Results 1 to 5 of 5
  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Posts
    2

    Default No Rent Paid by Former Friend - Verbal Agreement in Florida

    My question involves small claims court in the state of: FLORIDA

    Hello,

    My former friend/roommate moved out after 2 months of living with me and my girlfriend without any notice, he just packed up and left one day.

    We agreed on $500/monthly and he kept delaying payment and stating he would pay next time he got paid and etc until eventually he moved out and stopped communicating with me..

    I have attemped to recover the rent money and I don't have anything except text communications with him where he has insisted that he will NOT pay what he owes me -- Basically he is admitting to owning the debt, however he will not pay me.

    I have witnesses to testify to this such as my girlfriend living with me at the time of this, my friends who have came over and seen him there, even my neighbors but I wouldn't want to drag them into this.

    I will be sending him a certified letter via US MAIL demanding payment, if he does not respond I will file suit in small claims..

    What are my chances with this one? Thanks!


  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Toledo, OH
    Posts
    16,307

    Default Re: No Rent Paid by Former Friend - Verbal Agreement in Florida

    Court does not work on "chances", it works on facts. The more facts you have to back up your claims, the more likely you are to prevail.

  3. #3

    Default Re: No Rent Paid by Former Friend - Verbal Agreement in Florida

    Got anything in writing? If not, he'll say he was staying short term and no rent was agreed on. Since he wasn't there long enough to establish a history of payments, you'll have no evidence to show the court that he had been paying but stopped. As Missy pointed out, court works on what you can establish. A verbal-only agreement, even with witnesses, still doesn't give the court much to go on, especially if there isn't a history of action that supports that agreement (ie he had paid the correct amount at least once before, or had written a check for a partial amount with a notation that it was a partial payment, etc.).

    Friends or not, get things IN WRITING.

    Then there's a second issue. Let's assume just for the sake of arguement that you win the lawsuit. Now what? You've got a judgement in hand. Does he have the money to pay? Will he? If he won't, are you prepared to try to locate and go back to court to get orders to garnish his bank accounts (assuming there's anything there), or to locate any leinable property and to get a lein placed (which STILL won't get you your money, only make it so he can't sell the property without you getting your cut first). The easy part is trying to win a case (with amble evidence, which you don't appear to have). The hard part is COLLECTING on any judgement the court hands down. The court doesn't do that leg work for you - so before you invest a lot of time, effort, or money into pursuing the matter, take a strong look at how likely you are to RECOVER, not just win.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Posts
    2

    Default Re: No Rent Paid by Former Friend - Verbal Agreement in Florida

    Quote Quoting aardvarc
    View Post
    Got anything in writing? If not, he'll say he was staying short term and no rent was agreed on. Since he wasn't there long enough to establish a history of payments, you'll have no evidence to show the court that he had been paying but stopped. As Missy pointed out, court works on what you can establish. A verbal-only agreement, even with witnesses, still doesn't give the court much to go on, especially if there isn't a history of action that supports that agreement (ie he had paid the correct amount at least once before, or had written a check for a partial amount with a notation that it was a partial payment, etc.).

    Friends or not, get things IN WRITING.
    The only written documentation I have is text communications between me and him, basically me asking for the money and him stating he isn't paying me.. I also have text communications of him telling me he would pay me the following friday.

    It shows history throughout the 2 months of me asking for payment, and him making excuses until the end then stating he isn't paying me because he doesn't want to.

    Shouldn't that be enough to establish that an agreement was made to pay ? He never denies it in the communications.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    LA LA Land
    Posts
    9,170

    Default Re: No Rent Paid by Former Friend - Verbal Agreement in Florida

    Quote Quoting s0ber
    View Post
    The only written documentation I have is text communications between me and him, basically me asking for the money and him stating he isn't paying me.. I also have text communications of him telling me he would pay me the following friday.

    It shows history throughout the 2 months of me asking for payment, and him making excuses until the end then stating he isn't paying me because he doesn't want to.
    Text messages can, at times, be difficult to authenticate and as such, lacking a written agreement signed by both parties, it still remains your "word" against his.

    Quote Quoting s0ber
    View Post
    Shouldn't that be enough to establish that an agreement was made to pay ?
    Even if it is, and even if you win the case (heck, he may not even show up for the hearing at which point, you can win by default), that does not mean that he's coming over the next day to hand you the cash. You'll still have an uphill battle as you attempt to collect on that judgement you're hoping for!

    If you think that its worth your time and effort, then by all means, go for it. Depending on the amount you're claiming he owes you, you maybe better off putting it behind you and chaulking it up as a lesson learned to get things IN WRITTING next time.

    1. Sponsored Links
       

Similar Threads

  1. Rental Agreements: How to Back Out of a Deal to Rent An Apartment - Rent Paid, Lease Not Signed
    By ElizabethB7419 in forum Landlord-Tenant Law
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 05-20-2011, 07:49 AM
  2. Consumer Law Issues: Verbal Agreement with a Friend Who Quit Paying His Part of the Bill
    By ltx in forum Consumer Law
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 02-04-2011, 06:49 AM
  3. Roommates: Roommate/Ex Girlfriend - No Lease, No Verbal Agreement, No Rent Paid
    By flowner in forum Landlord-Tenant Law
    Replies: 4
    Last Post: 08-20-2009, 12:23 PM
  4. Roommates: Evicting a Roommate who Paid Rent, but Violated Verbal Agreement
    By Boomhauer in forum Landlord-Tenant Law
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 12-03-2007, 08:06 AM
  5. Rental Agreements: Verbal Agreement To Not Pay Last Month's Rent
    By rico0765 in forum Landlord-Tenant Law
    Replies: 5
    Last Post: 04-30-2007, 01:42 PM
 
 
Sponsored Links

Legal Help, Information and Resources