Judgment Recovery Case Study: The Delinquent Designer

Posted on by
4

In this case, Anderson Engineering, Inc. hired Giometti Design LLC as an independent contractor for website design services and ongoing IT management for a major company website. The contractor, Giometti Design had been pre-paid by Anderson Engineering, but the services were never rendered. A judgment for $3,250.00 was awarded for breach of contract.

Giometti Design LLC turned out to be a one-man operation. According to the status on the Secretary of State’s website, his business was officially still active. I could find no evidence of any recent activity, and no telephone numbers or listings that were in service at the time of my initial due diligence.

I ruled out bankruptcy, as part of my normal routine and obtained credit information, which showed lots of charge-offs and debts – many of which were unpaid medical bills. It looked like this case might be going nowhere… and fast.

Fortunately, Anderson Engineering had been able to provide bank account information based on the initial check written to Giometti Design. The returned check showed the bank where the check had been deposited. The account was still open, so I obtained a writ of execution from the court, delivered that and my written instructions to the county sheriff, and the funds in the account were seized. Unfortunately, there was only around $350, give or take, in the account at the time it was seized.

I prepared to start digging around for more potential assets, like business equipment or other streams of income. It was then that Mr. Giometti contacted me. He told me he was permanently disabled, having been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, which was why he hadn’t been able to complete the contracted work, and also why his business was no longer turning any profit. He offered to settle for an additional $1000, which was all he could realistically spare. Since I’d already done my homework, I knew that he was being perfectly honest about that.

I am not a hard-hearted person. I know and understand that sometimes life throws a curveball at you and there’s nothing you can do about it. Since I had no desire to try squeezing water from a rock, and I sympathized with his situation, I told him that if he could provide verification of his medical condition from a physician, I would consider his settlement offer. Shortly after that I received the verification I needed from his physician. Unfortunately, poor Mr. Giometti would never be returning to work, and his condition was steadily progressing.

As a matter of courtesy I contacted the CEO at Anderson Engineering, although whether or not a settlement offer was acceptable, or appropriate was completely up to me – because my signed agreement documents clearly state that I have the power to negotiate or settle the judgment. Nevertheless, Mr. Anderson also felt that the settlement was the best way to go, considering the circumstances.

Mr. Giometti sent the promised settlement and I issued a full satisfaction of the judgment and put the whole sorry business to bed.

I know that the first couple of case studies I wrote about had happy endings, but I suppose the moral of this particular case is that it would be unrealistic to expect to collect every single judgment assigned (even though I did manage to collect a portion of the Giometti Design judgment).

There will inevitably be cases where the judgment debtor has either fallen off the face of the earth, or they may be squeaking out a living on exempt income sources like welfare or disability. Worse, they may be dealing with situations that make it impossible for them to pay, which I’m sure all of us can relate to in some way or another… So I guess the other moral of this story is that as the judgment creditor you are in control. It’s your prerogative whether or not you pursue the enforcement of the judgment assigned to you.

Sometimes people ask me if I ‘feel bad’ about making judgment debtors pay up. I have never had any bad feelings or reservations about the nature of the service I am providing. The money that I recover was ordered by a court of law for the debtor to pay – usually for a good reason. And typically, this is money came that out of judgment holder’s pocket. Is it fair to them that the debtor doesn’t pay? Some cases will involve collecting from financially challenged debtors – it comes with the territory – but in those cases you can always offer an alternative to them to make a monthly payment that they feel they can afford or a settlement.

The bottom line is, I get many heartfelt thanks from satisfied customers even if I’m only able to collect a portion of their judgment. Many of them are amazed that I was able to collect anything for them at all! I suppose they figure that if they couldn’t collect it… no one could.

As always, I welcome your comments, questions or topic suggestions.

Warm Regards,

Christina

Christina Smiley
Sierra Judgment Recovery
SJR Strategic Research

Please note: I am not an attorney, nor do I aspire to be one. If you need legal advice, please consult qualified legal counsel.

Judgment Recovery Case Study: The “Eyes” Have It

Posted on by
6

Have you ever found yourself wondering what sort of issues bring people to court? There’s the usual run of the mill stuff… unpaid loans, property disputes, evictions – and all that. But every now and then a case comes along that just goes to show that sometimes there’s nothing mundane about civil disputes.

Consider the following case, where Janet Lawrence responded to an advertisement at a local tattoo parlor for a cosmetic procedure. Ms. Lawrence had long been thinking about permanent eyebrow application, which is generally done via tattoo. Initially, all went well and Ms. Lawrence was very satisfied with the results. A few days later told a different story, however, as an infection had set in. The consequences were, let us say… less than attractive. It also caused permanent disfigurement and scarring. According to Janet’s doctor, this type of infection was usually caused from exposure to dirty or unsterilized equipment.

After unsuccessfully seeking reimbursement from the tattoo parlor for the cost of the procedure and her medical bills, Ms. Lawrence took the tattoo parlor to court and was awarded a $2,400 judgment.

