The short answer is no, a debt collector cannot take your house. However, a creditor whose loan is secured by your house can foreclose on the loan and take the house, and depending on your state laws, a debt collector without a security interest in your home may be able to put a lien on it.
Homeowners in California have the right to declare their primary residence a homestead. Claiming homestead status protects your equity from creditors in the event of a lawsuit or a bankruptcy.
When your creditor has a court order against you, they can apply for another court order that secures the debt against your home or other property you own. ... After your creditor gets a charging order, they can usually apply to the court for another order to force you to sell your home. This is called an 'order for sale'.
All states have designated certain types of property as "exempt," or free from seizure, by judgment creditors. For example, clothing, basic household furnishings, your house, and your car are commonly exempt, as long as they're not worth too much.
Business Bank Accounts and Garnishment
Using a business bank account can be an effective way for an individual judgment debtor to avoid a bank account garnishment. A person who owns a business can choose to keep more funds in their business rather than distributing the funds to themselves.
A forgery 50 years ago; a deed executed under duress; bigamy that went unknown; an error by a clerk in the county recorder's office; a misapplied tax payment — these are but a few of the hidden "title defects" that could cause you to lose your property.
Debt collectors cannot harass or abuse you. They cannot swear, threaten to illegally harm you or your property, threaten you with illegal actions, or falsely threaten you with actions they do not intend to take. They also cannot make repeated calls over a short period to annoy or harass you.
Judgment creditors are empowered to seize the personal property of judgment debtors if their property doesn't fall within an exemption. Generally, creditors will not take your personal property because the cost and time of locating the property is usually not worth it to them.
If you owe money on unsecured debts such as credit cards or student loans, your personal property (your house and the things inside of it) are typically not at risk. ... As a result, the lender generally has no legal right to take your personal property.
When you leave a secured creditor unpaid, that creditor has the right to seize the asset you used as collateral when you incurred the debt. ... Unsecured creditors do not have the automatic right to seize and sell your home.
When you borrow money to buy a home, you use the home as collateral for the loan; this means that the home secures the mortgage and if you do not pay the mortgage, the bank can foreclosure on the loan and take the home that is securing it.
Kansas, Florida, Iowa, and Texas provide an unlimited dollar value homestead exemption. Florida and Texas, in fact, are well known as debtor-friendly states because of their homestead exemptions. However, homesteads acquired through fraud can no longer be protected.
A creditor can merely review your past checks or bank drafts to obtain the name of your bank and serve the garnishment order. If a creditor knows where you live, it may also call the banks in your area seeking information about you.
In California, the statute of limitations on most debts is four years. With some limited exceptions, creditors and debt buyers can't sue to collect debt that is more than four years old.
When will a debt collector sue? Typically, debt collectors will only pursue legal action when the amount owed is in excess of $5,000, but they can sue for less.
If you have outstanding unpaid debt, creditors may be able to garnish your bank account. This is either called a bank levy or account garnishment. It is similar to a wage garnishment except it's on your bank account instead of your paycheck, and some of the rules are different.
Can a creditor take all the money in your bank account? Creditors cannot just take money in your bank account. But a creditor could obtain a bank account levy by going to court and getting a judgment against you, then asking the court to levy your account to collect if you don't pay that judgment.
In many states, some IRS-designated trust accounts may be exempt from creditor garnishment. This includes individual retirement accounts (IRAs), pension accounts and annuity accounts. Assets (including bank accounts) held in what's known as an irrevocable living trust cannot be accessed by creditors.
You can sue someone even if they have no money. The lawsuit does not rely on whether you can pay but on whether you owe a certain debt amount to that plaintiff. Even with no money, the court can decide that the creditor has won the lawsuit, and the opposite party still owes that sum of money.
Renew the judgment
Money judgments automatically expire (run out) after 10 years. ... If the judgment is not renewed, it will not be enforceable any longer and you will not have to pay any remaining amount of the debt. Once a judgment has been renewed, it cannot be renewed again until 5 years later.
Creditors have 12 years from the date of the judgment order to look for enforcement orders. Enforcement orders are usually valid for one year and can then be renewed. If more than 6 years have passed since the judgment order was issued, a Leave of the court (the court's permission) is needed to continue.