LogFAQs > #936388529

I don't pay rent, but I own a couple of rental properties.

I self-manage one of them and the tenant is a woman that has adult children and is extremely hard working and self-employed. She has been unable to work by law and I don't think she would ever consider opportunistically not paying rent because she's honest and a good person. I trust her.

I have a management company for the other property. I have not met the tenant, but it's a guy in his 20s that has done some things in the past that makes me think he's a lazy dishonest douche and I wonder if he's going to try to pull some shit like that. Speaking as the landord, if he decides to stop paying rent because he temporarily cannot be evicted I will do the following.

First, I'll immediately sweep and apply his security deposit and he won't get it back. Second, I'll immediately institute whatever legal process is required to evict him as soon as lawfully possible. Third, I will have the default reported to credit reporting agencies and inform future potential landlords of what he did. Finally, I will aggressively pursue him for any unpaid rent and damages to the property plus attorneys fees, which I will collect by any means necessary including through wage garnishments and bank account and vehicle seizures.

So I suggest people keep paying their rent because the type of moral hazard bullshit they think they can get away with won't last and will come back to bite them in the ass. Hard.