One of the first things a judgment collection agency will do when taking on a new case is begin the search for debtor assets. Things like real estate and high-value collectibles act as very strong leverage to encourage payment. The question for many creditors-turned-collectors is how to find assets when a debtor doesn’t voluntarily reveal them.
If you are trying to collect an Arizona money judgment from a debtor uninterested in cooperating, know that you’re not alone. We see the same thing in Utah and all the other states we operate in. Debtors don’t always volunteer information about their income and assets. But you have the ability to get around their lack of cooperation by way of digital sleuthing.
We cannot give away all the secrets of how we do what we do. But we can discuss digital sleuthing using public records. The very same things we do via public record research can be done by any judgment creditor in Arizona, Utah, and beyond.
The Basic Premise of Digital Sleuthing
The basic premise of digital sleuthing is pretty simple. You might not immediately find assets a debtor is trying to hide. But by digging around, you could uncover clues that point you in the right direction. Gather enough clues, and they just might lead you to a high-value asset the debtor never told you about.
Digital sleuthing can point you to a variety of assets. The most common asset this process uncovers is real estate. Just know this: most states consider a debtor’s primary residence or homestead exempt from collection efforts. So with property searches, you are looking for things like vacation properties and rentals.
Start With Public Property Records
You have a lot of resources for your digital sleuthing. We recommend starting with public property records. A publicly available record is created every time a piece of real estate changes hands. And because nearly all public records are now available online, they are easy enough to find if you are willing to put in the time.
Did your debtor buy a number of vacation rentals a few years back? If so, records of those purchases will be buried somewhere in county property records. Or maybe your debtor sold a piece of property just before you took him to court. The record of that sale is publicly accessible. It could lead you to a significant amount of cash the debtor did not disclose.
Move to Other Public Records
Do not limit your search just to real estate. There are other assets you could leverage under the right circumstances. That being the case, look at other public records as well.
Business records could point you to real property and other business assets the debtor might own. Probate records could reveal an inheritance that might be locked up in a trust. The point is that public records offer tremendous value in the hunt for clues that could point you to hidden assets.
Don’t Forget Social Media
Public records constitute ‘official’ sources of valuable data. But there is one more source that far too many judgment creditors overlook: social media. People are incredibly careless with what they post online. So a good digital detective can hunt for clues that are right out in the open. A glaring example would be a post showing the brand-new boat your debtor just bought.
Assets are the key that unlocks judgment collection efforts. With a little bit of digital sleuthing, you might be able to find assets your debtor doesn’t want you to know about. Digital sleuthing is something we do all the time.