Commercial Property Owners: Sell Your Tenant Judgment
Your commercial tenant defaulted. You won the judgment. Recovery hasn’t come. We buy California commercial property owner judgments — $10,000 and up.
$10,000 minimum · Commercial properties · California superior court
Commercial property judgment collection
Commercial property owners — office building owners, retail center operators, industrial park landlords, mixed-use developers — hold some of the most actionable commercial judgments in California. Business tenants who defaulted on leases often leave behind a judgment that’s collectible if pursued with the right tools.
Unlike residential tenant judgments, commercial tenant cases frequently involve business entities with personal guarantors, ongoing business activity in successor entities, and real property interests that can be liened. These are exactly the cases we pursue.
What qualifies
We evaluate California commercial judgments in this category including:
- Commercial lease default judgments — Business tenant defaulted on a commercial lease; judgment entered for unpaid rent, holdover damages, and lease break costs.
- Commercial UD money portions — The money judgment from a commercial unlawful detainer proceeding.
- Tenant improvement loan defaults — Tenant received a TI allowance structured as a loan; defaulted and left before repayment.
- Commercial property damage judgments — Judgment for damage to the commercial space beyond normal wear.
- Personally guaranteed commercial leases — Business principal personally guaranteed the commercial lease; judgment includes the guarantor individually.
- Anchor tenant and large-format retail defaults — Large commercial tenants with significant lease obligations who defaulted.
Minimum face value: $10,000. California superior court commercial judgments only.
After the tenant is gone: what enforcement actually looks like
Commercial landlords usually pursue judgment enforcement after the tenant has already vacated the premises — which means enforcement is a purely financial exercise with no operational leverage left. The debtor entity is typically a single-purpose tenant LLC that has dissolved or gone dormant since the lease was broken. The real cost of waiting to collect compounds quickly here.
The recurring patterns:
- Dissolved tenant LLC. The entity that signed the lease and signed the judgment exists only on paper. Enforcement requires either piercing the corporate veil or identifying personal guarantors named on the original lease or guaranty addendum.
- Abstract of judgment as a lien. Many landlords have already recorded an abstract of judgment against a guarantor’s California real property. That is meaningful — it creates a lien that attaches to the property and follows it through sale or refinance. It does not guarantee collection, but it does give the judgment a real enforcement asset to point to when we evaluate. See how we value a judgment.
- CAM, TI allowance, and unpaid build-out judgments. Tenant improvement allowances that were paid but not earned out, common-area maintenance charges in arrears, and unpaid build-out cost reimbursements can each produce significant commercial judgments — often six figures.
- Sublease disputes. Where the landlord obtained judgment against a sub-tenant or sub-landlord, evaluation depends on the specific contractual chain. Related: landlords with residential judgment debt.
FAQ
My tenant was a national chain. Are those judgments collectible?
National chains that have closed locations or filed bankruptcy present specific challenges. If the entity filed Chapter 11 and rejected the lease, the claim may have been discharged or converted to a bankruptcy claim. Tell us the specific entity and timeline and we’ll give you an honest read.
The tenant had a personal guarantee but the principal has moved out of California.
California judgments are enforceable in other states. If the guarantor has moved to Nevada, Texas, or anywhere else, the judgment can be registered in that state and enforced there. Out-of-state debtors add complexity but don’t eliminate value.
I have multiple judgments from tenants in the same property. Can I sell them in bulk?
We evaluate each judgment individually. Submit them all and we’ll tell you which ones fit our criteria. We can discuss a streamlined process for multiple related judgments from the same property.
The tenant’s LLC was dissolved after they moved out. Is the judgment worthless?
Not necessarily. If the lease or a guaranty addendum named personal guarantors, enforcement runs against those individuals — and the judgment retains material value. Submit what you know about the principals on the original lease; that information drives the evaluation more than the entity status.
We’ve already recorded an abstract of judgment against the guarantor’s property. Does that affect your offer?
Yes, positively. A recorded abstract creates a lien on the guarantor’s California real property and follows the property through any sale or refinance. That lien is a meaningful enforcement asset and we factor it into our valuation. Mention it explicitly when you submit and tell us which county the abstract was recorded in. See the California judgment guide for related liens and recording practices.
Get your commercial property judgment evaluated
Commercial landlord judgment, $10,000 or more? Free evaluation, one business day response.