BiggerPockets

Very, very slim. You almost have to spend to much has in nag tryingbto collect that amount from them. Odds arevthe only time you would is if they ever tried to clean up their credit, which is unlikely.

Know Michigan law, but fair to say most likely no shot on tax garnishment

Many times the only satisfaction I get is knowing they now have an eviction/judgement on their record, and knowing that no decent LL will rent to them.

However, in some states one can attach liens to certain property in certain instances.

Your best defense is knowing the law better than your tenants, and that can be addressed by reading some reference books and studying your state laws online.

Sorry for the lousy situation! Agreeing with everyone here so far... You're not likely to get your 1K and more than likely to pay out more than you will ever see coming back to pursue the judgement. But the judgement on their credit report is your only chance of ever getting the money.-Sorry-Most of us have to take this kind of lump every now and then. Cost of doing business. Good Luck!

Here is how the Michigan law reads.....Once a money judgment is awarded, the prevailing party, through a lawful collection process, can garnish wages, garnish bank accounts and garnish tax refunds. The prevailing party may also be entitled to another remedy-executing the money judgment against personal property(car,fine jewelry, collectibles and the like)...................That said the deadbeat drives a beater and has know fine jewelry however he did have a nice collection of pop cans.LOL....so it would seem my only hope is the Tax refund after all and I know he has already filed this year. If I can make sure this sticks with this POS on his credit report then its worth the effort to me. I want him to remember me and tell his friends so they avoid me like the plague.

The only tax return you can go after is the State tax return. You cannot garnish the IRS return.

I've had this happen to me more than once. More often than not, it's a better use of my time to just suck it up and move on. If I do get the money judgement (99% of the time I don't anymore since I just want the lazy SOBs out), I will try to persue it. If I'm not getting anywhere I send it to a local collection agency. They charge 50% of whatever they recover. The nice thing is, sometimes a year or two down the road you'll get a check in the mail and not even remember what it was from! :)

I can PM you the names of the companies I use. They're both Flint-based, but I'm sure they cover the thumb area.

After you get the money judgement, that's when you can turn the case over to a collection agency. Since you would have already gotten the judgement, inherintely, the person would have already been served with the summons and complaint to appear in court.

I use either Merchants and Medical based in Flint on Taylor Drive, and Russell Collection Agency on Van Slyke based in Flint.