Collecting money from evicted tenant on a court judgement

[Torx2]

State: NY

You go to court to evict a non-paying tenant after serving them 3 day notice to pay or quit then the petitions. Court awards you possession and back rent along with court costs plus a Sherriff Warrant.

What is the best way to collect the money awarded in the judgement?

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[FarmerJ]

There really is not one thing that would work great, You can learn all you can about judgment enforcement in your states laws BUT do know for example if the former tenant filed BK they could include what they owe you and you might only get a percentage if its a chapter 13 , If the courts let a filer do a 7 then you get nothing. AS to learning where they work and following laws in your state for garnishment , that could become a never ending chase if they kept changing jobs or say moved from one state to another. ONE method also is to know what your states statute of limitations are and if you can renew a judgment for a like time frame, SO say in your state a judgment goes off the books in 7 years , if it can be renewed then its good for another 7 . Some tenants do have things change for the better in time and paying it off may be the only way they get things like favorable credit terms or it might even impact a job they want really bad. Its hard to say. in the time being know that the judgment you have can impact what their rental options are , in some places many LLs do refuse to rent to someone with a court history of not paying rent or other tenant related court records.

 

[Torx2]

Its no wonder debt collection agencies don't last very long here. Those that do stay in business don't deal with tenant debt collection.

 

[adjusterjack]

Wage garnishment and bank account levy are the two best ways.

Unfortunately, by the time you evict a dead beat tenant and get a judgment the chances of ever collecting are slim to none.

I learned that during my 20 years as a landlord with 3 properties and several uncollectible judgments.

If you intend to continue being a landlord you're going to have to accept those losses as the cost of doing business and hope you make it up in the long run. Either that or sell the place and never look back.