I have a married couple that owes me $2,500+ for back rent. They have been evicted (didn't show up for the hearing) and then I took them to small claims court and sued them for the money they owe me. They didn't show up for that hearing either.

Well, I am sure they just got their judgement papers in the mail stating they have to pay me in full by the 21st. I know this is not going to happen.

He called me and asked if he could pay me $200 a month and then a good chunk of money when he gets his taxes back. I know where he and his wife both work also, and both were named as defendants because they were both on the lease. So I could garnish both of their wages, legally, not just his.

I was thinking on telling him the only way I would agree to any payments is if he would come down to the court house with me and provide the court all his and his wife's info so I can have the $200 directly taken out of their checks monthly. Just in case he should default on our agreement, I have a court order automatically deducting from their checks. The kicker is though, this could have all been done through mediation last week, but he decided not to show up.

If I just told him that he can't be trusted and I am going to let the court figure it out, do you think I would potentially receive more than $200 a month? I am guessing that on paper collectively, they are probably pulling in around $70-$80K total. What would you guys do? WOuld you not call him back and just go to court on the 22nd with all the info I have on them, or should I tell him that the only way I will agree to anything like this is if we meet at the court house and he provides them all his info, which they will ask me for on the 22nd, and try to work something out that way?

 

I'd just let the court garnish their wages and be done with it. Based on their past actions they appear to be untrustworthy (didn't hold up to their lease agreement) and irresponsible (not showing up for hearings).

If you give them a way out they'll probably try to take advantage of it. It sounds like they might be trying set something like that up already. I'd be surprised if he agreed to let you take it directly from his paycheck. It couldn't hurt to make the offer though. Just be sure to have the courts involved somehow.

- NCSU

 

Another +1 for garnish. They won't mind. Screw them.

 

yup, garnish thier wages...

 

If you don't want to do the garnishment(because alot of people get fired for that.)
Draw up an agreement outside the courtroom and give him a few dollars credit to meet you somewhere and get the agreement notarized.

It'll help you put a lean against a tax return, but that part will take a lawyer, but it can happen.

 

i am thinking getting the court involved is a giant waste of time.
if he is offering to pay you then take what ever money he sends you.

most dead beats now how to beat the system.

do you know for a fact that you can garnish his wages and that you can do this without a lawyer or any fees?

a judgement is a worthless peice of paper to a dead beat. they dont care about their credit and simply buy stuff under other peoples name.

my mother ionlaw has lots of rent propert and it seem like the more you deal with this type of person the worse it gets. there are all kinds of lease and rental laws that can really come back to nail you.
i think i read that renters suing landlords was one of the hottest fields for lawyers right now.

 

That's an epic wrongful termination lawsuit. Then the fired persons would have plenty of money to pay off debts, and live a little. Hahaha.
(So long as you only have one garnishment I read)


Thats precisely why you got to the courts. It makes it legal to repossess the property, and then you can garnish wages (usu not too terrible of a process)

 

Thanks for the input fellas. I spoke to my brother-in-law also about this, he manages rental properties as well.

I understand the stance of not getting the courts involved, simply because I know many people who manage rentals find themselves in court all the time trying to collect with no luck. However, I only have the one property and so far, other than getting the initial paperwork together, I have only had to go twice, once for the eviction, once for the small claims suit.

I think I am going to cal him back and tell him "that any payment arrangement you want to make with me, must be done through the court, and you have 10 days to do so according to the terms of the judgement. I offered to settle this out of court initially, and again you had an opportunity to make this right last week in front of the mediator, but you decided not to show up. If no arrangement is made by the 21st through the court, then I will go down to the court house on the 22nd and proceed with the next step." I won't go into details, but the next step is going to be to garnish his wages. I could just see us drawing something up, having it notorized, have him default again and then have to drag him back into court and have him not show up, thus delaying everything again. This way, it will already be on file with the court and I don't have to delay any natural process this would eventually need to go through for collecting.

 

Yup. No need to repeat yourself if he defaults on an out of court agreement.

 

im doing something similar, trying to get my money back from a shop that i bought a tranny from. the guy has me over the barrel and wont pay, im in court january to either find out where his assets are or impose fines.

 

You're probably right. But here in the area i live, allot of the jobs require security clearances. I you have bad leans against you, your clearance is gone

 

Sounds like a good plan.

I doubt these people need, or have, any kind of security clearance!

- NCSU

 

Yep, don't cut him any slack.

Especially if the two of them still have their jobs!

Sounds like they are just deadbeats.

 

what would he repossess? it is a rental and they have been evicted.

so you have a judgement, he has called and is willing to pay $200 a month so what do you want. do you know how many people have judgements that never see a dime?

maybe he has something that you could hold until he pays you , like a tv, a gun, jewelry

 

I would not meet him if he tells you he has got a gun you can hang on to as collateral. All you will end up holding is the bullets.