Because of the economic mess, everyone in the collection business is really hurting, or at least they are not making very much money now. Stand-alone judgment enforcers and sole practice contingency collection attorneys are hurting the most. The reason is because recovering judgments is expensive, and every judgment recovery action costs more money.
In a bad economy, there is no way to save money when recovering judgments, except to cut back on recovery actions; or only accept those one out of a thousand judgments, that appear to be “slam dunks”.
Collection agencies and contingency collection attorney firms are also hurting. However, they can use less expensive recovery or collection tactics. Non-contingency collection lawyers are also affected, because less people can afford to pay them or keep paying them; however at least they are paid a retainer and can charge by the hour. 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.
Because the economy is sliding, judgment debtors are becoming poorer. Everything in judgment recovery depends on the debtor’s available assets, the courts and Sheriffs. Courts and Sheriffs have traised their fees, and slowing down their processing of judgment recovery-related paperwork.
As a result of all this, cash upfront prices paid for judgment purchases are declining to an all-time low; because the value of every judgment depends entirely on the judgment debtor’s economic situation. Unfortunately, more and more judgment-related web sites are using bullpucky for marketing, advertising lies such as “We buy judgments for 50% cash upfront”. They never do, and most have never paid more than 10%, even for slam-dunk judgments. Most will not return calls or emails, or make any offers on judgments sent to them.
Some judgment owners try listing their judgments for sale on judgment John Adams of JudgmentBuyetplace web sites, mostly because they provide judgment owners with a false hope that someone browsing their site will buy their judgment. If an average judgment is listed for more than a few pennies on the dollar, it is a complete waste of time to advertise it anywhere.
Every day, more collection agencies and judgment enforcers go out of business, and another contingency lawyer closes their sole practice, and finds a job inside a collection company or a collection department.
At the same time that the economy is sliding, many judgment owners ignore reality, and refuse to believe their judgment is difficult to recover, and they either:
A) Attempt to find a contingency recovery solution, and shop around until they find the lowest price for a future-payment recovery, and often get what they pay for, or they:
B) Try to find a judgment buyer who will pay the most for their judgment, which is a waste of time because the sale price depends only on the judgment, the jurisdiction, and most of all, the judgment debtor’s situation.
It is very difficult to get more than a few pennies on the dollar for an average judgment. To get more money, find a contingency future-payment recovery solution. If your judgment debtor has available assets, you may not have to assign your judgment, which is a big advantage if the person or company trying to recover your judgment goes out of business.