OK. You’ve won your eviction case in court and you recovered possession of your rental property through a Writ of Possession. You also obtained a money judgment worth several thousand dollars against your ex-tenant, but the ex-tenant hasn’t been forthcoming in paying what is owed to you. You want to collect on this money judgment in your unlawful detainer (eviction) case! If this or something similar sounds like your situation, read on…
Normally, landlords will seek possession of the property first and foremost. After receiving possession, landlords may decide to attempt collecting on the money judgment. Collecting on a money judgment in an unlawful detainer (eviction) in California can be laborious and cumbersome, with many rules and pitfalls for the landlord.
Collecting on a money judgment in an unlawful detainer (eviction) in California involves many steps that we can assist you with. Depending on the facts of your case, we may elect to file and record an abstract of judgment. We may decide to do a bank levy. A bank levy notifies the ex-tenant’s bank to freeze the bank account and to pay the money in the account to you to satisfy the debt. We may also decide to garnish the ex-tenant’s wages. This means we would go to the ex-tenants employer and direct the employer to pay a portion of the ex-tenants wages to you to satisfy the judgment. An abstract of judgment, bank levy, and wage garnishment are just three of the possible collections methods we utilize to help you collect on your unlawful detainer (eviction) money judgment.
If you have received a money judgment against your ex-tenant and you want to attempt to collect on that money judgment, contact us. We offer a free consultation. In many instances, we don’t get paid unless we are able to collect money from your ex-tenant.
Read David Piotrowski’s “Landlord Best Practices and Eviction Overview” book. If you need help with an eviction in Southern California, contact us today. Also, be sure to check out our Yelp reviews!
