What is the process for a money judgement against tenant

Question

I have a tenant who hasn't paid rent since September and said I can basically do what I want as she doesn't plan on paying further rent. She went to the extent of saying she doesn't care about her credit since she has a bad score anyways. I filed a Special Civils Part against her in the NJ court and the default judgement date is November 19th. I am trying to understand what happens after that date if she doesn't pay. Do I have to hire an attorney, what next? I am new to the process so an overview would be great!

Thanks!

Bjorn Ahlblad · Answer

Years ago I went to court twice and won judgements both times. Never saw a dime. Lesson? Never set out to sue someone who has no money!

Scott M. · Answer

One you get a judgement you head to collections typically. This is the point in the process where @JD Martin is spot on. Tenant has bad credit, they don't care and that means it will not be easy for you to collect. You can try and do it yourself and put a lien/garnish her checks/bank accounts/tax returns etc...but this is a lot of time. You are likely to spend more with a lawyer to go after here then 2 or 3 months of rent. You could hand the judgement over to a collection agency and they will take a % (a large %) of what they collect and send you the balance.

Your focus should be on getting the unit turned and cash flowing though. That is #1, collections is a distant 2nd.

JD Martin · Answer

Really, your main objective at this point is to get her out. Usually there's nothing there to collect from deadbeats so it ends up being a waste of your time. Depending on your state you may get an eviction and a cash judgement against her simultaneously, or you may have to sue separately for damages. In any case, once you have a court judgement against her for damages you proceed to try to collect. If she owned any kind of real property, you would have an attorney file for a lien against that property. In some states you may be able to file for a wage garnishment. ETC. But generally all of that is a waste of time; if they had property, they wouldn't be renting your house; their car is usually not worth liening, though I do know someone who did have a lien successfully placed against their car once.

Bottom line is you usually spend more money trying to collect than you collect. Most LLs will either just leave it be - in some places it can show up on your credit - or sell it to a collections agency for a few pennies, who can do things like get it on their credit report.

What is the process for a money judgement against tenant

What is the process for a money judgement against tenant

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