Tenant Late on Rent - Is this the right course of action?
Hello,
I have a tenant who is consistently late on rent payments, but usually pays before the 5 day grace period expires (after one or more reminders from me). This month, she has yet to pay the rent. After multiple reminders, she finally responded to me yesterday to say she would be paying the rent when she got to work. However, the rent is STILL not paid. We use Chase QuickPay, so it's not a question of the check being in the mail. To add some color - tenant is financially in good shape (or at least they were when I rented them the property) and I don't believe cash flow is an issue for them generally speaking. However, they are currently month-to-month and planning to buy a house at the end of the year. Pure speculation on my part, but I suspect they may be trying to garner enough funds to complete the purchase of their new home. I have no facts to back this up, but the longer she takes to make payment, the more I think this is it. She's historically been quite communicative regarding rent, so this time feels a bit different since she has not been as responsive.
I've written a pay or quit notice and was planning to give a little more grace (until the weekend) before dropping it off in person at the property. Am I putting myself at a disadvantage by waiting the few more days, or does it really not matter at this point? Property is in Philadelphia. The notice states they have 10 days to pay or quit, which I think is the right duration for this jurisdiction. Should I reach out to her again to try and get her to pay or just deliver the notice and if she pays great otherwise move forward with eviction process? And finally, if anyone has general advice regarding where to find the latest and most accurate information on evictions in my area, I'd be grateful for the help (and I'll take advice about these types of situations in general). Thanks!
PS - In case it makes a difference - the lease expired in August and tenant is now month-to-month. I visited the development a few days ago for unrelated reasons and I know that they are still in the property.