Up until a few years ago, Virginia had one of the lowest Small Claims court limits * $2,500...then the VA legislature upped the limit to $5,000 and VA landlords are slowly educating themselves on how to use this court to their advantage....shortly after the increase, I had an eviction of a resident paying $1,295 with 6 months remaining on their lease...for the month they owed rent, I filed an eviction (unlawful detainer) for possession and a judgement for the deliquent rent.....at the SAME time, I filed a small claims court case for the remaining rent up to the $5,000 limit and I had BOTH suits served at the same time. I got the eviction and they left and by the time the small claims court case was heard, I had cleaned, changed the locks and re-rented the property....I adjusted the amount downward for the monies owed above their security deposit and got a second judgement.
By doing this, I was able to serve the tenant while they were still in the rented property AND I have 2 judgements against her at 18% until paid. I recorded both judgements and sent the judgement debtor a copy of the recording verification....she is faithfully paying me $100 per month until the judgements are paid off.
If you don't know how to use your state's Small Claims Court - Nolo Press has a paperback book on how to sue in Small Claims and state court websites have information on the forms, and court costs....go get 'em!!!
Comments (2)Subscribe to CommentsComment