[MuseChaser]

Years ago I had to take a nightmare of a tennant to court to recover six months of back rent, a complete and total trashing of my house, theft of the camera I used to document the trashing, and a host of other things. Took him to small claims court, similar to what you did, only we both appeared in person. Got the full judgement I was seeking. Never saw a dime, and you won't either, unfortunately. Getting the judgement is nice and feels good, but it's just a judgement; they don't enforce it. YOU have to enforce it. My tennant didn't have any intention of paying me because he owed me the money and I asked him for it, so why in the world would he pay me because he owed me money, I asked him for it, and now I have a piece of paper that says he owes me the money?

Yes, you can go through all of those additional steps... further court appearances, filing more paperwork, starting the process to garnish wages/seize property.. but it'll take forever and still probably be fruitless.



I sold my house at a huge loss, vowed NEVER to be a landlord again for any reason, trust people less than ever, and just moved on with my life. That was nineteen years ago. Feels bad to let the bad guys win, but it feels worse to waste a year or more of your life on a losing battle.