Lamest Excuses for Late Rent by Tenants
Author: Joshua Dorkin • URL: http://www.biggerpockets.com/August 13th, 2005 •
In an effort to entertain our readers, I return to our forums. One of our users, All Cash, asked what excuses people got from their tenants when the rent was late or simply did not show up. I’ll give you a few great ones our members have heard:
Las Vegas Real Estate - “I had it on the first but when you didn’t call I spent it”
Greenfieldent - I had a tenant who said they mailed the rent out and they mailed it to the correct address. BUT they did not put a stamp on the envelope. They actual thought the U.S. postal service would still mail it out without a stamp.
All Cash - 1. Man, I had to buy tires for my TA! I found out TA meant Trans Am, so I quit renting to people who were more in love with their cars than with a roof over their head.
2. I’m a bit short because I started my own (sheetrocking) business! No, YOU didn’t start a sheetrocking business, I started a sheetrocking business!
3. Tenant calls and says on the way over with the rent. “It better be full rent” I said, “it’s all there” he said. Shows up an hour and a half later (the house is about 2 miles away) but the rent is short $250! Hey you said you had it all, I HAD it all but I saw a cool stereo on my way over”! Let me type you a receipt I said and typed him a three day notice to quit the premises and gave him that with the receipt. I hope you like living in the stereo!
If you have any good stories, stop by the forums and visit the Lamest Excuses for Late Rent Thread
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Joshua Dorkin
Charles Feldman
Ted Karsch.
Troy Schuricht
Anwell Tsai
Richard Warren
Jim Watkins
I love the tenant from allcash who needed a stereo more than he needed to pay rent. Classic! lol.
Well, some of the funniest stories I’ve heard have come from my partner, who manages one of our properties himself. He’s gotten hicks with pit bulls who say things like, “Na, I’ll be honest with ya. My last landlord don’t like me one bit.” Well, why is that, my partner would ask. “Cuz I owe ‘em a buncha money.”
The lamest excuse I’ve gotten is:
“I couldn’t pay the rent because somebody put tape over the slot in the mailbox, so I couldn’t mail the rent to you.”
I inherited some nightmare tenants when I bought my first property. One guy in particular would get paid on Friday afternoon and be drunk and broke by Friday evening when I stopped by for the rent. I threatened to kick him out unless he met me at his work and signed over his check to me, which he did on numerous occasions. He also once talked his boss into giving him an advance to pay last month’s rent, but his boss would only agree to it if I came by and picked up the money directly. This tenant was 45 years old. Sad.
Wow Ryan, that really is pretty sad. How did things end up?