You might think that once you successfully sue a resident for

money owed to your HOA or condo association that the hard work is

over. But trying to get paid after winning the judgment is often

where the truly hard work begins!

For a new article we spoke to experts and compiled 6 ways you

can turn your HOA's official judgment into money in your association's

bank account. This week's tip explores just one of those 6 tips:

garnishing wages.

"Once you have a judgment, the most typical way to collect is

through garnishment," says Kristen L. Rosenbeck, a partner at

the Mulcahy Law Firm PC in Phoenix, which represents

associations. "You can garnish wages and bank accounts, and

we're seeing that if the debtor has a rental in the association,

you can garnish the rent."

Garnishment is especially helpful when owners have been

foreclosed on or have walked away from their property but are

still employed. "A lot of collecting on a judgment is based on

each state's laws, which have provisions governing garnishment

of wages, accounts, and seizure of property," says Elizabeth

White, a shareholder and head of the community associations

practice at the law firm of LeClairRyan in Williamsburg, Va.

"If you get a lien against the property, that lien may be wiped

out with foreclosure. But if the party has a job or income from

another source, you have the ability to garnish that money by

following your state's law. There are exemptions and limitations

depending on how much the judgment is for and how much you can

garnish. Typically, you can garnish only a certain percentage of

a debtor's income per month. But the judgment is going to follow

the individual person."

Unfortunately, in some states garnishment isn't an option. So as

usual, you need to check your state and local laws to find out if

garnishment is an option for you.

To read more about how to get paid after your HOA recieves a court

judgment, see our new article.

Best regards,

Matt Humphrey

President