Crappy ex-roommate. Need some advice.

[66speed]

So a friend and I moved in together in September of '09, and then in February of '10 we had a falling out and basically stopped talking to eachother. In July of '10 he moved out unbeknownst to me, and our lease was up at the end of that following September. For the last two months of our lease I would just text him and let him know how much he owed and hopefully he would go and cut the apartments a check. Every month it became more and more of a hassle to get him to pay. He would stop responding to my texts and never answered my calls. I was only able to get him to pay because I sent out a mass text to all mutual friends asking them to please inform him that he owes me money next time they see him. He finally called me back after he realised I sent the texts out and asked me to stop and that he would pay.

Well in september, I cut the apartments a check, turned in my keys, and moved all my crap out. I assumed he did the same.

Fast forward to 3 days ago: I get a call from a lady with some company saying that she is with "x company" and is informing me that I(he) owes our old apartments "x" amount of dollars and that If I don't pay off the entire debt or make a payment it would be filed against my credit and she basically would ruin my credit for the next 7 years and 180 days pretty much making it impossible for me to rent in the future. I explained the situation to her and she stated that she tried to contact him, but was unable to speak to him. Since both of our names were on the lease, I'm being held just as responsible for his debt, which I can understand. So basically, I'm making the payments towards his debt to save my credit(and his), and nothing happens to him. He doesn't have to pay a cent, unless of course I decide to take him to small claims court.

Basically, I was just wondering if anyone has ever been in a situation like this and what is the best way to handle it. Any help is appreciated.

 

[konradr]

Pay it off so your credit is clean, proceed to small claims court to get reimbursed from roommate. Your credit is most important.

 

[DaveHutch]

^ yup

 

[UFGatorGuy20]

So a friend and I moved in together in September of '09, and then in February of '10 we had a falling out and basically stopped talking to eachother. In July of '10 he moved out unbeknownst to me, and our lease was up at the end of that following September. For the last two months of our lease I would just text him and let him know how much he owed and hopefully he would go and cut the apartments a check. Every month it became more and more of a hassle to get him to pay. He would stop responding to my texts and never answered my calls. I was only able to get him to pay because I sent out a mass text to all mutual friends asking them to please inform him that he owes me money next time they see him. He finally called me back after he realised I sent the texts out and asked me to stop and that he would pay. Well he ended up only paying about

Well in september, I cut the apartments a check, turned in my keys, and moved all my crap out. I assumed he did the same.

Fast forward to 3 days ago: I get a call from a lady with some company saying that she is with "x company" and is informing me that I(he) owes our old apartments "x" amount of dollars and that If I don't pay off the entire debt or make a payment it would be filed against my credit and she basically would ruin my credit for the next 7 years and 180 days pretty much making it impossible for me to rent in the future. I explained the situation to her and she stated that she tried to contact him, but was unable to speak to him. Since both of our names were on the lease, I'm being held just as responsible for his debt, which I can understand. So basically, I'm making the payments towards his debt to save my credit(and his), and nothing happens to him. He doesn't have to pay a cent, unless of course I decide to take him to small claims court.

Basically, I was just wondering if anyone has ever been in a situation like this and what is the best way to handle it. Any help is appreciated.

What happened? Someone scare you mid-sentence. lol. sorry...

My advice is to pay it off, but keep VERY detailed records and indeed take your "ex-friend" to small claims court to get your $ back... Good luck. :beer:

 

[DSG04Lightning]

Pay it off so your credit is clean, proceed to small claims court to get reimbursed from roommate. Your credit is most important.

this

 

[66speed]

What happened? Someone scare you mid-sentence. lol. sorry...

My advice is to pay it off, but keep VERY detailed records and indeed take your "ex-friend" to small claims court to get your $ back... Good luck. :beer:

Lol I got a phone call while I was typing this out and my mind started wandering. Fixed it.

And thanks for the input guys. Are there typically any court fees associated with taking someone to small claims?

As of right now, I'm making payments on the debt to keep it off my credit, but was hoping there was an easier way to handle this aside from going to court.

I'm just tired of dealing with this guys' crap.

 

[19mustang95]

I'd try the mass text thing again. It worked once, maybe it will work again.

 

[stangin99]

I'd try the mass text thing again. It worked once, maybe it will work again.

Yup.

People like this hate when you show them for who they really are. Their friends think they're great people until you show them they owe you thousands and are leaving it on you.

He will pay quickly.

