All Forum Posts by: Dory Peters

Josh,

How in-depth and frequent do you want the blog entries on mortgage related topics?

Lately, I've been getting a few questions about Assignment of Mortgage, and I might put something together for it.

Instead of looking for a single asset that will cover the judgment, you could collect on your judgment using a series of actions: garnish his wages, seize his bank accounts, seize and auction off his car, etc. Do that a few times, and he'll probably be more inspired to work out a payment plan for the rest.

The length of time someone has held a job doesn't matter.

The fact is if one has a judgment against another entity (person or business), then there's a relatively straight-forward, legal process to track down that entity, find and seize any assets (including cars, boats, registered artwork, business supplies, etc), income streams, and potential judgment claims (that your debtor might have) to pay off your judgment lien.

A person can run, but can't hide for long. Information security happens to one of my specialties. The process for tracking down cyber criminals is very similar to the one that many skip tracers, PIs, and bounty hunters use to track down deadbeats. (Here's another hint: we work together with them on some cases.) If necessary, we can monitor/track every charge, deposit/withdrawal, license renewal, credit/background check, cellphone position, EZ-PASS usage, etc. Many people don't realize--with the right subpoena(s)--that one can even track various medical procedures, insurance claims, etc. The point is that there are plenty of ways find the entities, locate the assets (or whatever else), and to collect on one's judgment.

I'll admit that these kinds of services aren't cheap. MikeOH is right that the costs to pursue the judgment probably isn't worth the effort in some cases. For example, if you're owed $200 (or less), then you might be better off to not pursue the judgment. However, if you're owed $2K (or more), then the effort might be worth the costs.

I wish I had known more about this sooner, because I could have helped several family members and friends who lost thousands of dollars to deadbeat tenants. (And yes, MikeOH, they brought it on themselves by not thoroughly screening their tenants ahead of time.)

Don't even think about touching that deposit before the eviction.

David, actually, if you won the judgment a year ago, and had the final check that he cashed, then you could have obtained a bank levy to get the money from his account awhile ago.

J Scott, actually, you do have other options too.

Stam, the laws on this vary from state to state. You might want to check with a real-estate attorney, because you might still need to evict that tenant before you can pursue a judgment against him/her for the unpaid rent.

Brian, besides evicting that tenant, did you sue for the unpaid rent and win a judgment? If so, then please PM me and let's talk. I might be able to help you out in collecting on that judgment.

Shawday,

If you're not already familiar with creative financing techniques, then get familiar with them. You'll find that the more comfortable that you are with them, then the more you'll be able to work with some of those buyers with less than perfect credit.

I've heard of the technique. Some banks have issues with paying assignment fees, and I know of some wholesalers who use that technique to work around those banks.

Instead, I prefer to record the assignment agreement (as Nick mentioned earlier), have my end-buyer also sign a NCND, and do a double close.

Although I don't know about what the private equity firms will/won't do, I know of a few commercial and private money lenders that are willing to do JVs and fund various commercial projects up to 100% LTV; however, the caveat is that one would have to give up 30%-50% of the deal.

Nick,

I think you also might be mixing the concepts of a self-directed IRA with a self-directed IRA LLC. Typically, the latter is set up with checkbook control; whereas, the prior typically isn't.

Besides avoiding to pay the custodian management fees, another reason why you might want to have checkbook control is to remove the extra level of indirection. For example, you might try to tie up a deal using techniques unfamiliar to your custodian, and you might lose that deal while trying to explain the underlying mechanics to help make your custodian sufficiently comfortable. Of course, as Will mentioned earlier, I'd run those transactions past my CPA and/or attorney.