Legal avenues exist to get judgment from former tenant

Q. As a landlord I have had the unpleasant task of having two evictions in the past year. The issue I have is that even though the courts awarded judgments to me for thousands of dollars, I have collected nothing.

The tenants have moved on and refuse to pay and they are not going to tell me where they work so I could garnish their wages. Any suggestion on what I can do or who could help me?

A. There are numerous avenues available to you to satisfy your judgments. The most common are wage garnishments and property levies.

In a wage garnishment, the garnishment forms are served upon the employer who must respond within a certain amount of time, indicating whether or not the judgment debtor is employed there and providing salary information. Presuming the judgment debtor is employed at that business and other garnishments do not take precedence, a garnishment order is entered by the court and forwarded to the employer. The employer is then required to deduct the statutory amount (usually 15 percent of gross income) from each paycheck and send to the judgment creditor, until the judgment and costs are satisfied.

You raise one obvious problem, which is determining the employer. If you knew where your ex-tenant was living, someone could camp out in front of his or her residence and see where he/she goes in the morning or afternoon. If you have no knowledge of your ex-tenant's current residence, you will probably need to retain a private investigator to do some digging for you. Obviously, there would be a cost involved. However, you could ask the court to add those costs to your judgment, along with your litigation and garnishment costs. In addition, attorneys fees are often added to the amount of the judgment but only in the event reimbursement of such fees was provided for in a written lease.

If you know where your ex-tenant banks, you could issue a non-wage garnishment or citation against that bank. The bank is then required to freeze any funds it holds in the name of the judgment debtor and respond to the garnishment interrogatories. In the event money is held at that institution in the judgment debtor's name, the court will issue a turnover order, which is then served on the bank. The bank would then be required to "turn over" the discovered funds to you, up to the amount of your judgment and costs.

There are other methods available to satisfy judgments. Contact an attorney familiar with collections to assist you.

Q. I have two questions regarding the homestead exemption on property taxes. One, I live in the part of Elgin that is in Cook County. Do you have to apply every year to receive the homestead exemption on your property taxes? A long time ago (at least 15 years?), Cook County would send you a double postcard and the homeowner would sign it and mail it back. At some point, Cook County stopped sending the double postcard, but I don't remember if the default was changed so you would normally receive the homestead exemption or not.

Secondly, my wife and I own (and live in) our home in Elgin. A few years ago, I cosigned a mortgage loan with my daughter so she could buy a townhouse (in Elgin in Kane County). She lives in the townhouse, I do not. Because I am shown as co-owner of two houses, does that mean one of these properties does not qualify for the homestead exemption? My daughter pays the mortgage and all other expenses regarding the townhouse.

A. In regards to the postcards, I do not believe Cook County sends out post cards annually anymore. Once you have the homestead exemption, the exemption is retained so long as you own and live at the property as your primary residence.

In regards to the property your daughter resides in, you cannot claim the homeowners exemption for that property as you can only claim the exemption on one property, your primary residence. However, as long as your daughter is in title to the property she resides in and it is her primary residence, she can claim the homeowners exemption for that property.

• Send your questions to attorney Tom Resnick, 345 N. Quentin Road, Palatine, IL 60067, by email to tdr100@hotmail.com or call (847) 359-8983.