We have some tenants that we have a court date for to hopefully get evicted very soon. My question is does anyone have any information on how to go about collecting past due rent? Do I need a judgment. Can I take them to small claims court? Can I put it on their credit report? If so, how? I live in Illinois. Thanks.
pooks,
You need to talk to your lawyer to get the exact procedure in your state. In Ohio, we can file a “second cause of action” along with the eviction. This “second cause” is about the money damages and you can easily get a judgement. The problem isn’t getting a judgement, the problem is collecting. Many deadbeat tenants are constantly moving and changing jobs (if they work at all). It is VERY DIFFICULT to collect from tenants. I usually don’t even try, unless they have a good job that they’ve had for a long time.
Good Luck,
Mike