who to collect money from tenants after judge said they owe us

[switchex]

What is the name of your state? MD

We took our tenant to court for evction and due rent. The judge ruled in favor of us and the tenants have to pay one month rent and late fee .. i had never been to the court before and assumed that the judge will give a deadline in these cases .. but nothing was said .. how would i collect my money? i mean just becasue the judge said they owe us money doesnt mean they will pay, right? will either the tenants or us receive anything from the court stating the outcome of the case?

 

[Rexlan]

Winning is 1/2 the battle. Now you have to collect it. Welcome to the world of justice ...lol.

If they could not pay the rent then you will likley not be able to collect the judgment either. If they can pay the rent then start by asking them to pay it to avoid the additional cost of enforcing the judgment and black marking their credit. They will have to pay that additional cost in addition to the judgment if it becomes necessary.

You need to have the judgment recorded by the clerk (docketed) and then you will probably need to turn it over to a collection service. If they collect, you may get about 1/2 of it.

 

[dcatz]

Rexlan is right. Your prospects of collecting against a judgment debtor for THAT kind of judgment fall below the threshold for a non-professional collector, meaning that you start somewhere below “very poor”. I’m sorry, but that’s the statistical reality and, with no offense intended, the questions confirm the inexperience.

On the other hand, I don’t think a collection service will help. The reason is that the judgment is in your name; you’re the judgment creditor. For any other person or entity to do any meaningful enforcement, aside from telephone calls asking to “please pay”, the judgment has to be in their name. Otherwise “they” can’t get the necessary documents and court orders to take action – bank account garnishments, wage garnishments, real property liens, seize and sell of personal property etc. That means that you either have to assign or sell the judgment. If you assign it and there’s recovery, you may get 50%. If you sell it, the offers will probably be less. If it’s big enough, you might think about assigning it to a retail collection attorney, but you’ll still have to pay enforcement costs and pay a contingent fee on any recovery – probably about 40%, give or take 5%.

After the court hearing and the entry of judgment, there is going to be a “stay” (suspension) of your enforcement rights to allow for an appeal. This will probably last about 30 days (you can check with the court). After that, why not try enforcing yourself? You probably got a credit application, when the tenant moved in. Does it include an employer, for a wage garnishment? You may have gotten a deposit and a few rent checks. Do you have bank account information? If you have no information and no idea where to begin, think about (1) recording the judgment and recording liens and sitting on it until it causes problems for the debtor, (2) turning it over to a collection attorney for a contingent fee or (3) selling it to someone more experienced but who will pay cents on the dollar for it.