I’ll echo what many posters have suggested. If the check clears, wait and see what happens in August. If you’ve got a problem getting paid in August, now you know that this will be an ongoing problem. Some landlords have no choice but to accept crummy tenants that are late on rent but eventually pay. Others don’t. Not sure which one you are.
In my opinion, when a tenant pays rent only with money orders or cashiers checks that raises a red flag. That may suggest they don’t have a good credit history and/or are keeping their funds out of bank accounts and out of the reach of creditors. Go to the san diego county recorders website and look at the grantor/grantee index. Type in their name and see if they have judgments recorded against them. It takes less than 5 minutes.
Coincidentally, I am trying an unlawful detainer case tomorrow morning on behalf of a landlord. I’ve never done one before, so I went to the law library and checked out a book that was written for landlords. It is a comprehensive guide showing landlords how to evict a tenant. Complete with forms, motions, etc. If you want, I can get the name of the book and post it on here tomorrow.
Over the past month or two I’ve learned how complicated the process can be. The fact patterns and the corresponding law applied to those facts are confusing and somewhat vague at times. Best of luck whatever you decide.
This is not a solicitation for a client and is not intended to be relied on as legal advice.
