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Working Moms
jovencita1224
member
Anyone well-versed in real estate (landlord/tenant issues)
jovencita1224
member
in Working Moms
AASI will start by saying that I know each state is different. But I am at the end of my rope and am hoping maybe someone knows something I don't.
So, I was a landlord. I rented out my property to a woman that was (still is, sadly) an employee of the federal government with a security clearance, decent credit, and with good references. About 4 weeks into my maternity leave with DD in 2011, she just decided to stop paying the rent. I had to go back to work at 6 weeks post-partum because I was trying to pay the rent on our condo and the mortgage in the house. She was finally evicted in July, and I was awarded a judgment for back rent.
I finally got possession of the house back, only to find she had caused over $20k worth of damages. I'm talking shattering glass in the oven ( a built in custom oven), spray painting, and feces and urine on the floor. Apparently I could only sue for $5k of damages in small claims court, and would have to pay for all of the repairs first in order to be able to sue in circuit court. I couldn't afford to do that, and I made the decision to list the house as-is for a short sale. (which is STILL pending, as my credit has gone completely to ***-I can't pay he mortgage anymore without renters, and I can't afford to fix the damages enough to rent it)
I was awarded a judgment and garnishment for the damages almost a year ago now, and I have yet to collect a penny on either case. She has filed 2 exemptions, which is paperwork saying she doesn't make enough for her wages to be garnished. Apparently she has not filed them every pay period, so for the pay periods she hasn't (which is a lot of pay periods), her employer, the freaking federal government (which happens to be my employer too) is liable for what they were supposed to garnish but did not. However, they have been less than cooperative in responding to me, and I was told the two options would be for the court that issued the orders to hold them in contempt (which I have no control over) or for ME to sue the government. My employer. Which I am guessing would be a real nightmare.
I am nearly 18 weeks pregnant and was counting on some of that money for me to be able to take my full 12 weeks of maternity leave (6 are unpaid). I felt so cheated last time, and I'm angry I went back, because ultimately I screwed my credit anyway, am working on a short sale (and afraid it will become a foreclosure), took out a loan against my retirement to try and save the house and basically threw that money away, screwed my retirement and am still paying it off, and am so stressed and frustrated that I am a total insomniac, I'm depressed (and on meds) and losing weight while pregnant (which can't be good for the baby).
I don't know if anyone would even know where I should start, but on the off chance someone has any advice-I will take it.
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Anyone well-versed in real estate (landlord/tenant issues)
I'm so sorry. I'm too afraid to ever become a landlord because of stuff like this.
I don't really have any advice, except to say that my realtor was just talking to us about short sales the other day and said if you're listing a short sale, you should stop making any mortgage payments on that property. If you're making payments, the bank's not motivated to accept short sale offers, so they just let it drag out. He said with a foreclosure banks only have 75 days (I think it was) to turn the property around, but they can sit on a short sale for seven years (these are the time frames in UT anyway). He said it's better to just let it go to foreclosure and take the hit to your credit now, and in 2-3 years it'll clear off your report, rather than drag the whole process out for 7-9 years while losing money on payments and probably going to FC anyway.
But it sounds like maybe you've stopped making payments already?
All I can say about getting the money from your ex-tenant is, talk to a lawyer.
Don't have a lot of advice either.
However, I assume she has changed back accounts or has no money in her account? You can certainly take it out of her bank account (hire sheriff) instead of garnishing her wages (but you may already know that).
I stopped making payments a whole ago, but the short sale process has drug on for so long that it completely screwed up my credit and I will almost be relieved when/if it goes to foreclosure. Which makes me so sad-it was supposed to be our forever home, is the first (and only) house I have ever owned, and we only moved because my husband got transferred to another location for work (he was a campus cop and paramedic before working for his current police department) and his commute was often 3 hours one way. We thought we had a great tenant and could keep the house until we decided if we would try to move back or sell. I actually got an offer on the house the day before she signed the lease-I would have made 25k on the house if we accepted and it went through--but I declined because I thought we had a better option with the renting.
I seriously beat myself up over this decision every day. I think of the fact I could have stayed out 12 weeks maternity leave with DD if I would have just sold then, or that we would currently not be living so paycheck to paycheck, that my credit wouldn't be so humiliating, that my daughter would have a mother that wasn't a failure. I don't know how to move on from it either. The 5k in damages judgment I got plus back rent and court costs is more than 8k, and I thought getting that money would help me put it behind me and make the shame of a short sale and possible foreclosure and utter financial fail on my part a little easier to swallow. But I haven't seen any of the money, and the endless thinking about it is almost making it worse.
I have filed against her exemptions, but the court told me the burden of proof is on me to prove how much she makes and how many dependents she claims. If you make less than 130% of the federal poverty level, you can't be garnished, and they factor in the number of dependents in that figure. Well, based on her salary, she would have to have almost as many kids as the Duggars to be exempt-but I can only prove her salary and have nOt been able to prove that she has 5 children, but 2 are adults so she can claim 3 at the most-if nobody else is claiming them.
