I am not a lawyer, I am a judgment referral expert (Judgment Broker). This article is based on my experience in California. Laws vary in each state, and nothing in any of my articles should ever be considered legal advice. This article is my opinion about judgment enforcement procedures for judgments against real estate brokers and agents.
How one enforces judgments depends on the debtor. When the debtor is a real estate agent or broker, there are specific strategies one can use because of the nature of their business.
First, visit your state's Department of Real Estate (DRE) web site and search your judgment debtor's name. If they currently have an active license, you should be able to find the mailing address where their license is currently registered.
If your debtor is a broker, they may have two addresses registered (their primary and satellite office). If they are not a broker, the DRE web site will list which broker the judgment debtor has their license registered with. The DRE will list at least a business address. If your debtor is a broker with two addresses, there is a good chance that one of the two addresses may be their home address.
You can also check with the local area chapter of the Association Of Realtors (AOR) that almost all realtors belong to. That membership allows them to access the County's MLS (Multiple Listing Service) and state realtor forms and contracts. Together, the DRE and the OAR, should show you at least the debtor's business addresses.
Unlike the average judgment debtor, most realtors and brokers aggressively pursue getting their names and businesses "out there" for marketing purposes. You should be able to find them or their own web sites or local MLS sites, and see which listings they have. If any listings are noted as "in escrow" or "pending" then you know that something is in the process of being closed (assuming the financing comes through).
Call the (judgment debtor) broker or agent's office, and tell them that you own property near them, and are evaluating a sales offer from another party. They will try to get your listing, but you quickly explain that it is a FISBO (For Sale By Owner), and that they were recommended to you as a good source for a referral to a quality title company. Ask them which two companies they most frequently use, and what they like most about them. Then ask for the name of the title officers they use at each of the two title companies.
With their own referrals, there is a good chance that you can find out which title company, and which title officer, is handling any pending transactions. Then send, or have served to them a demand, for that escrow payment, along with an assignment order for any commissions that will be paid to your judgment debtor. (Getting and serving an assignment order is beyond the scope of this article, in California, start with CCPs 708.510 to 708.560.)
If there is any doubt about which title officer to serve, call the title company and ask for the name of the person in charge of that office, and send (or have them served) the demand and assignment order. If you have a friend who is a real estate appraiser, they will have access to the MLS. They will be able to tell you which title company is handling the escrow for any property that is pending a sale.
If the judgment debtor does not have any listings that show "pending" then have your appraiser buddy check the MLS updates once in a while, and when your judgment debtor pops up, have them contact you, so you can have an assignment order sent or served. It is a good idea to take your appraiser out to dinner or send them a bottle of wine, because appraisers are valuable.
If your judgment debtor brokers or sells commercial properties, there are some additional revenue sources that you may be able to reach. Commercial agents and brokers get an income stream when they lease a property to a tenant for the life of the lease. The money is paid to them monthly, and it is usually a built-in percentage of the lease terms. Its paid by the tenant to the brokerage, who then passes a net amount to the property owner.
If there are properties that the brokerage manages, you can determine if the judgment debtor is the broker or agent of record. If so, then you can have the tenants served with a turnover or an assignment order.
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Mark Shapiro - Judgment Broker - Free leads for Judgment Enforcers and contingency collection attorneys.
http://www.JudgmentBuy.com - is the best judgment solution, where Judgments quickly get Purchased or Enforced by the best!
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