abandoned by roomate in FL

This is a discussion on abandoned by roomate in FL within the Landlord vs Tenant Issues forum, part of the REAL ESTATE & PROPERTY LAW category; I had a roomate for 5 months. Out of all the bills which came to $2700, she paid $400. After ...

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Old Jul 14th, 2009, 09:25 PM   #1
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Unhappy abandoned by roomate in FL

I had a roomate for 5 months. Out of all the bills which came to $2700, she paid $400. After the 4th month, she moved out. I was able to get her to sign a document stating she owes me $2300 and when she would start paying me which never happened. I then got her to sign out of the lease at the end of the 5th month which to me means she can't just walk in and take her stuff without me present. Now, I have not heard from her in almost two months. The last conversation I had with her was that she would start paying me a month ago which also never happened. I have a closet full of her stuff, and I am not a storage unit.
I was looking into claims court, but I was not convinced that even if it goes my way that it truly makes her 'pay' the money owed me.
Legally, what can I do? Does the 90 day time frame also apply? Can I throw her stuff out or sell it and make up the money I lost? Can I turn her stuff over to the apartment complex? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!!
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Old Jul 14th, 2009, 11:20 PM   #2
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Default Re: abandoned by roomate in FL

See FL abandoned property law under FL Statutes 715.104 to 715.111 to see how long you had to store her belongings and what steps you need to take to dispose of them. You won't be turning them over to the complex. They don't want them. You may be able to sell them for the debt. Follow your state law on this.

While pursuing it in small claims court won't guarantee that she will pay, it will accomplish a couple of things.
1) It will put the debt on her record for all people to see, including future LLs. They will deny housing to her based on the bad rental debt. It is a public record that anyone can see (future LLs, friends, relatives, employers, etc.)
2) It also will affect her credit. It is counted as a bad debt and will knock her credit score down for quite some time. She will have to pay it off before she can buy some items like a house, and will raise the rates she has to pay on other items since it will depress her credit score.
3) Getting the official court judgment shouldn't be that hard since she signed a paper saying she owed this amount. Be sure to ask for interest on this money until it is paid. When she needs her credit back, she will have to pay yuou back mre than what she signed for.
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