Tenant non-payment of water bill

L

Lotus1

New Member
Jurisdiction
Michigan
Hi folks, bit of a long story so I'll try to keep it short. I had a rental property that I had a tenant for around 3 years. When the lease agreement expired we ended up putting the house on the market. It was only then that I found out they had a balance of $4000 on the water bill. So in order for me to sell the house the title company needed that water bill to be paid.

So I paid it and proceeded to try and get that money from the tenants. We've had a lot of back and forth in the beginning. She promised to pay it but months and months went by and a lot of broken promises.

Fast forward 2 years...I still haven't seen one dime of it. I've thought of small claims in the past but just wanted to try and resolve it without doing anything like that.

They have now stopped communicating with me and also have moved from the apartment they we staying at so I'm not even sure where they are located now.

Her son does go to the same school my daughter is in so I know they are still in the same city.
What should my next move be?

Thanks in advance.
 
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"Find her and sue her. Did you not really know that?"

hmm. Let me elaborate....should my next move be to file a small claims being that the amount is less that $5000, which I believe is the limit for small claims? Should I hire a lawyer and try and go after her? What have others done in similar situations?

Of course it's easy to say just find her and sue her, but I'm looking for real world advice on what others may have done and been successful doing.
thx
 
Even if you do locate them you must consider their assets and ability to pay. Why spend more time and money pursuing them if they do not have the means to pay? It might make more sense to just absorb the loss rather than add to it.
You would also need to determine the appropriate statute of limitations for the matter. It has already been at least two years and your opportunity to seek a remedy in court may have expired already.
 
Lotus1 said:
I'm looking for real world advice on what others may have done and been successful doing.
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I was a landlord for twenty years and my brief comment was a summary of the issues I had with deadbeat tenants.

I have sued tenants.
I have won judgments.
Most of which have been uncollectible.

That's about as real world as you are going to get.

And I certainly wouldn't have jerked around for two years relying on the promises of a deadbeat who had already stiffed the water company out of $4000.

Lotus1 said:
should my next move be to file a small claims being that the amount is less that $5000, which I believe is the limit for small claims?
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Yes, the Michigan limit is $5000. Whether you sue or not is up to you.

Lotus1 said:
Should I hire a lawyer
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Waste of money if you ask me. Small claims court doesn't require a lawyer. The defendants generally don't respond and you get a default judgment. Cheap and easy. The big problem is trying to collect from a deadbeat.

mightymoose said:
Why spend more time and money pursuing them if they do not have the means to pay? It might make more sense to just absorb the loss rather than add to it.
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Absorbing the loss is practically a given. But a small claims judgment is cheap and follows the debtor around for 10 years or more. I always had the satisfaction of knowing, for the filing and service fees, that I screwed the deadbeat even if I never saw a nickel of my money. I once had somebody call me 4 years later to try and settle up because it was hurting her credit. When I told her how much she had to pay me, in cash, to get a satisfaction of judgment, I never heard from her again. I guess she managed to live without whatever she wanted the loan for.
 
Thanks for the replies.

your comment had me shake my head though...
"And I certainly wouldn't have jerked around for two years relying on the promises of a deadbeat "

I didn't just "Jerk" around. There were a series of unfortunate things that happened to them. They had a death in the family that was un-expected. She also got into a bad car accident and was off work for about 7 months due to her injuries. I know these are things that I shouldn't care about on my end. But I've tried to be respectful to the family this whole time and certainly took all the unfortunate events that have happened to them under consideration.

The lack of communication from them has got me to the point now where I'll take some action. I've already got the paper work to file a small claims, I just need to locate there new address.

Again, thx for the replies I appreciate it.
 
The proper court in which to file a Small Claims action is the court where the other party lives, does business or where incident occurred.

In your case it MIGHT be Farmington Farmington Hills, MI - Small Claims or where the defendant NOW resides.

Michigan's civil statute of limitations allows two years for personal injuries; up to six years for fraud, trespassing, collection of rent, contracts, and debt collection; and 10 years for judgments.

Michigan is slowly raising the maximum amount one can sue for in small claims.
The current limit is $6,000.

When you file your claim, you will have to pay a filing fee. The fee varies depending on how much you're trying to get in the case. The filing fee is:

* $30 for claims up to $600

* $50 for claims over $600 up to $1,750 and

* $70 for claims over $1,750 up to $6,000

If you win your case, you might be able to get your filing fee back as part of the costs the court awards you.

The court will send a copy of your claim to each defendant. This is called serving the Affidavit and Claim on the defendant. You must pay the cost of the service. Tell the clerk you want it served by personal service or by certified mail, return receipt requested. The cost of service can be as little as $5.00 for certified mail, or as much as $21.00 plus mileage for personal service.

Taking a Small Claims Case to Court
 

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