Mrslandlady has collected over $300,000 in awarded judgments. 70% of all judgments can be collected. Learn how to collect in the post judgment proceedings.
One of the most asked questions that I receive from the landlords is "How do I find the former tenant to collect?" After collecting on 96 judgments I had to have a strategy to how I was going to find the former tenants and collect. They can run but they can't hide!
Gary has followed the U-Haul van to their next address
They always tell us they are moving to Texas
Usually Texas is about 8 blocks away!
1. Courthouse website:
You will put the former tenants name in the search by name for cases. I would suggest putting the search under the defendant and plaintiff. I caught a former tenant as a plaintiff in a child support case. You will check each case to see what cases are active. If we can find active cases then we can usually find the address of service and a court hearing date. Numerous times I have had the licensed process server waiting outside the court hearing door with documents to serve.
2. Peoplesmart: I have found many former tenants addresses from this website. You have to pay but I feel it is worth it. One of my landlords that purchased the Collect Back Rent Training Course had a hundred tenants that had moved out and owed him money. He had been a landlord for 20 years with over 300 apartments. He was going to take them all to Small Claims court so he employed me to find the addresses. I found 72 good addresses out of the 100 names he gave me. Peoplesmart was a great asset with Google and the courthouse website.
3.Google: Google the name and the family members on the rental application.
4. Family members:
This is one of the places that the former tenant can retreat to. It could be for a lack of money, good place to hide or last resort. There have been times I have sent the licensed process server to a family member's home to serve the former tenant. They have given the process server the address where he/she is currently living. They didn't want someone constantly banging on the door trying to serve documents.
5. Social Media:
This is a good tool to find the activity of the former tenant. I had a judgment against a tenant for $2,500 and I had remembered she was always going to the gym. I noticed that she had posted on her social media account that she worked out at a local health club every Tuesday evening. I gave the valuable information to my licensed process server and bingo!
6. White pages:
I have found some addresses from the white pages. The tenants usually have a cell phone and white pages lists landline numbers. But it is definitely worth the try. This site is excellent to find landlords name and addresses when you start buying judgments.
7. Yahoo People Search:
I haven't used this website but some of the Collect Back Rent members have found addresses.
8. Dog Pile:
Debe purchased the Collect Back Rent Training Course For Landlords when I spoke in Indiana. I knew right from the start that she was going to be a real go-getter. She had a judgment on a former tenant for $1,700 and she wanted her money. She found an address of a former tenant on dog pile. The former tenant had 2 dogs (one on the application) and left big piles in the yard when they moved! She used her gut feeling and there was the address!
9. Zaba Search:
This is a good website-I have found about 5 addresses from this site.
10. MUGSHOOTS.COM:
Poetry in motion when you google the former tenants name on this site. I have scrolled down and suddenly there is the tenant's mug. Serving court documents to the former tenant in the jail is an easy task. Unbelievable!
Levy on Personal Property court proceedings is a tool in which I have satisfied numerous judgments. There are four avenues of post-judgment to collect on judgments and I take advantage of all of them.
30 days after judgment was awarded, the plaintiff will proceed to the courthouse to file the Levy on Personal Property procedure. It will be filed under the same case number from the court the judgment was awarded to judgment satisfied.
When the plaintiff files a Levy on Personal Property the procedure directsthe sheriff or constable to seize the defendant’s non-exempt property. Check your state’s statutes to determine which personal property is exempt for seizure.
The sheriff will sell the non-exempt property at a sheriff’s auction. The defendant can pay the judgment before the sale which would dismiss the proceedings.
After costs of the procedure, themonies received from the sale will go towards the unsatisfied judgment:
Sheriff seized the defendant’s “fat boy Harley Davidson. I received the judgment of $3,900 in full within 72 hours!
Texas Procedure
County clerk will issue these documents and set a court date.
Request for Abstract of Judgment-once you file the abstract, the county clerk is required by law to record in that county’s real property records.
Application of Writ of Execution- document applying for the Writ of Execution to satisfy the judgment and costs in this action.
