Finding Former Tenants to Collect

15 TIPS TO FINDING FORMER TENANTS TO COLLECT 

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!

11. DEPARTMENT OF MOTOR VEHICLES

12. LOCAL TRAFFIC

13. BANKRUPTCY COURT

14. COUNTY RECORDER OFFICE

15. STATE BUSINESS LICENSE

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Thank you

Cynthia

Texas Levy on Personal Property to Collect

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 directs the 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, the monies 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.

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Collecting on Judgments" Freezing the bank accounts

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. 

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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!

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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.

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Conditional Judgment Against Employer in Wage Garnishment

CONDITIONAL JUDGMENT AGAINST EMPLOYER

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!

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Thank you
Cynthia

Judgment Debtor Files Bankruptcy

 

JUDGMENT DEBTOR FILES BANKRUPTCY

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.

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