 

[wvmystichrome]

My sister I raised after our mother passed away got involved in something like this. Only my wife and I ended up paying for all the ~!@#. Her roommate moved out because of a fight and she would not pay any more of the rent. Both of their names were on the lease. So instead of EX helping with her $400.00+ a month plus utilities we got stuck with $900.00 a month utilities. Plus when it came time to leave my wife and I went down to the apartment where we cleaned and sterilized the whole thing. Plus we left a whole living room suit in there til we could go back the next weekend. We still had 2 weeks left on the lease. Needless to say landlord made some gosh awful story and kept the security deposit and all furniture. Plus he threatened to sue us for damages. I was pissed at not getting the security deposit back but laughed at the damages part. The walls were cinder blocks and the floor terrazza, so they could not be hurt.

I agree though with the others. Pay it off and then go after your ex-roommate for reimbursement.

 

[ChiSVT]

change your name back to poop.

 

[txyaloo]

Lol I got a phone call while I was typing this out and my mind started wandering. Fixed it.

And thanks for the input guys. Are there typically any court fees associated with taking someone to small claims?

As of right now, I'm making payments on the debt to keep it off my credit, but was hoping there was an easier way to handle this aside from going to court.

I'm just tired of dealing with this guys' crap.

Vinny seemed like a douche.

Don't waste your time with small claims court. It's next to impossible to collect in Texas. You can't dock wages and can only attach liens to real property of which he doesn't have. You can also have the sheriff collect personal property from his house, but he doesn't have much of that either. In the end, you still have to pay the leasing company since it's your credit that's getting screwed.

If you want to go that way, it only costs $50-100 to file, though. If he doesn't answer the complaint, you win by default. You'd either have to serve him with the suit or pay someone else to do it.

Part of having a lease like that with both names on it is you're joint and severally responsible for the debt.

 

[DSG2003Mach1]

agree with what everyone else says

there is usually a small filing fee for small claims court (around here anyway), some places it varies with the amount you're claiming. You should be able to look it up online, then add that amount to what you're asking for, or if allowed, the amount + court costs in your complaint.

to add to what txyaloo said, also even in a default judgement once you have a lien placed against what very little he probably owns theres still work in maintaining it every so often or it "expires" (at least in FL)

 

[66speed]

Vinny seemed like a douche.

Don't waste your time with small claims court. It's next to impossible to collect in Texas. You can't dock wages and can only attach liens to real property of which he doesn't have. You can also have the sheriff collect personal property from his house, but he doesn't have much of that either. In the end, you still have to pay the leasing company since it's your credit that's getting screwed.

If you want to go that way, it only costs $50-100 to file, though. If he doesn't answer the complaint, you win by default. You'd either have to serve him with the suit or pay someone else to do it.

Part of having a lease like that with both names on it is you're joint and severally responsible for the debt.

Yeah he is a douche. He does however have a TV that he ran off with and never paid me my half for. Would I be able to get the Sheriff to collect that?

 

[xtremeskime21]

nutsack punch?

 

[txyaloo]

Yeah he is a douche. He does however have a TV that he ran off with and never paid me my half for. Would I be able to get the Sheriff to collect that?

Most likely not. You get $30,000 of personal property that is immune from civil judgments. Included in that is home furnishings which it's possible a TV might be considered. Also, I doubt he has $30k in personal property that would put him over the limit.

2005 Texas Code - CHAPTER 42. PERSONAL PROPERTY - Texas Property Code :: Justia -- US Laws, Codes, Statutes & Cases -- Justia

 

[66speed]

Most likely not. You get $30,000 of personal property that is immune from civil judgments. Included in that is home furnishings which it's possible a TV might be considered. Also, I doubt he has $30k in personal property that would put him over the limit.

2005 Texas Code - CHAPTER 42. PERSONAL PROPERTY - Texas Property Code :: Justia -- US Laws, Codes, Statutes & Cases -- Justia

Daggum. Maybe it's best to just count my losses and move on.

 

[Roushbabe]

Pay it off so your credit is clean, proceed to small claims court to get reimbursed from roommate. Your credit is most important.

+2, credit is so important. Get that taken care of right away, that should be your first priority before you take this jerk to small claims court. The situation sucks and I'm sorry you're involved in it. It's a life lesson and I'm sure everything will work out in the end. Best of luck to ya!

 

[jerrad]

Daggum. Maybe it's best to just count my losses and move on.

I'd still go after him just to make him sweat. Getting served might light a fire under his ass and make him come up with the cash.

Sorry to hear this man. Seems like everyone has one of these stories.:nonono:

 

[txyaloo]

Daggum. Maybe it's best to just count my losses and move on.

We can dress up all tacticool and go serve him.

 

[mineralgrey01gt]

this is why id never move in with a friend. This happens 99.9% of the time