Writ of Execution-document issued by the county clerk that permits the sheriff or constable to seize the defendant’s non-exempt property.
Order of Sale-document describes the property to be levied and commands the sheriff or constable to seize.
Plaintiff must appear at the court hearing, but the defendant is not required to appear.
More than once the mere presence of a constable or sheriff at the door is often sufficient motivation to make payment arrangements.
Here are a few examples of personal property exempt in Texas:
1. Family heirlooms
2. Provisions for consumption
3. Two firearms
4. Farming and ranching vehicles
5. Two horses and bridle for each
6. 12 head of cattle
7. 120 fowl
8. Household pets
Always refresh the rental application when you are resigning the rental agreement. Make sure the tenant stills owns the personal property listed on the agreement. Keep an eye on the cars, boats and motorcycles.
Good idea is to perform a thorough asset search prior to requesting the writ of execution so that you can direct the constable or sheriff to specific property.
This is one of the four avenues of Post-Judgment procedures to collect on awarded judgments..
I have collected 96 satisfied judgments and 11 have been a Bank Levy.. One of the my cases had two defendants so I filed a Wage Garnishment on one and a Bank Levy on the other. I received a check from the bank for $1,800 and weekly checks from the employer for $110. The judgment was paid up in 90 days.
We are naming a banking institution that the defendant has an account. All accounts are frozen until a decision is made in the Citation Court by the Judge for reimbursement.
HOW DO WE FIND THE DEBTORS ACCOUNTS?
You will always keep your rental application updated every year with current bank accounts. If that fails to supply the bank, we can file a Debtors Examination to subpoena current bank statements. The Debtors Examination is the trapeze net for collecting on judgments because we can subpoena documents or accept a monthly payment.
After the decision in Forcible Detainer or Small Claims Court, we take the Order to the Clerk’s office to obtain a “Bank Levy”.
The Clerk will give us (2) forms to fill out.
Notice
Bank Levy (Non-Wage Garnishment}
The Clerk will issue a court date and he/she will staple the Notice, and Bank Levy together to take to the process server to serve the banking institution.
We will send a copy of the Notice to the debtor after the bank is served. Naturally, we don't want them cleaning out the account before the bank is served.
The bank will respond to us, answering the Interrogatories through the mail before the court date. All decisions will be made out on the Order form. On the day of court, we bring “Proof of Service” from the licensed process server and the Interrogatories from the bank. The Judge will view the Bank Interrogatories thus releasing all or partial funds towards the outstanding judgment.
We send a copy of the Order to the banking institution via certified mail, which instructs them to mail the funds directly to the plaintiff.
1) Funds Available Proceed to the podium, the Judge will ask for the “Proof of Service” and the "Interrogatories”. The Judge will grant you the funds that are available. Judgment satisfied!
2) No Funds Available At the podium, the Judge will ask for “Proof of Service” and the "Interrogatories”. If there are no funds available, the Judge will dismiss the Bank Levy. Then we will file one of the other 3 avenues of Post Judgment Proceedings. 3) Funds Available-Not Enough to Satisfy the Judgment At the podium, the Judge will grant the amounts that are in the accounts. We can start the process again, filing another Bank Levy for the remaining balance or obtain a Debtors Examination for the remaining balance.
NOW ON AMAZON
Written by a landlord for the landlords in language they can understand.
Cynthia has collected over $300,000 in awarded judgments and knows how to get the money.
Awarded a judgment and want your money?
Are you buying judgments and want to collect?
Learn the four post-judgment procedures to collect.
70% of all judgments can be collected with proper training.
Forms and procedures to start collecting.
Just added 20 pages (Courtroom Anxiety, Serving the Court Documents, Contempt of Court and Judgment Debtor files Bankruptcy.
155 pages of needed education on collecting on judgments.
BONUS: Being Assigned Judgments to Collect
I have collected over $300,000 in judgments and I can show you the procedures!
Gary and Cynthia Schmidt have been landlords for over 30 years with over 500 tenants. The Schmidt’s couldn’t take when the tenants lived in the rentals and didn’t pay the rent. After a couple evictions, Cynthia dove into the Post-Judgment Proceedings to collect. Cynthia represented herself in court since 1997 and has collected $300,000 in judgments in 96 satisfied judgments.