Some general statistics about this case: By the time it had been assigned to me, the judgment was 8 years old. In this state, judgments are enforceable for a period of 10 years, and can be renewed indefinitely. Interest was also accruing at the legal rate of 10%, so by this time the actual amount due was approximately $3,600 (and change), and accruing interest at the rate of $0.65 per day.

The first order of business was to find out if the tattoo parlor was still up and running. After a quick check with the city’s business licensing department, it was no surprise to learn that the business had gone under years ago. Not too shocking, considering their methods of operation left a lot to be desired. It wasn’t a total loss, though, because I was able to determine that the business was structured as a sole proprietorship – or ‘D/B/A’ – rather than an LLC or other incorporated entity.

A little background information will help you understand the critical differences when it comes to how businesses are structured. A sole proprietorship (D/B/A) is simply an individual person operating under an assumed business name – legally it’s just an extension of the person. This is important because it means that even if the business is not still operating, the individual person is still responsible for the debts incurred under the business name. The same is not true of an LLC or other incorporated entity. That type of business is considered a completely separate entity – like a whole other ‘person’ – in which case, the officer(s) of the LLC or corporation would not be responsible for the debts incurred by the business.

Why is this important? It means that even though the business failed, I can still enforce the judgment against the owner, Jake Morris. And that’s exactly what I proceeded to do. But wait – it gets better!

I started with my usual due diligence, which is generally always the same. If you missed that in last week’s case study, you can read about it here: http://www.recoverycourse.com/blog/?p=94

While researching the debtor, Jake Morris, I learned that he’d set up shop again a couple of years ago, across town in a new location. Again I checked on the business status, and yes – another sole proprietorship. This was excellent news, because it meant that now I could not only proceed with the seizure of any assets owned by Jake Morris, but also his new tattoo parlor.

There are many ways I could have gone with this case. I could have spent time and resources finding property, bank account(s), and other personal assets belonging to Morris, but rather than waste valuable time and expense, I decided to go right for the jugular: the new business.

Surely having had to cope with a lingering bad rap from his last tattoo parlor, I anticipated the fastest way to make Morris pay would be to use some heavy-duty legal intimidation. I could have seized business equipment or bank accounts – because technically they all were Jake Morris’ property – but instead I went for the most sure-fire way to make him pay.

After having the court issue a writ of execution, I delivered my specific instructions to the County Sheriff’s levying officer. The County Sheriff’s office has a civil department that is dedicated specifically to acting on the instructions of judgment creditors to seize assets.

On Friday (which I assumed would be one of the tattoo parlor’s busier days), soon after opening, a Sheriff’s Deputy strolled through the door in full uniform. He served Morris with a copy of his official paperwork, notifying him that anything in his cash register was being taken to satisfy the judgment. Then the Deputy proceeded to take up station behind the register, and prepared to remain there for the next eight hours, intercepting any payments that customers would be making that day. This is referred to as a ‘Keeper.’

Although I wasn’t there to personally witness, I’m told by the deputy that Morris had a check in hand for the full amount of the judgment in less than five minutes. Have a nice day, sir.

Next week I’ll send the third installment of this series; a case study involving a company that sued another company, and the details that led to not only a great resolution, but an ongoing business relationship that’s still active today.

As usual, I welcome any comments or questions.

Warm Regards,

Christina

Christina Smiley
Sierra Judgment Recovery
SJR Strategic Research

Please note: I am not an attorney, nor do I aspire to be one. If you need legal advice, please consult qualified legal counsel.

Judgment Recovery Case Study: Hot Diggety Dog

Posted on by
16

People ask me what my day-to-day routine is like running my business – to which my response is always “No two days are ever the same!” But I also know that wrapping your head around a new concept like judgment recovery can be a little mysterious to anyone who isn’t actually in the field.

For me, personally, real-life examples have always been the best way to grasp what something’s all about – so following is the first of three case studies that I’ll be sending you. These are actual judgment recovery cases, though I’ve changed the names for privacy purposes. This first case involves a judgment that was awarded to an individual person, against another individual.

To summarize the events leading up to the judgment, John Bennett’s Saint Bernard dug out from under his fence and proceeded to completely destroy his neighbor, Tom Rosen’s flower beds. Did someone bury a bone under there? Maybe it was the fertilizer… we’ll just never know. Unfortunately, Mr. Rosen had just spent over $2,000 for professional landscaping and design. Needless to say, Mr. Rosen took Mr. Bennett to court to sue for compensation.

ROSEN VS. BENNETT

To get right to the heart of the matter, we’ll pick this up from the point where the judgment has already been assigned. If you’re interested in the marketing process, you can read my blog article about that here: Marketing a Judgment Recovery Business

These cases all start out in much the same way. When the documents to assign the judgment were mailed to Mr. Rosen for a signature, I included a ‘Debtor Profile Worksheet’ – which is a tool I use to find out any and all information Mr. Rosen may have about Bennett (the judgment debtor). In this particular case, I received nothing more from Mr. Rosen other than Bennett’s name and old address. That’s okay. That’s enough to start the pre-screening process.

