Tenant paying late, but not later than 5 days

Tenant paying late, but not later than 5 days

Member since 2022 · 20 posts · 5 votes

Hi fellow landlords,

Today I had a situation with one of my tenants in NC. This tenant has been paying rent always on the 5th, although the lease agreement says the rent should be paid on the 1st of every month. She pays on the 5th because on the 6th there will be a late fee. I would not have a problem with it, if she would have explained to me any difficulties she has in advance. But no, it looks like to me that she pays late on purpose and with no good reason. What disturbs me is her attitude. She was yelling at me over the phone and insisted that paying on the 5th is not considered paying late. She literally told me that I will get my rent on the 5th, that's it.  What is even more disturbing and ridiculous is when she needed AC maintenance, I had it fixed on the same freaking day as she submitted the request. But madam was angry at me for not having done it faster. That's why yesterday, I sent her a PAY OR QUIT NOTICE after she was late again. Since she has such a high expectation on the maintenance, I would also demand on-time payments.  Has anybody had similar issues with their tenants? Can I evict her if she continues doing this? I mean is 4/5 days late a good enough reason to evict her? Thank you in advance for any feedbacks! 

P.S. she has eviction history and a bad credit score. But I still took her because she appeared so nice during application, and was so desperate looking for a place to rent, and promised that the eviction was due to her pregnancy which was six years ago and she had paid off everything. Now I regret being too emotional and naïve. 

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Russell BrazilBusiness Member
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Real Estate Agent · Washington, D.C. · Member since 2012 · 17k+ posts · 30k+ votes
4y

Maybe the landlord business isn't for you. Nearly every tenant in America pays on the 5th if there's a late fee on the 6th. Lol

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  • Member since 2022 · 20 posts · 5 votes
    4y
    Quote from @Mark Nickoson:

    @Jiebing Wang

    I have a few tenants.  One pays electronically before the first, the other pays electronically usually on the 5th.  Now, I don't get perturbed about payments up to the 5th because my mortgage payment doesn't come out until the 8th.  But, if it upsets you, you could reward the behavior that you want.  If your rent is $1,000/mo then knock $10 off if they setup electronic payment and pay by the 1st.  If it is not by the 1st, then the cost is $1,000.  Most banks subscribe to a service that offers ACH payments.  I like to have payments deposited into an upfront account, then I transfer to another account with the same bank for a little measure of safety.  The service the tenant uses sends a text message to my phone saying tenant has paid.  It usually shows up in my account the next day. 

    One of the other things that I do when I have done my screening and we sign the lease is that I give them a short one-page document that explains why I charge $50 for a late fee and goes through a short calculation showing the price of the price of the house and an interest rate.  I describe that they are borrowing a $130,000 asset.  When the regular rent is not in place, the normal payment is not covered, I'm losing $31/week (@5% interest), not to mention that if I have a rent payment coming out of a bank account, I have to scramble to make sure I have it covered.  If I'm not paid by that next week then there is a bigger problem.  I've had a tenant that had two months in a row where he made the late payment.  He has a good job, but they had a large car repair bill and the next month another situation came up.  The next month he was back on track.  Each time he was late, he sent advance notice to me and said that he would send the $50.  It sets the expectation.  I've been leasing properties for 12 years and it seems to work for me.

    Thank you so much for the advice. 
  • Member since 2022 · 20 posts · 5 votes
    4y
    Quote from @Matt Bishop:

    @Jiebing Wang, what's a few days matter? You're getting your rent, let it go and be grateful. You sound like you are resentful she doesn't have an acceptable excuse for paying late but you would be ok with the situation if you felt sorry for her. The only thing that matters is your income. You have better ways to exercise your emotions and feelings. And better ways to spend your time.

    Have you ever considered using a management company to handle your rental so that you don't have to be burdened with minutia?


     Yes, you are right. I was too worked up by her attitude. There are better things to worry about. 

  • Rental Property Investor · Lehigh Valley, PA · Member since 2017 · 200 posts · 191 votes
    4y

    wow- slow down.  If your lease doesn't include a 5-day grace period then charge her the late fee. If it does include the 5-day grace period then I highly recommend you stop harassing your tenant. I surely, hope you reviewed the lease and maybe talked to a lawyer before sending out a Notice to Pay or Quit. 

    Some advice from a peer: this sounds personal and you should try to step back and look at what you have.  

    1.A tenant paying rent every month by the 5th- if you don't want them, send them to me

    2. A tenant complaining about repairs- if you can't let this roll off your back, you're in the wrong business

    3. A tenant who hasn't sued you for harassment, yet- realize this is a near-miss for you and correct it ASAP 

  • Wisconsin: Eau Claire and Rapids · Member since 2019 · 93 posts · 58 votes
    4y

    @Jiebing Wang

    Thanks for this post. It seems you're getting beat up by some responses but I appreciate your candidness. It's hard to remain impartial and unemotional on the face of someone yelling at you.

    You got this!

  • Property Manager · Charlotte, NC · Member since 2022 · 269 posts · 135 votes
    4y

    I think as long as she pays before the 5th you're good. 

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