Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Massachusetts

I signed a 5 yr comm. lease w/ personal guarantee on it on 2000 in Boston, business went down on year 2003, by Nov. of 2003, we ran out of money to pay rent, I closed up my business and look for job. 1 mo. later my landlord sued me for remaining 2 yr rent. At the same time, I got a job offer from a foreign company, we moved out of the country before the trial date. Later, we found out my place was rent out within 2 months. We are planning to move to back to USA(CA) in 2010. In this kind of situation, can this default judgment still affect my credit in a different state 7 years later? My wife didn't signed the personal guarantee, can they levy on my wife bank account?


Asked on 10/23/09, 11:16 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

They cannot levy on your wife's bank account without showing it holds assets from you. If they rented the place out after two months, you have a right to challenge the judgment. A judgment is only good for 10 years, so assuming the judgment was granted in 2003, it will be enforceable for another 4 years.

As to impacting your credit, the judgment will be on your credit report. However, to levy on your bank account in CA, the landlord will have to sue on his judgment in CA to get enforcement.

However, I would open my bank accounts in CA in a bank which does not have branches in MA to make sure the Landlord has to sue in CA to attach your assets.

You might want to try to settle the judgment with the landlord before returning to the US. At this stage he might be willing to take a smaller amount to get something now without having to chase you.

Read more
Answered on 10/28/09, 11:53 pm


Related Questions & Answers

More Landlord & Tenants questions and answers in Massachusetts