My tenant won't pay!

[phyllis10]

What is the name of your state? New Mexico
I have a tenant in my rental who won't pay the utilities (or the rent or the balance of the deposit.) She was supposed to get the utilities put into her name after she moved in on February 7, 2008. She transferred the electricity, but never the city utilities (gas, water, sewer, trash pickup). She reimbursed us when the bill came in the first month, but now owes over $300 in utilities alone. We are in the process of having her evicted, but it could be another week or two. In the mean time, she is still racking up a utility bill. We have been told that we cannot have the utilities turned off because they are essentials, but if they were in her name and she wasn't paying, the City would certainly shut them off. I know that we can ask for reimbursement in court, but we know that even though we may get a judgment against her, we will never see that money. Do we really have to leave them on?
Also, we have a brand new washer, dryer and refrigerator in the house. I am very concerned that she may take them when she leaves. Am I allowed to go in (with a 24 hour notice) and remove them before she leaves?
Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated! Thank you!

[MIRAKALES]

The best advice is the follow the rules and regulations of standard procedures for landlord/tenant guidelines to avoid these basic problems. Join a local or national landlord protection association to learn the guidelines for the State of New Mexico.
The appliances should be covered by property insurance. Allow the insurance company and police department to deal with issues of theft should that happen. Issue a 24-hour notice of intent to inspect premises and take digital photographs of the premises, appliances, and fixtures. (For the record, this should have been done prior to move-in, along with a Move-In Inspection Report signed and dated by tenant.) The cost of unpaid utilities and unpaid rent should be deducted from the security deposit. (For the record, the security deposit should have been collected prior to move-in.)

[phyllis10]

Thanks for the advice. This was our first rental and we have learned a lot of very expensive lessons. I will go and take some pictures. Doing that before move-in was not something we had ever been advised to do, but certainly will in the future!
What happened to the days when a handshake was good enough?

[Alaska landlord]

Tenant should not have been allowed to move in without a proper background, credit, rental history check.

You don't buy new appliances for your rental unless you got them really cheap and tenants should not have been given the key until you had proof of all utilities turned over to their names. No deposit money should have been an indicator that extracting the rent was going to be a monthly ordeal. If your tenant is working and your state allows it, have their wages garnished, Bet they don't have a bank account either.

There;s a really helpful book put out by NOLO called "Every Landlords Legal Guide" You should buy it.