All Forum Posts by: Philip Traynor

Do not try to negotiate it yourself.  This is a scenario where you want an expert in your corner.  

A debt relief company is probably your best and most cost effective option.  They will have relationships with creditors, or at the very least, know exactly what the creditor's parameters for settlement are.  Unless you find an attorney that exclusively practices in this area, they won't have that level of knowledge.  

I have been on the opposing side of National Debt Relief (I was representing creditors) and they seemed to me to be competent and knowledgeable.  I don't have anything negative to say about them.

Do you have any reason to believe that they have the money to pay the judgment?  If so, you can contact an attorney and have a receiver appointed, who can seize bank accounts.  IF the defendant has money, it can be very effective.  You will pay the attorney an hourly rate, and the receiver will take a percentage of the judgment.  The good news is that both of these costs can be collected in addition to the underlying judgment.  If the tenant has assets that you believe can be easily seized, this is a good route.  

In most cases, however, tenants do not have any assets to seize.  Not too many people renting are sitting on tens of thousands of dollars in the bank.  Some are, most aren't.  If you do not think the tenant has cash on hand to cover the judgment, you are likely better off turning it over to a collections agency.  It will probably not be quick, and they will take a percentage of what they collect, but you won't be throwing good money after bad.  

In Texas, unlike many other states, a quitclaim deed does not actually transfer title to property.  It is simply a disclaimer of interest in property.  It can work in very limited situations like this one, where you are just trying to remove yourself from title, but there is absolutely no reason to do so instead of a special warranty deed.  There is no downside to using a special warranty deed instead of the quitclaim deed.

I spent over 11 years representing major and regional banks in various default and foreclosure cases, handling several thousand cases per year. In that time, I saw a total of three loans get called for the "due on sale" clause. All three were true transfers to different people that basically amounted to unapproved assumptions. I have seen dozens of cases where borrowers transferred a property into their own LLC or trust, and I have never heard a first hand account of a lender calling the loan for that. The absolutely have the right to do so, but I've never seen it.

Not at all, now would be the perfect time.

Best practice is to file it as soon as you can after obtaining judgment, but it will be valid for up to 10 years.  

The actual paperwork and filing is not hard.  There is no reason you couldn't do it yourself.  

When you hire an attorney to do the process, what you are paying for is their knowledge and advice. Do you need an LLC? Is it the right vehicle for you? Would you be better served with a different business structure or with an insurance policy? Where should you register? How do you use the LLC effectively to achieve your goals? What are the pitfalls to operating this way?

If you know the answers to these questions, do the paperwork yourself and save some money.  It is just filling out a form. If you don't, LegalZoom won't help you.  

I would try to either 1) find a new title company, or 2) purchase the right of redemption from the previous title owner.  

Happy to help out!

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.