Rental Property?

Question

Can anyone please provide me with a step by step outline of actions that need to take place to recoup costs for damage to my rental home that was caused by the tenants. Tenants have 5 months left on their lease.

I am only looking to reclaim the insurance deductable 1,000 vs the cost of the repair 5,000. Can I proceed to take this from the deposit money and ask them to replenish the security deposit?

Please note, they are still living at the house.

Answer 1

I assume you have asked to be paid for the damages and they have not paid you. You will have to take them to court and prove they did the damage, not just present the bills. Then, if you win, there is no guarantee they will pay you. You will need to check on local laws to see what can be done and the outcome. I have a lease that says that basically I pay for normal wear and tear and they pay for damages (short version). I will present them with bills and any money given to me will be applied first to any monies due and then to rent. If that causes the rent to be unpaid or late, then all late charges etc. apply. And then if they don't pay the rent, I lock them out and then I evict them. If they don't pay for damages, they aren't going to stay there and do it again. Always take a lot of pictures before they move in and lots of pictures of damages and when they move out as proof. Get a good digital camera-it's a taxable expense-and download the pictures to a cd for each tenant and keep them so that you have the proof and the records. There are so many deadbeats-do what you need to do and don't worry about being nice about it.

Answer 2

If you have noticed damage then have your insurance adjuster go in there and determine the amount, or wait till those people move out and have your insurance adjuster determine on the "full amount" when they leave. Did you say anything in your lease like "if damages occur "you" can break the lease?".

I would think that you could take those tenants to court for the damages while they are living in your apartment...but like I said above, they might make more damage...so you might also include in that court document that because of the damages you'd like reimbursement and for them to leave the property because of the damage and let the judge decide if the lease could be broken or not.

You could take this to an attorney and have them sort it out. If you have rental property it's always good to have an attorney on staff (so to speak) so they can handle these kinds of things for you. They do all the work, you just show up.

Answer 3

Ask the tenants to pay now, don't wait till they move out. Maybe offer them a 3-month payment plan.

Don't use their security deposit because you want their security deposit to be intact (full amount) when they leave so that there is money to cover any future damage or shortage in payments.

If they won't pay, you'll need to file a complaint. You'll need to document your case-- get a friend to help you plan and practice presenting your case.

Answer 4

Document the damage. File a small claims lawsuit. Present your case.

Easy. The judges will usually be biased toward the property owner, and you will get judgement in your favor.

The hard part is actually getting the money out of them. In the end, chances are that you will 'eat' the damage. But...it's worth a try. Best of luck.

Answer 5

First file a police report. Good luck finding them because they may have booked town or are in hiding from you. When they are found you file charges against them, take them to court and try to recoup your funds. Good luck because low-lifes like that usually don't have cash.

Answer 6

Small claims court then even if you win, you will have a hard time collecting unless you know where they work. Then with a court judgement, you can attach their wages. good luck.