Tenants stopped paying in September. Tried to negotiate a catch up due to disabilities in the family but finally issued pay or quit. Next thing I know we get the keys in the mail from the mother of one of them stating they are out but she claims not to know where. We go to the house to set up for the next tenant, there are holes.. large holes.. busted in the walls, carpet is burned up right down to the subfloor. Garbage everywhere, in some rooms over a foot deep. All racks in every closet have been torn out of the wall. Tore down the blinds.. list too long to go on. Several thousand dollars damage, probably a thousand in trash removal alone. Inside is a total loss, and much of the back of the outside severely damaged. House was BRAND NEW and unlived in before they came along. Nice neighborhood, big yard, etc. They left behind all or most of their stuff. We went to the sheriff about it and did file a complaint and I got a report. They said they will serve a warrant for destruction of property if we can locate them, but they have no current location and no manpower. So I hired an investigator, not sure they can turn up anything. Nothing so far. Now I find out my property mgr may not have had them sign a lease renewal. In my mind this doesn't change anything, but I do want to know for sure if that changes anything legally for when we do catch them. Also, although most of what they left was just junk, they also left what appears to be a nearly new couch and a very expensive set of cookware. Also many of the shoes and clothing left behind are in good shape. Is there any reason I can't have a yard sale to recoup? We know the power was shut of in December, so they've been gone awhile. Also any other advice as far as what we can do legally to bring them to justice would be really appreciated. We have been blessed all these years with tenants that have almost been like part of an extended family, so this really sent us for a for a loop. This was my nicest unit, and now it is probably a good 40% loss.
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Damage to property, skip out tenants
- Thread Starter googly
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mightymoose
Moderator
If they were not paying rent then it is unlikely you will ever get them to pay for the damages either... hopefully your insurance will help you with the damage.
Sooner or later they will turn up and they can answer to the warrant if one actually issues.
The absence of a renewal lease is not an issue. The lease just became a month to month lease with the same terms when the initial one expired.
If you have a good PI then you should be able to locate them before too long. When you do, find out if a warrant has actually been issued, and then contact the agency that covers the jurisdiction where they are located. It will be a felony warrant, so they should arrange to have them returned to your county.
If your insurance company pays out then they may try to recover the loss from the tenant instead of making you do it... but again... you can't get blood from a turnip.
Sooner or later they will turn up and they can answer to the warrant if one actually issues.
The absence of a renewal lease is not an issue. The lease just became a month to month lease with the same terms when the initial one expired.
If you have a good PI then you should be able to locate them before too long. When you do, find out if a warrant has actually been issued, and then contact the agency that covers the jurisdiction where they are located. It will be a felony warrant, so they should arrange to have them returned to your county.
If your insurance company pays out then they may try to recover the loss from the tenant instead of making you do it... but again... you can't get blood from a turnip.
Thanks for that info
I was wondering what we would do if they turned up out of state or something. Their issue I don't think is money. They actually got behind last year during this same time, then suddenly came up with all of it plus. Which is the only reason that they got away with it this year. Perhaps the mother paid it (these are 40+ yr old people if you can believe it) because she seems fairly well off. In any case, even if we do not recoup the $$ we want to find these folks because we know they had a child and there is pretty good evidence in the house of neglect. It appears she was using a pile of blankets on top of a pile of garbage as a 'nest' for sleeping in her room. Her little Barbies tucked down between that and the wall.. it was a heartbreaking scene in so many ways. And they apparently carried on like this without attracting the attention of any of us or the neighbors. Oh well, I've never been a hardcore or noisy landlord ever. I think this experience has changed that. I'm going to put in my lease that we can do a quarterly inspection of the property and failure to grant access (under legal 24 hr rule) for that will put them out of compliance with their lease. I have seen other leases set up like this.. now I know why.
I was wondering what we would do if they turned up out of state or something. Their issue I don't think is money. They actually got behind last year during this same time, then suddenly came up with all of it plus. Which is the only reason that they got away with it this year. Perhaps the mother paid it (these are 40+ yr old people if you can believe it) because she seems fairly well off. In any case, even if we do not recoup the $$ we want to find these folks because we know they had a child and there is pretty good evidence in the house of neglect. It appears she was using a pile of blankets on top of a pile of garbage as a 'nest' for sleeping in her room. Her little Barbies tucked down between that and the wall.. it was a heartbreaking scene in so many ways. And they apparently carried on like this without attracting the attention of any of us or the neighbors. Oh well, I've never been a hardcore or noisy landlord ever. I think this experience has changed that. I'm going to put in my lease that we can do a quarterly inspection of the property and failure to grant access (under legal 24 hr rule) for that will put them out of compliance with their lease. I have seen other leases set up like this.. now I know why.
