How much is a $10,000 judgment worth? The answer is zero, unless the judgment debtor is known and has available assets.
In that case, the judgment is worth whatever can be recovered over time (minus expenses), or whatever a judgment buyer is willing to actually pay.
The average judgment sells for 1-7% cash upfront, and when nothing is known about the judgment debtor, much less than 1%.
This article is my opinion, and not legal advice.
I am a judgment broker, and am not a lawyer.
If you ever need any legal advice or a strategy to use, please contact a lawyer.
When you ask someone to give you a quote on buying your judgment, it is a waste of time if you do not supply the information about your debtor.
A judgment without a known judgment debtor having assets, is much less valuable than a car without a working engine.
At least a broken car can be sold for parts, or its scrap value.
When your debtor has a common name and you know nothing about them, then your judgment is probably worthless.
The more you know about your debtor, and the more available assets your debtor has; the more your judgment might be worth.
Because of the expenses and risks of attempting to recover a judgment, the cash upfront value of a judgment is always a small fraction of its face value.
Those that will not face the reality about their judgment situations will never get paid any money for their judgment.
In my work, I often get portfolios of hundreds or thousands of judgments, sometimes with debtor information.
Often, the person attempting to sell their whole portfolio has a set price firmly in mind.
That does not work, because what buyers actually pay, depends only on the debtor's situations.
One judgment portfolio owner recently told me the current economic situation is raising the cash upfront prices of judgments, because of supply and demand.
That might have made sense in the past, however it sure does not make sense now.
Recently, someone else sent me a big portfolio of judgments, and told me they required a firm purchase price of 12 cents on the dollar for every judgment in their portfolio.
After I checked the first 20 debtors in their portfolio using public data records, I discovered that many of the debtors were bankrupt, or had many other creditors chasing them.
I stopped checking that portfolio, because I knew that no real judgment buyer would pay 12 cents on the dollar for poor debtors.
They were not happy to hear my news, and then they aggressively shopped their judgment portfolio around the country, trying to get that 12 percent price for several months.
They eventually sold that portfolio for 3 cents on the dollar.
Sellers who insist on getting their own theoretical judgment valuations, will never get paid.
People who accept what the market will actually pay for judgments, can sell them for cash upfront.
To successfully sell your judgment for as much as possible, document everything you know about your debtor.
Calling, and telling judgment buyers about your debtor does not count.
What counts is what you can document, and the documented facts you send, that identify your exact debtor and their potential assets and income streams.
Nobody can quote you a price for your judgment, unless you first send them a copy of your judgment and all the information on your debtor.
There is no risk in sending someone a copy of your judgment, because nothing can happen until you assign your judgment, and get your signature notarized.
A judgment broker can save you time, because you send them your information once, and they shop buyers nationwide for you.