Before I really got the ball rolling, I had to be sure I was pursuing the correct person and that I was aware of any potential aliases John Bennett was using. I also needed to get an idea about where I should start looking, so my first step was to locate Bennett’s social security number, date of birth, and a reasonably current address. Seriously – with the right tools and resources all you need is a name and address to nail down this information.

Next, as part of my due diligence, I checked to make sure that the judgment hadn’t been included in any bankruptcy discharge. This too, is a very basic and simple search. Bankruptcy filings can be a goldmine of information – so long as the actual debt wasn’t included. Bennett hadn’t filed any bankruptcy proceedings, so after that, I was good to go.

Since I always start with resources that are free – because let’s face it, free is good – I ‘Googled’ John Bennett to see if I could dig up anything floating around the Internet. You’d really be surprised at what’s out there… Newspaper articles, genealogies, LinkedIn, FaceBook – just to name a few.

Unfortunately, this time I didn’t hit pay dirt. So next I turned to free public records to see if Bennett currently owned any real estate or businesses. Nada. I wasn’t discouraged, though, it’s all just part of the process. It was time to pull out the big guns, which in this case, was a full consumer credit report.

The credit report revealed that Bennett was working at the local power plant. I called the plant’s Human Resource Department to make sure Mr. Bennett was still gainfully employed. Happily, he was still there. In which case I decided my best option was a wage garnishment. In my state, I am entitled to 25% of his paycheck.

To get it all started, I had the court issue a writ of execution. This is basically a document from the court that verifies facts about the case (how much the judgment is and when it was awarded, how much interest has accrued, who the parties are, etc.). It serves as my ‘permission’ from the court to garnish Bennett’s wages or to seize any other asset I can find. I completed and delivered all the paperwork for my garnishment and paid my filing and levying fees.

If you’re wondering about the costs I incurred in this case, they are as follows:

Social Security Number Locate:  $1.50
Bankruptcy Check:  $0.08
Writ of Execution: $7.00
Wage Garnishment Fee: $25.00

TOTAL:  $33.58

My wage garnishment went off without a hitch. Every time Bennett was paid by his employer, I was also mailed a check. Because I was receiving checks every week (and these tend to pile up when you have 15 or 20 going at one time), I opted to send Mr. Rosen quarterly payments – simply to avoid unnecessary bookkeeping gymnastics.

At this point, I could have invested a little more elbow grease to locate Mr. Bennett’s bank account and taken that too, but steady payments from garnishments are a great source of residual income. Now that I had that going, it was pretty much on auto-pilot, so I could free up my time and attention for other cases.

Next week I’ll send the second installment of this series; a case study involving an individual person that sued a company, and the details that led to that particular happy ending.

As usual, I welcome any comments or questions.

Warm Regards,

Christina

Christina Smiley
Sierra Judgment Recovery
SJR Strategic Research

Please note: I am not an attorney, nor do I aspire to be one. If you need legal advice, please consult qualified legal counsel.

Is Judgment Recovery Legal? Yes! And here’s why…

Posted on by
13

I am often asked if judgment recovery is truly a legal business. I guess some folks just worry that if you’re not an attorney, using the courts to enforce a judgment that was awarded to someone else is somehow breaking the law. It’s also a common misperception that collecting any money judgment (even your own) through the court system without hiring an attorney can somehow land you in legal hot water.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

There is no court in the land that will not allow you to use the court system to collect your civil money judgment on your own behalf. Certainly, if you attempt to collect a judgment for someone else, and you are not an attorney, you are going to get yourself into trouble. So let me stress the most important term, and key point of this article: On Your Own Behalf

A civil money judgment is an asset which can be bought, sold, transferred, etc. If you want to get downright technical, a civil judgment is referred to as ‘a thing in action.’ When a judgment is assigned, the ownership of the judgment is transferred from the original judgment holder to the assignee (that would be you, in this case). From that point on, you own the judgment and anything you do to enforce the judgment is done on your own behalf. You will be legally recognized by the court as the judgment creditor, and you will have all the same rights and remedies at your disposal to enforce the judgment through the court as did the original judgment holder.

Once the judgment is yours, you are entitled to locate the whereabouts and assets of your judgment debtor using many investigative resources that are typically only available to private investigators, professional collectors and law enforcement agencies. You are not considered to be a private investigator because – again – you’re conducting an investigation on your own behalf.

As a judgment creditor, you will also have the authority to use special court procedures to find assets. Post-judgment debtor examinations are court-ordered proceedings in which the judgment debtor must appear in court and directly answer your questions about finances, income, assets and more. This can also be conducted with written interrogatories through the mail. You will also have the power of subpoenas. A subpoena is another type of court order that demands specific documents to be provided to you for your inspection. Post-judgment debtor examinations and subpoenas can be used with judgment debtors, as well as other third parties who may have information about your debtor’s employer, business(es), bank accounts, property or other assets.

Once you’ve identified what and where the assets are, you can then direct the court to seize those assets on your behalf as a judgment creditor. Generally assets are seized through what we call a levy. A levying officer will act on your specific instructions to seize the asset as directed. Anything collected through the levying process will be turned over to you – since you’re the owner of the judgment and the judgment creditor.

