Bad Start Letter?

[Kristin Boekhoff]

I put a tenant in my first rental property two months ago. Last month she paid the rent seven days late and this month she is ten days late and counting. (In Baltimore City there is a mandatory 10-day grace period and in Maryland the max late fee you can charge is 5%.) I happened to speak with the leasing agent who found her and she suggested that I send her a "bad start" letter. Has anyone else done this? If so, any suggestions of what to put in the letter?

[Nathan Gesner]

I don't have time to read all the posts, so maybe this has already been said.

1. Rent is late on the 2nd. The law doesn't allow the landlord to charge a fee until the 10th, but rent is still late.

2. Repeated late payments is often a sign of bad things to come. Accepting late payments and fees as "additional income" is a fool's errand that will eventually cost you much more than the late fees will earn you.

3. Yes, I would start with a fairly stern letter reminding them of the due date. 

4. I also recommend you start figuring out how to terminate a lease when the tenant is consistently late, or how to evict if they fail to pay by a certain date. DO NOT let them go the entire month before you act. If you can't figure it out or don't feel comfortable, then find an attorney that can handle it for you.

[Nicholas L.]

@Kristin Boekhoff

talk to your PM or an attorney

[Russell Brazil]

Your tenant hasn't been late yet. 

Your mortgage isn't late til the 15th of the month. How would you respond if your mortgage company sent you a bad start letter when you've been paying your mortgage before it's late?

[Kristin Boekhoff]

Rent is due on the 1st per our lease. If she doesn't pay until the second, she is one day late, even though I can't charge her a late fee until after she has been 10 days late. 

[Matthew Paul]

Start NOW with a pay or quit notice , file for eviction as soon as you can .  

[Michael Quarles]

Quote from @Russell Brazil:

Your tenant hasn't been late yet. 

Your mortgage isn't late til the 15th of the month. How would you respond if your mortgage company sent you a bad start letter when you've been paying your mortgage before it's late?

Russell, the property owners terms of note secured by the real property, unless in foreclosure, have little to do with the tenants obligation. 

Heck it’s common practice to make someone aware of an impending obligation. I don’t see an issue.  

i would be aggressive and take every step the law allows. I would certainly remind the tenant the agreed upon terms of our agreement. But then again i still believe in fist fights.  

[Russell Brazil]

Quote from @Michael Quarles:

Quote from @Russell Brazil:

Your tenant hasn't been late yet. 

Your mortgage isn't late til the 15th of the month. How would you respond if your mortgage company sent you a bad start letter when you've been paying your mortgage before it's late?

Russell, the property owners terms of note secured by the real property, unless in foreclosure, have little to do with the tenants obligation. 

Heck it’s common practice to make someone aware of an impending obligation. I don’t see an issue.  

i would be aggressive and take every step the law allows. I would certainly remind the tenant the agreed upon terms of our agreement. But then again i still believe in fist fights.  

 The law states rents not late til the 10th of the month. Just like your mortgage is not late til the 15th of the month.

[Russell Brazil]

Quote from @Matthew Paul:

Start NOW with a pay or quit notice , file for eviction as soon as you can .  

 Under what concept can you file a pay or quit notice when the rents not late? Tell me how the judge is going to react on a landlord who files the FTP form and the judge sees the rent wasn't late.

[Michael Quarles]

Quote from @Russell Brazil:

Quote from @Michael Quarles:

Quote from @Russell Brazil:

Your tenant hasn't been late yet. 

Your mortgage isn't late til the 15th of the month. How would you respond if your mortgage company sent you a bad start letter when you've been paying your mortgage before it's late?

Russell, the property owners terms of note secured by the real property, unless in foreclosure, have little to do with the tenants obligation. 

Heck it’s common practice to make someone aware of an impending obligation. I don’t see an issue.  

i would be aggressive and take every step the law allows. I would certainly remind the tenant the agreed upon terms of our agreement. But then again i still believe in fist fights.  

