You can put a lien on that property so that if they ever sell or refinance the property you might get paid. To do this, you first need an Abstract of Judgment.A judgment lien is a courtsanctioned claim imposed on a debtor's property when they lose a case and owe money to the plaintiff. Prepare an Abstract of Judgment to place a lien on real estate and enforce debt payment with our step-by-step guides. To do this, fill out a JL-1. Obtaining judgment liens against debtors' real property is one of creditors' most powerful tools in enforcing judgments in California. A simple rule of thumb is to record a lien in the county where the judgment debtor resides or does business. Get free access to the complete judgment in Crawford v. If you are searching for appellate court cases, you must choose the 'Appellate' or 'Docket Number' option.