Gail_in_Georgia
Moderator
Quite honestly, have a yard sale regarding what they've left behind, work with your insurance company and don't bother wasting more money trying to track these folks down.
Even IF you can find them and you take them to court (and most of these cases are heard in Small Claims; North Carolina allows claims up to $5000 to be heard in this court) and you win, there is no guarantee you'll ever see a penny of these judgement. North Carolina does not allow wage garnishment for such judgements.
One thing you might consider (and I did this with my first set of tenants who also burned me badly); while poking through all the trash they left behind, they were kind enough to leave important papers behind...including bank statements and the newest lease. So my folks were easy to track down and bring to court. I won my judgement and immediately filed for bank garnishment the same day (to avoid the former tenants closing the account) and was able to recoup at least some of what I was owed.
It's rather amazing the things folks might leave behind.
From this I learned the value of very thorough screening and beginning the eviction process immediately when someone is late on their rent.
Gail
Even IF you can find them and you take them to court (and most of these cases are heard in Small Claims; North Carolina allows claims up to $5000 to be heard in this court) and you win, there is no guarantee you'll ever see a penny of these judgement. North Carolina does not allow wage garnishment for such judgements.
One thing you might consider (and I did this with my first set of tenants who also burned me badly); while poking through all the trash they left behind, they were kind enough to leave important papers behind...including bank statements and the newest lease. So my folks were easy to track down and bring to court. I won my judgement and immediately filed for bank garnishment the same day (to avoid the former tenants closing the account) and was able to recoup at least some of what I was owed.
It's rather amazing the things folks might leave behind.
From this I learned the value of very thorough screening and beginning the eviction process immediately when someone is late on their rent.
Gail
Too big for a small claim
Well the main problem with this is I am quite certain the damage exceeds small claims court limitations. There is probably that much damage in the living room alone. Carpet is a complete loss, that takes a chunk out of 5 grand. I'm guessing between 15-20 grand total damage if there isn't any more than what I have seen. And that isn't counting what they might have done under the house. We don't know the extent of that until we get the power turned back on, but we do know they pulled the door completely out of the frame of the crawlspace. Oh and of course the back rent. So this isn't something I can eat. The insurance adjuster is coming out to look, but it isn't looking pretty. My agent notes that my policy specifically states that the only coverage is accident or vandalism. And of course, vandalism could be proven but it depends on the adjuster what they call vandalism. In any case, I do appreciate all replies but the money I'm spending on a private eye is I believe, money well spent. If I can recover any part of this it will be in my favor. The warrant issued is a felony warrant. If nothing else, perhaps I will get the satisfaction of knowing that they won't just keep doing this, and perhaps intervention will take place on behalf of the child. I'm telling myself that to keep them out of jail perhaps the mother will pony up the cash, in which case I will drop the charges if they let me. I don't know if they even allow dropping of charges once it has been issued as a felony.
Well the main problem with this is I am quite certain the damage exceeds small claims court limitations. There is probably that much damage in the living room alone. Carpet is a complete loss, that takes a chunk out of 5 grand. I'm guessing between 15-20 grand total damage if there isn't any more than what I have seen. And that isn't counting what they might have done under the house. We don't know the extent of that until we get the power turned back on, but we do know they pulled the door completely out of the frame of the crawlspace. Oh and of course the back rent. So this isn't something I can eat. The insurance adjuster is coming out to look, but it isn't looking pretty. My agent notes that my policy specifically states that the only coverage is accident or vandalism. And of course, vandalism could be proven but it depends on the adjuster what they call vandalism. In any case, I do appreciate all replies but the money I'm spending on a private eye is I believe, money well spent. If I can recover any part of this it will be in my favor. The warrant issued is a felony warrant. If nothing else, perhaps I will get the satisfaction of knowing that they won't just keep doing this, and perhaps intervention will take place on behalf of the child. I'm telling myself that to keep them out of jail perhaps the mother will pony up the cash, in which case I will drop the charges if they let me. I don't know if they even allow dropping of charges once it has been issued as a felony.
mightymoose
Moderator
This is vandalism. Don't let them tell you otherwise.
Yeah I just don't know. The agent was saying that vandalism was hard to prove. That if it looked like maybe there was a drunken argument and they busted up the place, that wasn't vandalism. He said only if it could be proven that they specifically damaged the property to get back at us for throwing them out was it covered. How can I prove their intentions? At least I can show they knew about it because the deadbolts were locked when we got there. Random 'neighborhood kids' couldn't have locked the deadbolts from the outside. Well I suppose there is naught to do but try to relax, wait for the PI and the insurance agent to have their say. We DID find a computer in the mess and I'm hopeful the PI can get some kind of info from that.
mightymoose
Moderator
There is no way that what you describe is anything short of vandalism. Whether it was the tenants or random kids off the street, it was deliberate, malicious destruction of property. Their reason for doing it does not really matter.
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