It really is that simple.

Let me finish by assuring you that enforcing a judgment through the court system on your own behalf never has – and never will – be illegal or require attorney
representation.

I realize that a lot of the above is a little ‘technical’ – so please – let me know if you have any questions or comments. Of course, if you would like to read articles about other specific topics, just ask!

Warm Regards,

Christina Smiley

9 Free Online Public Record Resources

Posted on by
4

These days, nearly anything you want or need to know can be found online through public records research. While these records have always been made available to the public, with the evolution of the Internet we can now simply log on to a website to conduct research that used to take hours and hours of legwork.

Now admit it – you’ve probably tried to find someone online before… perhaps an old friend or a lost relative (hopefully you’re not stalking – because I would NEVER condone that). Usually what happens is some website pops up telling you that you can “Click Here” to find out everything you want to know about your subject. For a fee.

Don’t get suckered into paying a fee! Why pay for information that you can get free of charge, if you know where to look? Here are just some of the resources at your disposal that don’t cost a dime.

1. Business Records

To look up information about a corporation, an LLC, or other business entity, most states offer searches through the Secretary of State’s Office. You can find out what the business structure is, the status (active, suspended or dissolved), the name and address of the registered agent for service of process, the name of the primary officer(s) and the address of the business. Many databases will also show any UCC liens filed against the company. For sole proprietorships or standard partnerships (DBA – or “Doing Business As”) try searching in a specific county. These records are typically maintained by the County Clerk.

2. Court Records

Many states offer online access to all manner of court records. Civil cases, traffic records (even parking tickets), family court records and bankruptcy filings are all public record. Some states offer statewide access, while others only offer access in specific counties. Bankruptcy filings are searchable through US District courts.

3. Criminal Records, Inmates and Arrest Warrants

If you’ve ever wondered or worried if someone has a criminal record, is in jail, is a registered sex offender or has outstanding warrants – there are many databases that allow you to investigate this for yourself. Most of these databases are state specific and searchable either by county or statewide. Federal inmates are searchable through the Federal Bureau of Prisons. You can also search databases to find immigration detainees and interstate probationers and parolees.

4. Property Records

Property records are searchable by the county the property is located in. You can usually conduct a search by the owner’s name or the property address. Information about properties will typically include current and previous owners, real estate transactions, the assessed value of the property, the parcel number and any existing liens on the property. These records are made available through the county tax assessor and/or the county recorder’s office.

5. Professional Licenses

There are hundreds of professions and occupations which require licensing through the state. Among these are accountants, doctors, barbers and cosmetologists, child care providers, auto repair facilities, pharmacists, nurses, contractors – and many, many more. You can search for information about a person or company through the states’ Department of Consumer Affairs or State Licensing Board.

6. Voter Registrations

Voter registration records can help you to identify the whereabouts of anyone who routinely votes. You can even search to identify federal campaign contributors. Some counties keep independent voter registration databases, but most states keep these records through the Secretary of State. If you’re starting to feel a little paranoid – don’t worry! These databases typically only give the voter’s polling place – not the voter’s home address.

7. Death Records

Death records are tracked by the Social Security Administration’s death index, although some counties will offer records specific to a certain county, which are maintained by the county coroner. There are even databases listing deceased persons who are ‘unclaimed’ for whom a next of kin could not be found, as well as those that list cold case homicides.

8. Aviation Records

If the subject of your search is a pilot, or owns an aircraft, you can use the Federal Aviation Administration’s database to search by the owner or pilot’s name or aircraft “N” number.

9. Other Federal Records

FDIC Bank Locator; Active Duty Military Personnel; Ham Radio licenses; Banks Mega Search (information on active/extinct banks due to merger, acquisition, name change or failure); Cults; Federal employees; Interstate truckers/companies; IRS recognized charities; Nursing homes; Unclaimed/lost US savings bonds.

Okay, so that’s a lot of information, and it’s really just the tip of the iceberg! You could spend hours searching for all of these independently, but I recommend using a public records “portal,” such as Black Book Online. It’s FREE. Remember, if a site wants you to pay for this information – click away.

Happy researching!

Christina

Sierra Judgment Recovery
Professional Judgment Recovery Training
www.recoverycourse.com

Licensing Requirements for a Judgment Recovery Business

Posted on by
4

All businesses require a license of some kind before you can hang out your shingle and open shop. Your city or county will always want a little piece of the pie for taxation purposes. After all, who do you think pays for your road maintenance and your children’s education? You do. You know what they say… Nothing is certain but death and taxes!

Aside from taxation purposes, your city’s planning and zoning department will want to ensure that if you are planning to operate your business from home that there won’t be a snarl of customers coming and going at all hours, or neon signs flashing from all of your windows.

The typical license required for a judgment recovery business is a generic business license from your local city hall or county offices. It’s unlikely that there will be a specific category designated for ‘Judgment Recovery,’ so in most cases you’ll be lumped into an ‘Other-Unspecified’ or ‘Miscellaneous’ category.

