State Specific Question About: ARKANSAS (AR)

I sued a past tenant in small claims court because he failed to the rent, damaged/vandalized the rental unit, moved in another person without permission. He Broke the Lease.

I won the small claims court action. He did not respond the the court wthin the time limit. I won

He is collection social security disability. He has a leg missing.

If his only income is social security and he has no assets then you have very little chance of ever getting your money. You cannot garnish his social security and you can't levy his bank account unless he is comingling his disability income with funds from a different source. Where in AR are you located?

The court, when they sent him a copy of the judgment, probably included a requirement that he file a statement of financial means with the court within 30 days. If he does this the. You will have a clearer picture of any other assets that you could potentially levy. If he doesn't do it you can request a hearing- I think it's a called a show cause or due cause. If he doesn't respond to that, you can request a bodily attachment, in which he could be arrested if he ever came into contact with the police. The hearing and bodily attachment are just to force him to complete the financial means statement - it won't force him to pay.

One thing you want to do is to ask your court clerk if s/he knows if any of the credit bureaus report the judgments from your small claims court. If they do then the judgment will appear on his credit at some point. It's possible he could want that removed some day and would try to pay you but rather improbable.

S S is non garnishible. You can garnish and sell some personal property items, although state law excludes some from garnishment.

Big balanc bank accounts, gun, or car collections are worthwhile, otherwise, move on.

Having a judgment is a good thing but doesn't mean you will ever see your money again. About 90% of Americans live from hand to mouth and are one paycheck away from insolvency. If you review your x-tenants application, it should have his banking information (checking and savings accounts), his sources of income (Job or government hand outs).

If you rented to someone with no savings, limited income and marginal credit -- you can't expect them to pay you money they don't have and will never get!

Thank you guys so very much. I learned much from your replys. I will ask for a show cause or due cause hearing and file a for a debtor's exam. One last attempt - but will must say i will most likely take the advice for the later, move on and use the event as a learning experience.

"Leasing to a judgement proof tenant is a bad risk."