Submitting a Deposit Alternative Claim & Best Practices

The short of it is that before FMO would be the better of the two as the claim will stay open and wait for payment until you take repossession of the unit. 

For claim cut-offs, it's important to ensure that claims are submitted within 120 days of the tenant's initial default. There's no downside to submitting a claim early — if a resident defaulted a month ago, it's often best to submit the claim at the end of the accounting month. Additionally, consider submitting claims for any residents who were in default during the previous month and are still not current. If they become current, that's great, and the claim will just close out; if not, though, it makes sure you have a claim in process to cover if they fail to pay and you have to evict them.