Texas Collection Agency to Report on Tenant's Credit Report

[Maria Holodnaya]

Landlords in Texas, I'm a new landlord who recently won a judgment for eviction, unpaid rent, and court costs against my tenant. Can you share your experiences with collection agencies in Texas that have effectively reported delinquent rent debt to tenants' credit reports?

I have read through Texas threads pertaining to this topic and Southwest Recovery Services was mentioned a couple of times. I reached out to them and they wrote back “We aren’t able to assist you with your tenant eviction account. We don’t usually accept single account assignments and tenants who have been evicted almost never pay. I assume your judgment is in Texas, and that doesn’t help. Your tenant doesn’t have any assets or property and to pursue this matter will cost you more money.”

Any success with collection agencies?

[Philip Traynor]

What is your goal?  Do you want to actually try to collect the money, or do you just want to report it on your tenant's credit?  If the latter, you can just record an Abstract of Judgment that will show up on their credit.  The eviction judgment should be showing up, as well.  

If you are actually trying to collect, unfortunately it is very difficult in Texas.  Assuming your tenant was evicted for failure to pay rent, I would advise against throwing good money after bad.  Sometimes that Abstract of Judgment will cause them to pay, even years later, but I wouldn't spend any significant sums unless you know the tenant has assets.