At first glance, you’d tend to think a judgment recovery business should fall under the ‘Collection Agency’ license category, but in most states it will not – because you are assuming ownership of these judgments and collecting them on your own behalf. If you ever have a couple of hours to kill and want to verify that for yourself, you’ll find that the most common legal definition of a ‘Collection Agency’ reads something like this:

“”Collection Agency” means any person engaging in business for the purpose of collecting or attempting to collect, directly or indirectly, debts owed or due or asserted to be owed or due another.”

Here’s the important bit: “OWED OR DUE OR ASSERTED TO BE OWED OR DUE ANOTHER”

Why is that important? Because the judgment will no longer be owed or due to another – it will legally belong to you, and you will be enforcing it on your own behalf. The same is true in regard to a private investigator’s license… It’s not required – in any state – because you’re performing asset locations to enforce your own judgment, and not on anyone else’s behalf, or in exchange for any sort of fee.

By the way, the definition quoted above is taken directly from New Mexico’s legal code, and the language is usually the same – or a variation of that – in just about every state that requires debt collectors to be regulated.

A civil money judgment is an asset. Just like any other property or asset it can be bought, sold, transferred, etc. When a judgment is assigned to you, all right, title and interest in the judgment is transferred to you and your company. The same right, title and interest is revoked, without recourse, from the original judgment holder.

This means that once the judgment is assigned, you now legally own the judgment. This is referred to as ‘purchasing’ the judgment and you’ll also prepare a purchase contract for the judgment holder to sign. The nature of the purchase contract does not require you to pay any money up front for the judgment – you’ll simply make ‘installment payments’ to the original judgment holder when and if money is collected.

There are a few states that do require collection agency licensing. In these states, the regulatory agencies’ view is that if the debt didn’t originate with you, and you’re going to collect it, you must be regulated. To the very best of my knowledge, the states that require you to obtain a collection agency license are Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, Tennessee, and Utah. In these states this may seem like a downside, however, keep in mind that it means you’ll have little or no competition, and that there’s probably a great need for judgment recovery where you are!

If there are any other topics you’d like to see discussed here, or if you have other questions, just shoot me an email with the topic you’re interested in to: csmiley@recoverycourse.com or use the Contact link above.

Warm Regards,

Christina

Have you seen the elephant?

Posted on by
8

A while back I came across a terrific saying that made me think about my judgment recovery business efforts over the years in a new light.

In the mid 19th century, during the California Gold Rush, the people who left their homes and way of life for the golden hills of California had a phrase for what they were about to experience: they called it “seeing the elephant.”

49ers and those planning to travel west, announced they were “going to see the elephant.” Those turning back claimed they had seen the “elephant’s tracks” or the “elephant’s tail,” and admitted they’d seen more than enough of the animal.

It’s said that this phrase originates with an old story told when elephants were still a
relatively uncommon sight in Northern America.

An old farmer, who had always aspired to see an elephant, heard a circus was coming to town and that there would most likely be elephants. He donned his best suit of clothes, loaded his farm wagon and set out on the day and a half journey to town.

On the way, he met the circus parade, which was led by an elephant. The old farmer was thrilled to finally have an opportunity to see an elephant, however, his horses were absolutely terrified.

They bolted at the strange sight – tipping over the wagon – as they ran in terror back to the farm. Not only was the old farmer stranded, but his produce and clothes were ruined beyond repair. “I don’t give a hang,” the farmer said, “for I have seen the elephant!”

In the Gold Rush days, California became symbolic for fresh starts and seeking fortunes. For these folks, the elephant symbolized both the high cost of their endeavor – the endless possibilities for fortune or misfortune either on the journey, or in California.

In retrospect, “seeing the elephant” reminds me of my early days in judgment recovery. In those days there really wasn’t a lot of information to be had about my newly chosen
profession. No one had even heard of the concept and there were very few reference materials available. I certainly felt like a pioneer.

In the beginning it seemed like I was flying by the seat of my pants more often than not, mixed in with a healthy dose of trial and error. It worked, but it took a lot of blood, sweat and tears to get there.

There is no question that I’ve “Seen the Elephant” on the way… I nearly saw the elephant’s tail a couple of times along the way – but I made it – and what a ride!

Many of us in business today are searching for the preferred lifestyle that comes with “seeing the elephant.” But it’s never an easy task, is it? There will definitely be some hurdles. But if there weren’t any obstacles there wouldn’t be any growth. And not everyone will make it, but those who are persistent will succeed.

Here are four important principles for claiming your dream of the lifestyle your new business can bring:

The first is to LEARN – Learn everything you possibly can about enforcing judgments – not only the concepts of marketing and the “basics” – but also the laws and statutes that govern your craft.

It’s funny that folks seem to have different expectations of the world of business than in the “real” world. In the “real” world laying out $100 bucks and getting rich is called winning the lottery. True success in any business is not a “get-rich-quick” proposition. There’s just no substitute for preparation!

The second is ACTION – It takes action and real initiative to begin a judgment recovery
business. But it takes a tremendous amount of continuing action to follow through.

