I cant pay the judgement

Question

I bought a house, and wasnt able to give the landlord his thirty day notice so now i leagally owe him and he is suing me. I dont have a job, and i have no money. My partner pays all the bills. We tried to settle with him today to make monthly payments but he is not really accepting them. When i go to court should i tell the magistrate that i tried to settle and that i dont have any money, and i need to make a payment plan? We can only pay 75 dollars a month and we owe him 566.50. also will I have to pay his court costs and how much are small claims court costs?

Answer 1

The magistrate will order the judgment against you including court costs and interest.

The magistrate may order a payment plan. If you fail to pay per the court order, you will be in default and the landlord can then garnish bank accounts or place a lien on your house.

Answer 2

have you tried laf (legal assistance foundation) a non profit organization,with lawyers that will take your case according to your income,(I wasn't working at the time) I won my case against my old landlord,and I didn't pay a dime, they help you get your payment plan, so that you won't get a judgement against you.

Answer 3

It will be another 300 or so, depending on how you get served.

If you bought a HOUSE you have plenty of money to pay your judgement.   The judge will not accept that you are broke, you have assets, you can sell them.

If the judge takes pity on you he will make the poor landlord you want to rip off put a lien on your house.

Answer 4

The Judge will just set payments up for you to make. They might be more than $75 though. You will end up paying more than $566.50. Try to pay it if you can.  

Answer 5

That's about all you can do. You made an effort to structure an alternative and he declined. The reason he is going to court is to get an enforceable judgment. That gives him basis to collect some day when you do have money. I would be very cautious about making partial payments after that judgment. It might be to your advantage to pay nothing at all until you can satisfy the whole amount. Ask the judge for some guidance (small claims court is fairly informal). Court costs are pretty minimal.  

Answer 6

You dont have a job, yet YOU bought a house?  Impossible. No one would give you a loan without a job. And you would not be put on the loan or deed of the house without a job.

Your partner pays all the bills. Then have him pay what you legally owe the landlord. As stated, if it goes to court, it will be more than $566.50.  Add court costs, filing fees,and possibly late fees.

IF the house is in your partners name, the court cant touch it and no lein can be filed against it.  If it indeed is in your name, then they can put a lien on it, take your income tax return (state) for payment, or if you go to work, garnish your wages.  

Be smart, pay the landlord what you owe him now and avoid a more serious problem.

Answer 7

How do you owe him 566.50?  You owe him 7 month rent?

Or is this his fee?  I don't understand- your story is not clear.

Answer 8

Did you buy a house or were you renting one? Don't understand how you were able to do either with no income.

Bring all and any paperwork that you signed  together with your tax returns to court so the judge can review them. The judge will set up a payment plan  for you based on the info you have given.