i know how you guys on s2ki.net love to see people get owned and i am in the process of providing you guys some of that. The story goes like this, my parents have a 2nd house that theyve rented out to some people last year. they were always late on their payments by 2 months but in the end we got paid. the only bill that wasnt paid was the water bill, totaling 500 dollars in a year. As we found out about this, we were going to deduct it out of their downpayment and give them back the rest. They said they would pay it off. We contacted the water company and they said that they had paid off the water bill. So we handed them back their downpayment of 1700 and they left on their merry way.

5 months later(current dau) , i recieve a call from the water company saying we owe 500 dollars to them. I asked how this could be when they themselves said that they had gotten paid. Turns out that the check bounced I contacted my parents at work and we are going to settle this tomorrow. Before I posted this, i went searching through my parents files and found out their cell phone number and name. The name is correct but the thing is, they cancelled their telephone number. Now im pissed.

My question now is how can i resolve this? My initial thought is to find out where they current live, track them down, and take them to court over the water bill, the downpayment, AND a scar on my parents perfect 800 and 810 credit score. But can we do this? I need some opinions from people who rent out homes themselves or better yet, lawyers

 

If you gave them back their $1700 security deposit and you currently owe $500 to the water company, it sounds like you are only out $500.?

For $500, you learned a quick lesson that some people suck. Move on.

You will end up wasting way more time and effort than it is worth.

I have a judgment against a prior tenant for $1500 of unpaid rent. nothing I can really do other than wait her out. If she ever tries to buy a house, she'll have to pay off my judgment first.... besides that it is basically useless.

screen the tenants better and pay attention to the water closer... you live and learn.

 

I have a friend whose career involves tracking down people such as this and securing reparations. If you PM me I'll give you his name and number.

On the whole, however, I'd agree with Scot: it'll be costly and time-consuming to pursue this. You might just want to write it off.

 

well that sucks. but the thing thats wierd is that the water company said they did pay it off. thats why we even gave them back their deposit. dam, guess we got jipped this time. i mean, we did make a extra $50 from them every month for a year from their late payments so i guess we arent comin up that short. its so hard to come upon trust worthy people these days thanks scot. you were the 1st person to come into mind when I was wondering where to get some help. thanks

 

$500 is not enough to get lawyers involved. Also, it won't hurt your parents credit. Water bills aren't reported to credit bureaus. Also, it is S2ki.com, not .net

Detroit

 

I'm surprised the water company hasn't gone after them for the hot check.

Maybe your Attorney General doesn't prosecute hot checks

I'd raise holy hell with the water company first. That's free. Simply go up the ladder. Someone will probably agree that you don't owe the money and the other people do.

 

For $500 you can go to small claims court without a lawyer. Fill out the required form, pay the court cost and as long as you have everything documented, you should be all set.

Like Scot said, you may never see any of that money, but they will be screwed until they pay you first.

 

http://s2ki.net/Home/

thats what i have saved as my homepage and it works everytime.


hmm, i thought being late on your bills usually results in your credit being hurt. i mean, it was a for a full years water bills that they didnt pay. It was even in THEIR NAME. thats whats so messed up. they moved and changed ALL their contact info so we cant contact them until we chase them down using their SSN. So the water company now comes and asks us for money since we own the place. oh and as for the trouble and legal issues, my parents want ME to go ahead and do it guess i have to go through some trouble in order to get that s2000 after we sell the place

 

If it was in their name, why would you even worry about it? Tell the water company that those people no longer live at that address, and they need to go find them and claim their $500.

There's no reason for you to pay other people's bills just because they used to live there. It would be different if the bill was in your name, or your parents' name.

 

I agree with the rest. If the bill was in the renter's name and not your parents or yours, creditors can't come after you, even if the water co. sends a collection company after you. The water co will be going after the renters or whomever's name was on the account.

And $500 isn't worth all the legal hassle w/ laywer & court. Check the contract you have w/ your renters, make sure it's iron clad, that's where a lawyer can come in.

Warren