In my job, almost every day I get at least ten calls or emails similar to this: “I want to sell my judgment, and I went to a web site that said they pay 75% cash upfront for judgments. I sent them my judgment, but they never responded. They won’t answer my phone messages or emails. Thank you for being so responsive. How much will you pay me for my judgment?”

The problem is that many people want to believe their judgments are similar to cash. And, because of what some web sites advertise, some people get led into thinking their judgments have automatic and considerable value. (Note that 99% of judgment sellers want to be paid far more than their judgments are worth.)

When several web sites advertise they will pay “the most” or 50 to 75 percent cash upfront for judgments; who needs to bother reading and believing some other “droopy dog” web site like JudgmentBuy that says that average judgments sell for 1-7% cash upfront? Some judgments with rich debtors do sell for much higher prices, however most judgment debtors are not wealthy and those few “droopy dog” web sites are telling the truth.

This article is my opinion, and not legal advice. I am a judgment broker, and am not a lawyer. If you ever need any legal advice or a strategy to use, please contact a lawyer. How much your judgment can be sold for, depends only on the available assets of your judgment debtor. It does not depend on what you want, who you talk to, or what web sites you visit.

There are at least three reasons that web sites offering to pay 50-75% cash upfront, almost never respond to judgments sent them:

1) They are lying, because they have never paid even 35% for any judgment; and in the very few cases where they have paid anything, paid much less.

2) Their business plan seems to be to lure lots of judgment owners away from legitimate judgment solution web sites, and then ignore all incoming judgments except those against very rich debtors. If your debtor seems average or worse, they will not respond at all. If your judgment debtor is rich, what they might pay at most, is the same as what any other actual judgment buyer would pay.

3) On the internet, anyone can say or write anything. “We pay you the most money for your judgment”, “We are so and so place, and will find a cash buyer at top dollar for your judgment”, “We buy all judgments”, and “Your judgment can be sold for (40-80%) cash upfront”, are usually all lies.

To get a price quote on your judgment, whether for cash upfront or on a future-payment contingency basis; you must supply a copy of your judgment and the proof of service, and what you know about your judgment debtor. There is no risk in getting a quote, because your notarized signature is required to proceed with any judgment sale. Anyone not requiring a copy of your judgment and information about your judgment debtor, is not serious about wanting to buy or recover your judgment.

If something sounds too good to be true, it often is. If you have bad breath, a good friend probably will privately tell you. Someone that does not like you probably will not tell you. If you want to be paid for a judgment any more than what your judgment debtor’s situation can support; a friend will tell you a judgment is not cash, and you should avoid listening to people and web sites that lie to you.

It is better to be paid 5% cash upfront for a judgment; than to get nothing, after spending hundreds of hours shopping it until it expires; or your debtor files for bankruptcy protection. Without exception, the best chance to get the most money for your judgment is on a future-payment contingency recovery basis. Especially if you use a judgment broker, there is much less risk in having an expert attempt to recover your judgment on a future payment contingency recovery basis.