Garnishment - worth my time?

[vincars]

I evicted a tenant who I ended up suing in small claims court. The judge found in our favor but for a lesser amount ($500+interest) and told us we had to make arrangements between ourselves for the payments. They agreed to pay us $50 per month until paid up.

That was in September. As of now we have received no payments at all. The court told both parties at the time that a garnishment could be enforced if they hadn't paid in a reasonable time. The $125 dollar fee would be added to the amount due.

1 - Is it worth the hassle (and extra expenditure) for this relatively small amount of money? These people owe every buy here, pay here furniture and used car lot in three counties, so if garnishment would be granted I'd be in a LONG time waiting for my money.

2 - Can something like this be reported to the credit bureau and how would i go about it? If I'm not going to get paid I'd at least like this debt to follow them around for at least the near future.


Thank you.

[ohiolandlord]

You've already undergone most of the hassle so filing a garnishment (if you know where the tenant works) would not be that much more. You can get back any additional garnishment court fees as well. The judgment may get picked up on the tenant's credit report without your effort. Or you can become a member of one of the three credit reporting agencies and add it yourself.

[younghoss]

I typically send a copy of the judgment to the credit bureaus, but actually our court sends them one too. It likely will be on their credit history. It may be a long time for you to get your money with a garnishment- but how long will it be without one?
I say do the papers, and if they keep their job, you'll get your money, plus some interest. Besides, think of the pleasure you'll get just knowing how inconvenienced they are!

[jbuck]

I say try, and the tenant files bankruptcy the minute you garnish. 25% of someones pay is a killer.

[younghoss]

that they sometimes file bankrupcy. I have also had some quit jobs to avoid paying their debt. I can also agree that losing (up to) 25% of a person's net pay is a tough spot to be in. Gee, they've got other bills, right? What some overlook is that for the exiting tenant to be at that point of such a harsh garnishment, many things must have happened. First, he must have reniged on the agreement, second, he must have not come to a suitable compromise on the debt. Thirdly, if it has come to the point of a garnishment it would appear that the tenant has not made an adequate attempt to make payments. Garnishment is not the first step.
In my case, a tenant failed to pay 2 1/2 months rent, had damages and cleaning, adding up to much more than sec dep. I lost 100% of my earnings on that home for 2 1/2 months, and had additional costs of repairs and cleaning, without having promised income to cover those costs, do you think I will feel sorry for the ex-tenant forfeiting 25% of his income to reimburse me? Heck no! One might ask, why doesn't the court take 100% of his income until debt paid, just as I lost 100% ? I've got bills, too. How is it some people think a defaulting tenant's income/bills are somehow more important than a landlords?