Worth it to pursue collection activity?

[Jason C.]

Good morning BP!

I have evicted a tenant (in Texas) and received a judgment for about 3k. The courthouse says I can file an abstract of judgment which gets me paid if they sell any real property in the next ten years. In addition/instead of that, is it worth pursuing with a collection agency? If so, does anybody have a recommendation on one to use?

[Marcia Maynard]

Send it to a collection agency, at least it will show up on the former tenant's credit report and will be a red flag to other landlords and lenders.  

Chances are next to nil for collecting if the person is unemployed and on public assistance.  If the person has any kind of financial strength now or in the future, you may see some or all of the money if you keep up with them.

A fellow landlord in my town bird dogs tenants that owe him money and has a pretty good collection record.  He does it by sending "holiday greeting cards" to them every year and asking for ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED on the envelope to keep track of their whereabouts.  The USPS forwards the mail piece and notifies the sender of the new address for a nominal fee (less than 50 cents).  Then he sends another bill, with added interest, to the new address.  He's received payments as much as ten years later by exasperated former tenants who can't stand getting mail from him and want to be done with it.