I just keep getting panic attacks because I need some of that money for maternity leave. She already screwed me once, and I can feel it happening again and I feel like I'm suffocating. I feel like I don't even enjoy life or anything I used to like because I am just so sad. I haven't seen any of my friends in months, and with a husband that works nights, I am overwhelmingly lonely and just plain sad.
Sorry for the rant. I can't talk to anyone about this, because, well, there isn't anyone I feel close enough to right now that I could even begin to confide in. I just want the money that is rightfully mine. I just want this to be over. I just want to feel like I can relax again and not feel like I am constantly swallowing a scream.
I have looked for a lawyer, but have yet to be able to find one that deals with this particular issue in that area. The property is an hour away and in another state, and most of the lawyers I have found that deal with that part of landlord/tenant law are 3 hours away near the state capital. And they cost $250-$500 an hour, and any travel they do to be courthouse I have to use and back is billable, or so the ones i have talked to say. So, I could end up owing the lawyer money when all is said and done if I try to go that route.
I wish they would do pro bono!!
Just a thought. Can't you sell your condo and move into the house? I'm surprised you have to do the repairs to go to circut court first, normally you would just take pictures and show proof it was done malicious and not basic wear and tear.
I would also take her to criminal court and get her some jail time. Let's see if she still has security clearance after haveing a felony in her record.
Do you have a lawyer friend that can write a letter to her employer that they need to garnish her wages? I don't know your background but I'm a little surprised that you have two places and didn't save in case you didn't have a renter for a while. Sorry, as I said just thinking out loud.
I don't own 2 places. I rented a condo for a year from a friend that was deployed, and now I rent a townhouse. I can't move back in the house because DH would be commuting for a minimum of 4 hours per day. And that is assuming no traffic or accidents in the DC metro area. Ever. We tried that, and he was actually sleeping in his car in the parking lot of target and not coming home for 2-3 days at a time when he had work or court Which is not safe, it is no way to live, and is actually dangerous for a police officer. We had no idea his job location would change like it did, and when he accepted his new job in his new department, we were already out of the house and the renter was paying rent. Just a few weeks later she stopped.
I got 5k for damages from small claims court, and that was showing photos and everything. I'm sure the photo of the pile of human turd on the carpet clinched it. I only had to have the estimates and appraisals of costs, I didn't have to have receipts for actual repairs for small claims, but the limit was 5k plus court costs, fees, and 7% interest. For circuit court, you have to have the receipts to prove your ACTUAL damages, since technically, I suppose, you could fix something a lot cheaper than what a contractor quotes you. I had a whole binder though, of photos, quotes, and then simply the cost of replacement with no labor (doing it ourselves), and that alone was the 25k. I forgot to mention they also painted the Berber carpet. Orange. With regular house paint. The magistrate told me she wished she could give me more, but understood that I couldn't afford to fix it all. I had just had a baby, and we had no extra money at all. I had money to pay the mortgage a few months if we didn't have a renter, but I never anticipated having to have 25k on top of that for damages. Not from her. I took out a retirement loan trying to salvage the house but it wasn't enough, and it is a waste because it is now a short sale or foreclosure anyway. And I have that much less retirement. But at least there weren't turds there when the house was being shown?
We work at the same place, actually. We are nowhere near the same career path, though. When this first happened, I took this to our internal affairs folks and the office that re-investigates her security clearance. She lied on her forms and didn't put me down as her landlord and I was never interviewed. Despite 2 judgments against her and an eviction, her clearance was upheld. So, yeah. At least it was though, I guess, so she is still employed and I might eventually be able to collect.
My lawyer friends all work with me, unfortunately, and since her employer is our employer...no letters. That is the problem, to peruse her employer for their fault in not garnishing her wages, I would be suing MY employer. Which I'm sure doesn't earn you a fast track to promotion...you know? I'm actually terrified at the thought of suing my employer, because unlike my job and would like to keep it. I don't know how else to Deal with he fact that they are liable for not garnishing for all those pay periods, but the thought of going up against them in court makes me feel sick.
I have definitely tried the criminal route, and unfortunately since the damage was done before the eviction was granted, she wasn't trespassing and it is considered civil and not criminal. The thing that IS criminal is her lying about being unable to be garnished on those forms. But in order to prove she is lying, I have to prove how many dependents she claims. Work will confirm employment and salary to a creditor (me) but the dependents thing is tricky. IRS doesn't want to give me her tax returns, but that would be one way to do it. Each form is a class 1 misdemeanor, which is pretty hard core.
These ideas are helping-I am laying it all out and figuring out what options I have to choose from. The bank account one is one I saw, but also involves the same issue I am having Proving dependents. Does anyone know how I can do that? It might open up some doors without having to sue my work.