 The law states rents not late til the 10th of the month. Just like your mortgage is not late til the 15th of the month.

Russell is it just me or are you being argumentative? Especially for a moderator.  

What I am reading is that the rent was due on the 1st and the tenant has 10 days to cure that obligation without a late fee.  

making the tenant aware of their obligation or upcoming obligation is more than acceptable imho. 

[Russell Brazil]

Quote from @Michael Quarles:

Quote from @Russell Brazil:

Quote from @Michael Quarles:

Quote from @Russell Brazil:

Your tenant hasn't been late yet. 

Your mortgage isn't late til the 15th of the month. How would you respond if your mortgage company sent you a bad start letter when you've been paying your mortgage before it's late?

Russell, the property owners terms of note secured by the real property, unless in foreclosure, have little to do with the tenants obligation. 

Heck it’s common practice to make someone aware of an impending obligation. I don’t see an issue.  

i would be aggressive and take every step the law allows. I would certainly remind the tenant the agreed upon terms of our agreement. But then again i still believe in fist fights.  

 The law states rents not late til the 10th of the month. Just like your mortgage is not late til the 15th of the month.

Russell is it just me or are you being argumentative? Especially for a moderator.  

What I am reading is that the rent was due on the 1st and the tenant has 10 days to cure that obligation without a late fee.  

making the tenant aware of their obligation or upcoming obligation is more than acceptable imho. 

 In the jurisdiction where this guys property is, rent is not late til after the 10th of the month. He even put that in his post. There's multiple counties and cities in that state where rents not late til then. There is no recourse to be had. Harassing your tenant on being late, when they are not actually late will end up with him having legal action against him. There are numerous tenants rights organizations in Baltimore looming for exactly this and other issues.

[Michael Quarles]

Quote from @Russell Brazil:

Quote from @Michael Quarles:

Quote from @Russell Brazil:

Quote from @Michael Quarles:

Quote from @Russell Brazil:

Your tenant hasn't been late yet. 

Your mortgage isn't late til the 15th of the month. How would you respond if your mortgage company sent you a bad start letter when you've been paying your mortgage before it's late?

Russell, the property owners terms of note secured by the real property, unless in foreclosure, have little to do with the tenants obligation. 

Heck it’s common practice to make someone aware of an impending obligation. I don’t see an issue.  

i would be aggressive and take every step the law allows. I would certainly remind the tenant the agreed upon terms of our agreement. But then again i still believe in fist fights.  

 The law states rents not late til the 10th of the month. Just like your mortgage is not late til the 15th of the month.

Russell is it just me or are you being argumentative? Especially for a moderator.  

What I am reading is that the rent was due on the 1st and the tenant has 10 days to cure that obligation without a late fee.  

making the tenant aware of their obligation or upcoming obligation is more than acceptable imho. 

 In the jurisdiction where this guys property is, rent is not late til after the 10th of the month. He even put that in his post. There's multiple counties and cities in that state where rents not late til then. There is no recourse to be had. Harassing your tenant on being late, when they are not actually late will end up with him having legal action against him. There are numerous tenants rights organizations in Baltimore looming for exactly this and other issues.

I never once suggested harassment.

 I wonder  if a spouse can remind their spouse of their upcoming wedding anniversary. maybe there are tenant right groups for them too.  

btw anyone else enjoying Trumps debate:).   

[Jack Seiden]

Quote from @Kristin Boekhoff:

I put a tenant in my first rental property two months ago. Last month she paid the rent seven days late and this month she is ten days late and counting. (In Baltimore City there is a mandatory 10-day grace period and in Maryland the max late fee you can charge is 5%.) I happened to speak with the leasing agent who found her and she suggested that I send her a "bad start" letter. Has anyone else done this? If so, any suggestions of what to put in the letter?