I have obtained two conditional judgments against the employer in the Wage Garnishment proceedings We have three Collect Back Rent members that have obtained conditional judgments against the employer and one member who obtained a judgment against the bank.
ALL CONDITIONAL JUDGMENTS
WERE PAID IN FULL BY EMPLOYER AND BANK
What is the this all about?
We filed the Wage Garnishment documents at the courthouse. The clerk issued a Summons and Interrogatories to be served to the employer. These documents must be served by the sheriff or licensed process server. The Summons states that the employer has usually 21 to 40 days to respond to the Interrogatories. When the employer responds they send a copy of the Interrogatories to the plaintiff and the courts.
The employer failed to answer the Interrogatories within the time frame set out by the courts.
The first time this happened to me with no Collect Back Rent Training Course training, I was dumbfounded. After 50 days, I ventured up to the courthouse library and looked up Wage Garnishment laws in Illinois. Lo and behold there it was "Conditional Judgment" against the employer if they fail to answer the Interrogatories. The law stated that the plaintiff could obtain a Conditional Judgment against the employer for the full amount of the judgment!!
Wild horses couldn't stop me now!
I filed a Conditional Judgment against the employer at the courts and the clerk will set a court date. The documents were served to the employer by the sheriff or process server stating that the employer had to appear in court.
At the court hearing, the employer had a representative which met me in the hallway before court. The representative had a check for the full amount-judgment, court costs and interest! The checks were for $3,455 and $1,700 made out to Cynthia Schmidt from the employers.
I COULDN'T BELIEVE IT!
WHAT HAPPENED TO THE INTERROGATORIES?
WHY DIDN'T THE EMPLOYER RESPOND?
When the documents are served to the employer, an employee has to accept service. In one of my cases, the employee accepting service was the defendant. The other case, the person accepting service was engaged to the defendant. He/she must have disposed of the Interrogatories with the theory that "it is all going to go away"
When resigning the rental agreement, be sure to have the tenant update the rental application. If he/she changed jobs, get the new information. That should be for all the tenants on the lease.
The minute you lay back on your heels-that is when you lose money!
There
are three principal types of bankruptcies to be used by judgment debtors,
Chapter 7, Chapter 11 and Chapter 13. Individuals and most corporations can
file for bankruptcy relief under Chapters 7 and 11. Only individuals with
income may file a Chapter 13.
Chapter 7 is a
liquidation bankruptcy that wipes out most of the judgment debtor’s unsecured
debts such as credit cards and awarded judgments in the Small Claims and
Eviction court. When the judgment debtor files Chapter 7 there is no need to
pay back balances through a repayment plan. When the judgment debtor files for Chapter 7,
an order called the automatic stay that immediately stops most creditors from
pursuing collection efforts Judgments awarded in the Eviction and Small Claims
court would stop.
Chapter 11 is a
form of bankruptcy that involves a reorganization of a judgment debtor's
business affairs, debts, and assets. Corporations generally file Chapter 11 if
they require time to restructure their debts. This version of bankruptcy gives
the debtor a fresh start. Chapter 11
bankruptcy is the most expensive form of a bankruptcy proceeding.
Corporations usually
file Chapter 11 and some individuals with a lot of debt, who do not qualify for
Chapter 7 or 13, may be eligible for Chapter 11. Judgments debtors in the
Eviction and Small Claims are not likely to file a Chapter 11. Most rental
agreements are residential with the judgment debtors being individuals but if the
agreement was in the commercial property and the judgment was awarded against a
corporation in any of these courts then it could be an option.
In Chapter
13 bankruptcy, the judgment debtor can keep all of their property (including
nonexempt assets but will have to pay creditors an amount equal to the value of
the nonexempt property). In exchange, the judgment debtor will pay back all or
a portion of their debts through a repayment plan (the amount to be paid
back will depend on your income, expenses, and type of debt). The judgment debtor must
make monthly payments to the Trustee for three to five years and may have to
pay back a portion of the general unsecured debt.
