I know what you’re thinking. “I evicted a bad tenant and I got a judgment against them, but what good is a judgment when you can’t collect anyway?”. Am I right? Well, not so fast, there is a way. Aside from several really good companies that specialize in tracking down deadbeat tenants, there is also a handy little tool called a body attachment.

There are plenty of companies out there that will aid you in the collection of a debt owed to you after you evict a tenant; OLDDEBTS.COM is one of the best. OLDDEBTS.COM offers a great program to landlords who don’t want to spend a fortune to track down tenants. This company has some flat fees that are dirt cheap. In addition, you get to keep 100% of the money they collect. OLDDEBTS.COM has an innovative ala-carte price list that makes it possible for you to pick and choose what you want them to do. For example you can tell them to send the tenant a nasty collection letter for $6.95. If that doesn’t work, you can have them do something else for another low flat fee. It’s great.

How about skip tracing? A tenant tears up your place and skips out owing you a stack of cash. No problem. You use PEOPLE FINDERS, and locate them. Once you have located them, simply use OLDDEBTS.COM to go after them.

PEOPLE FINDERS charges $1.95 to find someone. That’s right ONE DOLLAR AND NINETY FIVE CENTS. I searched for myself using the advertisement form on the right side of this post and I found myself in one minute flat, at a cost of $1.95.

Now, let’s talk about one of the diabolical tools a landlord has in his/her toolbox for collecting a bad debt, it’s called a Body Attachment. Body Attachments are not allowed in every State, so you need to check with your local courthouse. It is writ the court issues in cases where a court order has been ignored.

For example, you take a tenant to court and you win a judgment for damages. The judge orders the tenant to pay you what they owe you. As long as they are making payment to you that do not violate the “intent” of the court order, you can not ask for a writ of body attachment. But, we all know what happens, the tenant skips out.

If a judge grants you a writ of body attachment, a tenant can be arrested and forced to post bail before he/she can get out of jail. The bail is generally an amount much less than what they owe you, and that my friends is what makes this process so evil…..and effective.

Example:

You evict a renter, and you win your case, but the renter skips out. You get a writ of body attachment from the judge. Two months later the tenant gets pulled over for speeding on the interstate. When the police officer checks their license, he/she will see that there is an outstanding warrant for arrest. The ex-tenant gets arrested and taken to jail. Let’s say the tenant owes you $1,000.00. The judge may set their bail at $100.00. That $100.00 or a big portion of it goes to you. They are released and now owe you $900.00. Can you see why this process is so evil? They could potentially be arrested 9 more times. Each time they are arrested, it goes on their criminal record. Use this method only as a last resort.

One more thing about body attachments. Even though it is an actual warrant for the tenant’s arrest, the police generally do not just go pick someone up. Police departments are normally understaffed and do not have the time to enforce every body attachment order. In most cases the police enforce the body attachment when they already have the ex-tenant for something else. A traffic ticket for example.

Author Bio: Mr. Kitts has been a landlord for more than 22 years. He has litigated all of his evictions himself and has never failed to collect a bad debt from a tenant. Learn more about how to evict a bad tenant and collect what you are owed at the following site. How to Evict a Tenant

Category: Real Estate
Keywords: evict-a-bad-tenant, evict-a-tenant, evict-a-renter, collect-a-rent-judgement