Many people will purchase business programs hoping to “see the elephant.” Then they quite literally never look at those materials that could change their lives! Still others will start and give up in 30 to 60 days, when they reach their first hurdle.

Rather than giving up at your first hurdle, or even your 100th, I ask you to consider this
challenge: establish some realistic goals and then take whatever action is going to be required to reach those goals.

This is necessary for both new business owners and those who’ve been around for years. Even if you don’t get EXACTLY what you want, you’ll at the very least get closer to it.

I’ll tell you a true story… Back when I had more time on my hands than business to deal with, I set some goals. Some were realistic, but others were a little over the top. One of the goals I set was to get the home I really wanted. There was this huge house, just being built, in one of the better neighborhoods in town.

It was beautiful. 5,000 square feet, a kitchen I could happily die in, beautiful views of the
mountains… It was only $750,000 (!!!)… but that’s where I wanted to hang my hat. I got a realtor’s print out of the house and stuck it on my office wall – where I could drool over it every day and imagine myself living there.

Time passed, and as it happened I outgrew the house I was living in. I bought a truly wonderful house, and it met all of my needs, though it wasn’t my dream house on the wall. One day, while I was enjoying my deck and looking out over the meadow and creek that ran through the backyard, I happened to look up the hill – and lo and behold – I could just see my ‘dream house’ through the trees.

I didn’t get exactly what I wanted, but I got what I needed – and so can you.

I want you to examine your long-term goal. Do you have one? What is your short-term goal? So how much money do you plan to make over the next 3 months? After really thinking about it, write down a realistic number and put it someplace where you’ll see it every day.

Do you hope to replace your existing income? When? In twelve months? Eighteen months? Are you trying to break out of a rut you’ve found yourself in? When will you see the elephant?

Write it down and stick it on your refrigerator. Set ANY goal for yourself and refresh that goal in your mind at least once a day. Then, give SOME time EACH day toward making your goal a reality.

The third principle is FOCUS  – This is going to be one of the most important factors of your success. FOCUS on one step at a time. It’s just as impossible to walk from here to Hong Kong in a day as it is to accomplish everything all at once. Trying to do too much too soon is a recipe for frustration and ultimately disaster.

Work on one or two aspects of your business at a time. Pick one or two topics or methods and work at them until you KNOW them. Put 50% of each month’s earnings back into your business. Your business will grow!

Finally, you need to EXPAND – Expand yourself by exposure to good ideas that will enable you to grow. Without forgetting how important it is to stay focused, don’t be afraid to spend money on quality resources and tools for your business.

Subscribe to business and marketing newsletters. Buy publications that are specific to your industry. Continue your education. The knowledge you’d gain and implement is worth any number of times the original cost and will pay for itself many times over.

Pioneers of the Old West set out knowing only that they were going west to seek a new way of life, and hopefully realize their fortunes. At some point, they must have reached a place where they could see high and seemingly impassable mountains in the distance.

Those mountains became the new focal point. The daily grind and the harsh reality of living from the back of a wagon was carried out with those mountains slowly coming in to view. The goal would be realized, no matter what. They would “see the elephant.” Failure was simply not an option! This is the attitude it’s going to take to make it in a business.

So. What it comes down to is this: Where do you want your business to take you? It’s not going to happen all by itself…

Are you going to “see the elephant” or just the elephant’s tail?

Warm Regards,

Christina

Marketing a Judgment Recovery Business

Posted on by
4

Ask anyone who’s ever been involved with a business before, and they’ll tell you that marketing is the life’s blood of a successful business. It’s no less important with a judgment recovery business.

Initially, most of your new potential customers will be obtained by researching civil case files. Civil case files are public record and available from any courthouse. These files will show you who has been awarded a judgment, how much it was, and will also provide you the contact information you’ll need to reach the judgment owner. Many areas even offer free online access to these files (more on that later).

Once you’ve identified which judgment holders will benefit from your service you’ll send them a personalized letter that includes specific information about their judgment. This is a highly targeted way to market, and definitely not a ‘shotgun’ approach. My research shows that contacting a judgment holder directly by far generates the best response and marketing results.

You should typically plan on spending about 2-3 hours, once a week to conduct this type of research at the courthouse. This will also familiarze you with the contents of a case file, as well as what your state’s legal forms look like and what their functions are.

If you are fortunate enough to have access to civil case file information online, then time spent physically at the courthouse to research your judgment leads may be unnecessary, or at least limited. Some states offer online access statewide, while others only offer access in certain counties or cities.

Each state and/or county generally has a different set up for accessing these files. The quality of the information that you are able to obtain online will vary from site to site. Some sites only provide minimal information, while others go so far as to scan every document ever filed into the system for viewing. Most offer free access, while a handful may charge a nominal fee.

If you’re finding basic information about the cases online, but not getting enough information to send a letter (ie: no contact information), you’ll want to use the online database to at least narrow down your prospects. It will still save you time to go through the cases online and make a list of cases for the court clerk to pull for your review at the courthouse.

