We received an email asking how to collect on a court awarded judgment. Being a legal question, we thought it best answered by someone with the letters JD behind their name. Again, it’s Andy Hull to the rescue and below is his answer to that fine question. If you have a question of your own, please let us know and we’ll track down an opinion.
From Andy...
One of the persistent questions that I continue to receive is how do I get paid once I have evicted my tenant. Just because you have a Judgment that says the tenant owes you money and has to vacate by a certain date does not mean that you will automatically get paid. The Judgment should be reported on the tenant’s credit history and will show up in the future. If the tenant attempts to obtain a loan, buy a car, house, etc., the Judgment should show up and the tenant would have to pay that off before they could get the loan. The Judgments do carry ten percent (10%) interest per year and that interest would also have to be paid.
Realistically, keep in mind, the Judgment is nothing more than a piece of paper signed by a Judge and it is up to the landlord to try and collect on that. The easiest way to collect is a garnishment of wages if you know where your tenant is employed or garnishment of their bank account if they have sufficient money in the bank account. Otherwise, you may have to forward the Judgment to a collection agency. Keep in mind, any monies due and owing after the Judgment was entered for such things as property damage, future rents, etc. would have to be pursued in a separate lawsuit.
Once you have a Judgment, if you wish to pursue it and you do not know where the tenants are employed but you do have a forwarding address for them, you may wish to explore the following. You can serve upon the former tenant what is commonly called a Judgment Debtor’s Exam. This is a subpoena from the Court that the tenant must appear back in front on the Judge and bring in proof of their assets, bank accounts, property they own, place of employment, tax returns, etc. Whether the tenant is honest enough to bring this information is always a risk. You can also send the Court Constable to their new home with what is called a Writ of Execution. This is an Order to the Constable to seize any nonexempt property and try and sell it. However, most property is going to be exempt unless the tenant has such things as a collection, etc., but this would be for the Constable to determine.
Beyond that, there is not much that can be done.
Again, thanks to Andy Hull. If you need an experienced landlord/tenant attorney in the Greater Phoenix area, Andy’s office number is 602-230-0088. If you need a great real estate person on your team… we’d like to apply for that position.
Gene Urban & Ron Urban
The Urban Team at Realty Executives
602-234-5777
Gene@UrbanTeamAZ.com