Sorry you are in this situation - it really sucks and you need an attorney.
Another good lesson for people not to take on more debt than they can afford. You shouldn't have kept the property if you couldn't afford it. Good luck anyway - regardless, you still don't deserve what you are going through.
Stop stressing over it (WAY easier said than done) treat it as a failed business decision and a bad investment and move on. Let it go into forclosure, perhaps you live in a state where they can't pursue you for deficiency judgments?
In life, you just have to realize that some decisions weren't the greatest OR you got screwed by someone. Stressing about it and losing sleep over it aren't worth it. My husband owned 2 condos before he met me, (WORST decisions EVER btw) and one we just sold in a short sale about 2 yrs ago- luckily) and the other we are going to get rid of.
Just forget about it. Pretend it didn't happen.
That's just my advice.
It sounds like the previous tenant is going to avoid paying and sometimes you just can't collect money from people.
http://balletandbabies.blogspot.com
She could afford it, with a renter. Landlords don't need to be able to cover the mortgage for every property they own indefinitely. She would have been able to rent it out again if the renter hadn't maliciously destroyed the property, and everything would have been fine.
OP, again I'm so sorry you're going through this. Please don't blame yourself or think your LO will think less of you somehow. This is not your fault. This is the fault of a horrible who has no respect for other people's property, and should be in jail. The fact that you're in this position is, to me, a failure of the justice system. If she can't pay for the damages she did, she should be in jail. End of story.
Perhaps you could try posting on /r/legaladvice and just see if anyone has any ideas about how to get representation, or anything you can do to help the process along?
As much as it sucks, you need to stop counting on the money for maternity leave because it doesn't sound like you are going to get it. Maybe you'll be able to save from now until you have the baby and be able to take more time off.
As far as the house goes, as much as it sucks, you credit is already damaged so it may be best to just forget about it and move on. The damage (literally and emotionally) is already done so there is no use stressing over it.
As far as your ex-tenant. The only thing I can think of is what has this done to her credit? Have your pursued making sure the eviction and failure to pay rent is on her credit? A low credit score can affect her security clearance so you may be able to help persuade her to settle with you in order for her to keep her clearance and her job. Just a thought.
Thank you to those that took time to respond. Last night was such a low point for me because I am looking at all of the money that has been spent on this house, draining our savings, retirement loan, and every spare penny we had to try and make it rentable...and all for nothing. Looking back, I should have just taken the full maternity leave with DD, stopped paying the mortgage then, and saved our money, retirement, and that time with DD. I will never get that time back and sometimes it makes me overwelmingly depressed.
I am not sacrificing leave with the next baby, but without the money from the judgments; we will be scraping by those last 6 weeks. Oh well, I won't let her actions influence mine his time. Plus, I should recoup some of it in the tax refund from the loss. I also have loss carried over from last time, so our tax refund might be a happy blessing at just the right time. I'm scared, but as some of you said-the damage is done. It was a bad business deal. It doesn't have to define me or how I view myself as a mother and provider. Donald Trump made plenty of bad business decisions and bounced back with billions. Maybe I'll be a billionaire one day too!
I wish it was a matter of taking on debt we couldn't afford. I qualified for the mortgage on my salary alone, and it was supposed to be our forever home. I actually had an offer the DAY before she signed her lease and I turned it down because I never thought a human being, let alone in a trusted position of employment, would do what she did. The act of urinating on walls and defacating on floors alone was bad enough-not even getting into the things that were actually destroyed. All because I couldn't be more understanding about her not paying her rent in April. And May. And June too. Like I owed her to keep paying so she could live there for free. I wish every day I would have accepted that offer. But we had money to pay in between tenants. We had money for basic repairs. The house was only 4 years old-anything major would have been covered under the warranty we had! I never ever anticipated that she and her family would do that. I thought renting was the smart financial choice because of the capital gains tax. I was wrong.
My work is claiming they "just" got the garnishment orders that were issued in March. Ha! I know that is not true, but i dont know if i want to push back on that yet or not Allegedly they will be garnishing 20% of her pay after taxes until the garnishments are paid in full. I'm not sure of the exact amount of her pay after taxes, but if it happens it would be over $400 per pay period for just shy of a year. She can still fight it, but one of my lawyer friends coached me on how to sound more legally intimidating, and how to let her know that I'm not going anywhere until I get paid. I'm not getting my hopes up, but if I do collect, that money is going Ito DD's savings account. One day I will tell her of the agony we went through to get it-and I will teach her to never ever be a landlord.
Thank you for letting me vent. This has been bottled up inside me for over a year and I finally feel like I got some of my stress and anger out. She does not deserve any more attention in my brain that interferes with me enjoying life and DD. easier said than done, but I think it is time to let go of the anger. The judgment is good for 10 years...so I'll get her eventually. Karma will get her eventually. Life always has a way of working itself out in strange ways. I have to trust it will be ok in the end.