I have collected on three judgments that
was awarded in the Eviction court with relief under Chapter 13. You will be
notified thru the mail from the Trustee that the judgment debtor has filed
bankruptcy and what chapter.
Never believe the judgment debtor when he/she tells you they are going bankrupt. This is a tactic used to get rid of
you chasing them. Keep going until you get the confirmation thru the mail from
the Trustee Many times, the debtor stood at the podium in Debtors Exam and told the Judge they are going bankrupt. I would then ask the Judge for the proof of filing from the attorney who is handling the bankruptcy. 9 out of 10 times the debtor has no proof of filing, I motion to the Judge to allow me to do a debtor's examination in the hallway to move forward. If the Judge hesitates, I make a motion for a status hearing in which the debtor is demanded to bring proof of filing the bankruptcy.
When
the defendant fails to appear to the Rule to Show Cause
to Issue Hearing, the plaintiff will present the proof of service of the Rule
to Show Cause document. I suggest always using a licensed process server to serve all your court documents.
The Judge can’t issue a Bench Warrant without the proof
of service. This document should be picked a day prior to the hearing from the
sheriff or process server.
The
Judge will ask “What are you asking for today?”
Reply
“Judge, I ask the courts to issue a bench warrant on the defendant with a money
attachment”.
Judge
will ask for the Affidavit of Non-Military service to prove the defendant
failure to appear was he/she was in the Military. He/she will issue a Bench
Warrant and will decide on the amount of the bond. He/she will hand the
plaintiff 2 forms to make out to administer the warrant.
1.
Warrant Information Required for Sheriff’s Leads Entry
2.
Warrant of Arrest
These
documents have to be filled out by the plaintiff after the Judge issues the
Bench Warrant. The information needed is: height, weight, birthdate, middle
initial, along with hair and eye color. The employer of the Bench Warrant is the
plaintiff. This information is forwarded to the arresting officer so there is
no doubt it is the defendant in question.
When
the defendant is arrested and posts bond to be released, the courts will set a
bond hearing. The plaintiff will motion at the bond hearing for the funds to be
applied to the outstanding judgment.
1) Defendant appears
Payment agreement has already been
made in the Debtors Exam
You will be notified by the Clerk’s
Office that the defendant has been arrested and have posted a bond to be
released out of jail. And notifying you of the court time and place of Bond
Hearing.
Be sure to pick up a blank Order
before court to make out at the podium of the Judge’s decision.
When your case is called, the
Judge will ask the defendant whether there is any reason that the bond should
not be applied toward the outstanding judgment. We find whatever excuse the
defendant has, the Judge awards the plaintiff’s the bond money.
When the Judge awards the bond you
will fill in the appropriate blanks on the Order then, you will ask the Judge
for a Status Hearing to establish a payment schedule that has already been
agreed upon.
2) Defendant appears
No payment agreement has been made
After filling out the Order granting the bond to the
plaintiff, ask the Judge if you can conduct a Citation in the hallway to
establish an agreed payment plan, follow the procedure of: Citation to Discover
Assets. You will take the defendant out in the hallways to conduct a discovery.
3) Defendant failed to appear
After the Judge grants the bond to the plaintiff, you
will fill out the Order.
He/she will say, “What are you asking?”
Reply, “Another Bench Warrant Judge but can the bond
be more than the last time. The defendant is failing to pay or appear at the
court hearings?”
The Judge will grant another Bench Warrant and will
decide how much the money attachment will be. You fill in appropriate spaces on
the Order for another Bench Warrant.
The Judge will hand you the (Warrant Information
required for Sheriff’s Leads Entry) and the (Warrant of Arrest) to fill out.
These documents will go into the court records and forwarded to the sheriff.
You will be notified when the defendant is arrested again and will motion for
money attachment to be applied towards the judgment.
I AM IN YOUR CORNER LANDLORDS
Gary and I owned 75 single family homes at our peak and know the need for continuing education to be successful.
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We couldn't have climbed the ladder with confidence without his books.
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