domestic abuse being one problem and my tenant was in jail and rehab following a very serious incident (bloody).
He left in the legal seven days but still has not paid. I have a trashed house on my hands way above and beyond normal wear and tear. I still cannot get all the blood off the walls from the attacks and the carpet was destroyed by human blood and animal feces and must be replaced for sanitary purposes. There is permanent marker and crayon on almost all surfaces including walls, doors and counter tops. Screens are missing on more than half of windows and ripped and torn in the rest. They left a huge pile of belongings and left garbage through out the house and yard. There are wholes in walls, etc. Problem is he wants me to use his deposit for the last month before eviction that he owes for. I cannot do this because of the cost of damage that should come from a deposit and his deposit may not even cover all the damages. I think he may be in jail now but I am not sure. What are my options to collect due rent after a break of lease or someone who is in jail on top of that.
Help! :mad:

[excon]

Hello pot:

Well, you can sue him, of course. But, you'll never collect...

I don't know. Just pick your tenants better next time.

excon

[rockinmommy]

I can feel your pain!!

I recently had a similar situation (less the abuse aspect) and wound up with a trashed house, no rent for close to 3 months, etc, etc, etc. And these were actually carefully screened tenants that had been doing great with us for over a year before all heck broke loose!

Bottom line, like ex-con said, you could certainly sue the pants off them and get a judgement in your favor, but it's highly doubtful - at best - that you'd ever collect a dime.

Best bet is to mitigate damages, rehab and rerent the house as quickly as possible, and hopefully there's a lesson learned in there somewhere that will prevent costly mistakes in the future.

Silver lining... it will give you some good tax write-offs and improve your depreciation schedule on the property.

[ScottGem]

I agree with excon and rock, however, if the amounts are within the small claims court limits I would still sue them. You can get a judgement and if you ever find a job or other asset, you can attach it.

As to the deposit, it really doesn't matter what its used for. He owes you back rent AND damages. You sue for the entire amount, deducting the deposit.

I would strongly suspect that people like that have a history of doing this before, so a more careful background check might have warned you off.

I also wonder if there is insurance landlords can purchase to protect against such things.

[rockinmommy]

I also wonder if there is insurance landlords can purchase to protect against such things.

Ahhhh, I wish... :rolleyes:

I think this would be a good business venture for you to get into, ScottGem!!

And you're right, Scottgem, most of the time you can weed out a tenant who would have the propensity to do this type of thing. It typically doesn't even require a very careful check to find this kind of stuff out.

[GravitonX]

Ignore him, he's silly. If he didn't pay rent, he's probably not going to pay a judgment, so don't even bother starting a civil suit. Let the fool bring suit thinking that he's got you, which I doubt he will because it will cost money. If he brings suit, you can countersue him for your damages, and he would have gone through all the trouble of arranging the entire court parade. The judge will probably laugh the idiot right out the courtroom for thinking that he could get money after what occurred and will probably award you a hefty judgment.