I pay 10% to a mgmt company; this is the first house I’ve had them manage for me. They rented it in January–taking a half month’s rent up front as their initial fee–and kicked out the tenants at the end of March for not paying March rent. Beyond the rent of $650 x 2, they also owe $1400 in heat and other utilities that they’d agreed by the contract, for the months of their tenacy.
They really trashed the house, ruining about $10k of rehab I’d just finished. Criminal charges have been filed, and judgments will follow. I have no written agreement with the mgmt company, the owner is an investor colleague with whom I’ve had a good relationship so far. I realize I should have gotten an agreement in writing, but how much of the time, hassle, and expense of this process should the mgmt company be responsible for, and how much should I, as the owner?
What did the management company do wrong? Did they screen the tenant to your specifications? It appears that they promptly evicted the tenant (or at least relatively promptly evicted the tenant). The tenant is responsible for trashing the house.
The reality is that you’ll probably never collect a dime of the damage from anyone. I’d simply move on and manage the property yourself.
Good Luck,
Mike
The idea that damages/judgements are rarely collected from tenants is a common theme. Why is that? If there is a legal judgment against them, what is the issue? Is it difficult to collect even though you have all their personal information; to include SSN? Are wage garnishments difficult to obtain? Thank you.
The problem in collecting on a judgment from tenants is that many evicted tenants are irresponsible and elusive. They really have no assets. They go from job to job and frequently move. Yes, you can garnish their wages, but as soon as you do - they will just quit; move; and get another job. You can chase them all over, but collecting is another thing entirely.
Good Luck,
Mike
Forgive me for being naive, but is wage garnishment a lengthy/complicated process? In my mind I picture it as something that is attached to the defendant’s SSN. Then every time they fill out a W-4 to get a new job, the garnishment continues.
Obviously this is not the case, can you correct my flawed logic? Is it a matter of finding out where the new job is first and approaching that employer?
Forgive me for being naive, but is wage garnishment a lengthy/complicated process?
In Ohio, garnishing someone’s wages is a very short and easy process.
In my mind I picture it as something that is attached to the defendant's SSN.
I like the way your mind works! Unfortunately, that’s not the way it works in the real world, or at least here in Ohio. The way it works here is that you must first figure out where their latest job is and then file the paperwork with their employer. As soon as you do that, the deadbeats will quit their job because they don’t want to lose so much money from their paycheck. Remember, they got into this circumstance in the first place because they don’t pay their bills and don’t take responsibility for their actions.
Mike