If there is no online access available in your immediate area, and weekly visits to the courthouse prove to be impossible, there is certainly no reason you couldn’t research judgments awarded in another area. SJR’s judgment recovery training program includes an Online Access Guide that will provide you with links to all of the courts that provide access to civil case file information online in each state.

You’ll find that most courts will accept mailed or FAX’ed filings. Additionally, if you needed to, you could get in touch with another judgment recovery company participating on the SJR National Member Network or the SJR Member Email Forum in that area if you needed help or assistance with something.

Marketing directly to businesses is another good way to go, and a fantastic way to cater to a specific ‘niche.’ These days, for me personally, nearly all of my current judgments are assigned from either businesses I’ve developed a relationship with, or referrals from attorneys and paralegals in my area.

Some of these businesses include property managers, used car lots, contractors, pawn shops, jewelers, furniture stores, check cashing or payday advance companies, etc. Use your imagination! These – and other – types of businesses tend to sue in court on a regular basis and have many judgments to assign. Since they are constantly taking debtors to court, the judgments keep flowing in.

Joining your local Chamber of Commerce and other community organizations will put you in direct contact with a surprising number of individuals and companies needing your services. By participating in these local meetings and functions, you’ll also go a long way toward establishing your credibility. Speaking of local exposure, most smaller local newspapers will often showcase new businesses or publish a press release about your judgment recovery business – especially since it’s not your typical run of the mill business.

I haven’t brought up traditional advertising, simply because most who are just getting started are looking to cut costs as much as possible. Advertisements can be effective, but if you plan to advertise I wouldn’t solely rely on it to bring you new customers. If you do decide to run a simple ad, it should be in an area of general readership because most judgment holders don’t even realize they have any options for collecting their judgment – so they’re not actively looking for you.

This, of course, is simply a general overview of the marketing methods we use to attract new customers. Marketing will be crucial your business… and having a variety of different ways to make your services known will keep your bottom line healthy and help your business to grow.

As always, I welcome your questions, comments, or suggestions for any topics you’d like to see discussed here.

Warm Regards,

Christina

What is Judgment Recovery? A Simple Explanation

Posted on by
11

For many of us who are in the judgment recovery industry, we often forget that the rest of the world may not really have a clue about what “Judgment Recovery” is. As with many industries, we are so used to throwing around terminology like “skip tracing” and “asset location” that we just assume everyone else understands.

Here’s a simple example of the whole process, in plain English…

The Dispute

We’ll start from the very beginning. Imagine, if you will, that you’ve rented a home for several years. Situations change, and you’ve decided it’s time to move. You kept the property in great shape, always paid rent on time, and certainly didn’t trash the place, so you’re looking forward to getting your deposit back.

After the move, your landlord decides to be greedy and won’t return your deposit. What?! Your demand for an explanation goes unanswered, so your only real option is to file a lawsuit in small claims court.

The Court Date

You’ve filed your papers with the court to request a hearing and served the landlord with notice of the hearing date. The court date arrives and both you and the landlord argue your case in front of the judge, who decides that you are right and the landlord must return your deposit. A judgment is awarded for the amount of the deposit, plus any court fees you had to pay.

A week goes by… and you haven’t received any payment. But the landlord (now he’s called the judgment debtor) technically has thirty days to cough it up, so you’re trying to be patient. Now three months have passed – and still no check. At this point you call the court to tell them that the judgment debtor has still not paid, and you want to know what they’re going to do about it. Shockingly, the answer is nothing. Guess what? It’s up to you to make the judgment debtor pay. The court will not enforce the judgment for you. You’re on your own…

The Judgment Recovery Specialist

Time flies when you’re living your life, so three years have flown by and you’ve given up hope long ago that you’ll ever see a dime from that crooked landlord. Then one day you receive a letter from Statewide Judgment Recovery. Of course, this letter sparks your curiosity, so you open it.

It isn’t exactly what you were expecting, but perhaps the next best thing. This company is telling you they’ve seen your judgment at the courthouse and noticed it hasn’t been paid. They want to know if you’d be interested in letting them enforce the judgment. Since the company is willing to pay for all of the fees associated with collecting the judgment up front, no money will come out of your pocket.

Figuring that you have nothing to lose, you call the company and take a few minutes to discuss your case with a friendly and helpful person on the phone.

Let’s give this faceless judgment recovery person an identity. Let’s call him Jim. Jim is a highly trained, specialized kind of dynamo. He’s equipped with every skill he needs and all the latest tricks of the trade to make sure you get your money.

Jim tells you that he will do everything necessary to enforce the judgment in exchange for 50% of whatever is collected. It really just turns out to be a simple matter of signing a couple of agreements.

After Jim receives your signed agreements, he files them with the court and is ready to dig his heels in and get started.

The Pursuit Begins!

This is a no-brainer for Jim – this case is a slam dunk for a go-getter like him. Since the landlord owns rental property, and you’d passed along copies of past cancelled checks written for the rent, it’s a simple matter to collect this judgment.

When a judgment is assigned to someone like Jim, he becomes, in the eyes of the law, the judgment creditor and new owner of the judgment. He has exactly the same right of enforcement that you had to use the powerful legal remedies provided by law to force the judgment debtor to pay the debt. Actually, the landlord now owes the judgment to Jim.

