A Tale of Eviction

Jr. has been late on his rent nearly every month since he's lived in our building (1.5 years).  He catches up once in a while, but in January 2012 I told the property manager that I was done!  If he didn't catch up  and pay all of February rent to proceed with eviction.  February 1st came and went with no money so Jana put the three day eviction notice on his door.  But he didn't move out, or pay - so a court date was set and he showed up in court to tell his story, sure that the judge would see it his way. His story?  He spent all his money on other things and he was stunned that the judge ruled against him.  So, now not only does he owe use $842 in back rent, but now he owes $500 in attorney fees. 

Flash forward to last weekend.  Diego was at the apartments and Jr. approached him to tell him that
1.  he wants to pay us
2.  he doesn't want to move
3.  he doesn't want to deal with Jana - only with us.
4.  we should give him a chance to catch up and pay

Good grief!  Jana says kick 'em out.  I said kick 'em out.  My mom, who actually owns the apartments, said kick 'em out.  Diego said give them a chance.  Sigh.  So we set up meeting with Jr., Jana and me for this afternoon. 

After much discussion I agreed to let him stay on the condition that he
1.  Pay as much as possible now
2.  Pay all of March rent on or before March 9
3.  Pay all the rent every month.
4.  If anything happens to call Jana.  Anything!  And he has to still work with Jana - I am not going to be his contact.  

So he paid $840 in CASH today and promises to pay another $550 by March 9.   Good grief - couldn't had have done this two weeks ago?  And we are left holding the bag for the $500 attorney's fees.  Yes, technically we have a judgment against him to pay the attorney fees, but in the interest of moving forward, and getting any money at all, we'll pay the attorney fees and move on.  The reality is that even if we pay the attorney fees, there is still more money in Mom's pocket than if he moved out and paid nothing. 

The biggest consolation is that the eviction judgment against him is good for six months, so that in three months when this all falls apart, we can still move forward without additional court costs for eviction. 

I'm not sure what the lesson to be learned here is, but we are trying very hard to be merciful.  The thing that frustrated me most?  He didn't even say thank you. 

Post Script:
Shortly before our 4:00 meeting Jana received a phone call from another property manager who was doing a reference check on Jr.  He was trying to rent a condo for $750 per month.  Jana's reference put a quick stop to that!  It's just amazing to me, however, that the guy who can't stay current paying $550 per month is trying ot rent a place that costs $750 per month?