by besty 54 Replies latest jw friends
ye i like that about the Abstract of Judgment - you can run but you can't hide.
thanks JWoods - we got caught by a bad landlord - she took almost $200k in rent and "still" stole our deposit.
She will pay - the questions are when, and how much more than the original deposit it will cost her
Here in Canada the deposit has to be put in a separate bank account and you also get the interest paid on it when it's returned.
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All the years that I rented in Ontario, I made sure that the interest on deposit was discussed up front and managed to get my interest on it annually instead of just when I moved out. I would get a cheque for the interest at the end of the lease term, regardless of whether or not I kept on renting. Worked great!
California as far as I know, is not obligated to pay interest on the deposit held, as long as it is returned to you. I did check out the legalities when I rented and found that my landlord didn't owe me interest on my deposit, even though I rented from him for years. Rotten landlords are the renters nightmare as much as rotten tenants can be landlords nightmare.
sammieswife.
I wonder if you can garnish their wages?
Ideas you may or may not have tried:
-Sending her a certified/registered letter stating the law, your proof of no damage in front of witnesses, and her obligation to return the deposit plus interest by the date you name, or you will proceed with a lawsuit (she doesn't want that anymore than you do because she can't afford legal fees)
-Landlord dispute resolution boards (if you've got one there)
These may sound oversimplified but I've resolved a lot of disputes this way. [Once an attorney recommended I try the Better Business Bureau to get a store credit card to correct my account, before he got involved and incurred legal fees. Surprisingly simple, but it worked!]
Peace to you!
I apologize if my response offended - you weren't exactly clear in your posts that no one should address the info in any one else's response (notice, I did not address you directly in my first response). You are correct in that I didn't see the amount stated by you - I shouldn't have assumed that your rent was less than $3,750 (heck, I don't know what you pay for rent - it's just that usually someone paying that amount is buying, not renting. My error). The thing is... and this kind of addresses Farkel's response: you will STILL need a court judgment. Whether you file an Abstract [of] Judgment... or record a lien.
That I had the wrong court (small claims vs. superior) is an error I will acknowledge. But I am still not "seeing" how you get anything accomplished... including having a third party purchse the debt so that you get paid NOW... without going to court and obtaining a judgment. Which you appear to be indicating you DON'T want to do... as it will cost you significant attorney fees.
Perhaps you're sking how you can get a judgment WITHOUT paying huge attorney fees... so as to GET a money judgment... so that you CAN file an Abstract... or record a lien... or sell the debt? If that's the case... the info is out there...
Again, I bid you peace... and success in recovering your money.
YOUR servant and a slave of Christ,
SA
no worries AGuest - I have decided to instruct my attorney to proceed :-)
good luck to me and thanks to all who took the time to contribute
PS believe it or not there are properties for rent above $3,750, and many reasons not to buy the property you live in. Say for example one observed a structural decline in property prices and concurrently had an employer willing to pay rental .......
Yes, dear Besty (and peace to you!), I totally understand and, again, I apologize, as I "assumed" and shouldn't have.
BTW, it is the Abstract that you file as a lien on the (current) property... which escrow will pay (if there's any value in the home) if/when she sells. In Farkel's scenario, most probably his debtor was also selling a house while buying another... and in order for the NEW owner (of the OLD house) to get CLEAR title... the lien had to be paid (this was probably not a situation where the landlord was upside down on the mortgage).
Where the owner is upside down, as in your case, she can file bankruptcy, in which case, if she lists your debt, it will be discharged... because it is not taxes or student loan. Personally, if I thought there was ANY possibility that she MIGHT file bankruptcy, I would try and talk to her about that FIRST... before I started incurring legal fees that I might get stuck with.
Just my, well, $0.10 now, I guess, as a "friend."
Peace to you!
Slave of Christ,
SA
Farkel/AGuest - do you think it is viable to file the same Abstract on multiple property assets owned by my ex-landlord?
Personally, if I thought there was ANY possibility that she MIGHT file bankruptcy, I would try and talk to her about that FIRST..
she won't talk to me about anything, she even defriended me on Facebook....:-)
do you think it is viable to file the same Abstract on multiple property assets owned by my ex-landlord?
Per the California court rules (and, again, peace to you!):
"6. If you believe the debtor owns property in more than one county, you will have to repeat this process for each county. Only oneAbstract of Judgment needs to be recorded per county, even if there are multiple properties within a single county."
Here's the link:
http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp/family/enforcement/collecting.htm#lienreal
Note, although it is for Family Law, the rules as to recording an abstract for a civil matter will still apply. Here's another link that might help (although it states for Small Claims, it will also apply as to any Abstract/Judgment):
http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp/smallclaims/collectintro.htm
The California Courts Self-Help website (www.courtinfo.ca.gov) is pretty good. At least, it can give you some basis to go on... and perhaps help you ask your attorney the right questions.
she won't talk to me about anything
You could send her a Letter of Demand and Intent to Sue. Your attorney will most probably do this first, however... at a cost, of course.
Again, peace to you and wishing you success!
A slave of CHrist,
SA
attorney instructed just FWIW :-)