Jim files a form with the court and sends the sheriff over to the landlord’s bank to seize the money in the account. A bank account seizure freezes all of the money in the account from the moment it is delivered to the bank.

The money in the bank account was not quite enough to cover the entire judgment amount, so to collect the remaining balance, Jim again sends the sheriff – but this time to intercept any incoming rent from the current tenant residing at the rental property.

When Jim receives a check for the money collected by the sheriff for the rent and from the bank account, he adds the filing fees that he incurred to the judgment. The crooked landlord will ultimately pay for them. Then he keeps half for himself and mails a check for the remainder to you.

The ending to this story is a happy one. You receive a substantial chunk of the money that was owed to you and Jim gets a hefty well-deserved sum as well. The icing on the cake… Jim discovers that the landlord has several other judgments awarded against him, and decides to contact those judgment holders to help them get their money, too.

 

If there are any other topics you’d like to see discussed on this blog, please feel free to leave a comment and I’ll do my best to cover them for you!

Warm Regards,

Christina

 

Start Up Costs for a Judgment Recovery Business

Posted on by
49

One of the questions I am asked most often is what start up costs are involved with getting a judgment recovery business open for business and off the ground. I know that it stands to reason that if even one person is asking the question, then ten more people are wondering the same thing.

Any new business, regardless of what it is, will require an investment of some sort before putting out the welcome mat – there’s just no way around it. You’ve got to spend it to make it, but start up costs for a judgment recovery operation are surprisingly low.

By comparison, consider that the average franchise requires thousands of dollars of investment capital. For example, a Subway restaurant will cost $12,500 cash just for the name, and an additional investment ranging from $92,050 to $222,800 – and that’s just to get the door open. You’d need to rent or buy a storefront, hire and train employees, buy equipment and inventory, and buy advertising just for starters. Talk about sticker shock!

I’d love to be able to give you a specific, solid start up figure for a judgment recovery business - but the truth is, there’s just no way to do it. Rather than just throw some generic figures out there, I spent some time poking around today to try and offer up a realistic cost outline.

You’ll need:

A Dedicated Business Telephone Line:
A traditional business ‘land line’ averages $50/month, if you keep the bells and whistles to a minimum. A great low-cost alternative to that would be a VOIP (voice over internet protocol) program, like Vonage. VOIP works through your Internet connection. Vonage‘s Small Business Basic plan includes local service, long distance, a FAX line, call waiting, voicemail, caller ID and even call forwarding – all for $39.99/month.

A Business License from your City or County:
Annual licensing fees are around $25-$60, depending on where you are, and whether or not you have employees. The great majority of states only require a generic business license, although a very few states do require collection agency licensing.

Locking File Storage:
Sensitive data, like consumer credit reports, bank account information and social security numbers are required to be locked away from potentially prying eyes. You can use an existing desk drawer (if it locks), or you can pick up a locking file cabinet from Wal-Mart for $59. Even a garage sale find would work!

Stationery (Letterhead, envelopes, business cards):
Homemade stationery, on quality paper will do – so long as you keep it simple and professional. The cost for a local printing company to print it will depend on the design and quantity. But you can usually order enough to get started for under $100. Try VistaPrint.com for free business cards – you’d just need to pay the shipping and handling cost.

Post Office Box:
Unless you plan on having a commercial location (most prefer to be home-based), you’ll need a post office box. If you rent a box from the US Postal Service, it starts at $10 for 6 months. Some people opt for a private mail box service, like MailBoxes Etc., which is about $50 for 6 months. And, don’t forget postage, at $0.44 per piece of mail.

Asset Location Expenses:
Locating judgment debtors and their assets (bank accounts, employment, property, etc.) is a key factor to your income. In addition to free resources – like public records - you’ll need access to non-public data as well. Consumer credit reports average $7, depending on what resource you decide to use when obtaining them. You’ll also want access to other types of private information, like banking detail reports, property searches and people locates. You’ll typically spend around $10 – $15 for basic asset location reports for each case.

Court Filing and Levying Fees:
While there is typically no cost to research civil judgment files (they’re public record), or to file the document to assign the judgment into your name, you will have court filing and levying fees when it’s time to seize assets through the court. Figure on spending $35-$50 per enforcement procedure. The cool thing about that is that your court filing and levying fees are legally added to the judgment and the judgment debtor has to pay for them. Any other expenses, like asset location costs, are reimbursed to yourself off the top of what you collect.

Seriously, as far as must-have expenses go, that’s all I could think of! There’s a pretty nifty breakdown on costs vs. income on the main page of my website, if you need some clarity on how much your bottom line will be. Obviously, the costs to locate assets and acting on that information will vary depending on how many judgments you’re working on at the time, but hopefully this information will help you realistically determine what you’ll need to get started.

BIO: Christina Smiley is the founder and owner of Sierra Judgment Recovery, established in 1997. She has helped thousands of people make money with a home based business by providing professional judgment recovery training.