I had a tenant who paid late every single month, like she’d usually give me half early in the month, and the other half after like the 20th, I literally didn’t care, she never missed a payment (she did abandoned here dog in my garage after she moved, but that’s a whole different story) but as long as you are getting paid in full every month you should be happy lol.

[Dan H.]

Quote from @Jack Seiden:

Quote from @Kristin Boekhoff:

I put a tenant in my first rental property two months ago. Last month she paid the rent seven days late and this month she is ten days late and counting. (In Baltimore City there is a mandatory 10-day grace period and in Maryland the max late fee you can charge is 5%.) I happened to speak with the leasing agent who found her and she suggested that I send her a "bad start" letter. Has anyone else done this? If so, any suggestions of what to put in the letter?

I had a tenant who paid late every single month, like she’d usually give me half early in the month, and the other half after like the 20th, I literally didn’t care, she never missed a payment (she did abandoned here dog in my garage after she moved, but that’s a whole different story) but as long as you are getting paid in full every month you should be happy lol.

>as long as you are getting paid in full every month you should be happy lol.

you have a low expectation for a tenant making you happy.  What happens if the tenant ends up not paying?  You would have started the eviction process late.  

My best tenants pay on time, every time.   They keep the property in a condition that it appears owner occupied with a pride of ownership.  Anything less is not an ideal tenant and could potentially be improved.  

Note my late fee is high enough to be a penalty, but it is not high enough to compensate me for effort to hunt down delinquent rent (my time is precious, I expect to be well compensated for my time especially if I am doing something as undesirable as collecting delinquent rents.  

good luck

[Matthew Paul]

Quote from @Russell Brazil:

Quote from @Matthew Paul:

Start NOW with a pay or quit notice , file for eviction as soon as you can .  

 Under what concept can you file a pay or quit notice when the rents not late? Tell me how the judge is going to react on a landlord who files the FTP form and the judge sees the rent wasn't late.

 They said they are 10 days late and counting , I posted that yesterday after the close of business  , so today is day 11 .  The rent is now late 

[Chris Seveney]

Quote from @Kristin Boekhoff:

I put a tenant in my first rental property two months ago. Last month she paid the rent seven days late and this month she is ten days late and counting. (In Baltimore City there is a mandatory 10-day grace period and in Maryland the max late fee you can charge is 5%.) I happened to speak with the leasing agent who found her and she suggested that I send her a "bad start" letter. Has anyone else done this? If so, any suggestions of what to put in the letter?

Are you managing the property or do you have a property manager? If you are doing it alone, why not pick up a phone and call them and be like "hey" the lease notes rent is due the first, I know there is a grace period on this but I would appreciate it if you could make the payments on the first? If they are like "i will pay when I pay", then you will just have to suck it up but realize you will not be renewing them when the time comes up. 

[Kristin Boekhoff]

Thanks, yes I am self-managing. This is my first tenant and it is quite stressful when she doesn't pay on time! I understand how if you live in a state where you can implement penalties for late payment (this is day 11 now, so today she is out of the mandatory grace period) it may be easier to incentivize residents to pay on time (in Florida, where I live, they start eviction proceedings on the third day after you are late), but in areas like Baltimore that are more tenant-friendly, what do you do to incentivize people to pay on time? I certainly don't want to harrass her - she is a single mom like me and I am sure has a lot going on - but I can't afford to foot the bill for all of my mortgages (working on properties 2 & 3 now) if my tenants don't pay... I also don't want to have to evict her if I can avoid it because that is very expensive and time-consuming, but I want to start her out with good payment habits! :) 

[David M.]

I have 14 units and about 60% pay on time and 40% pay late( past pre-determined due date).  I learned to relax about this because everyone pays.  To me, it's time to act once the rent is not paid by the next month ( due date). Then I have an in-person conversation, not a written one.  That's my personal style; not threatening or hostile, but more of a " hey, lets see if we can get this back on track, otherwise you'll probably have to move back in with your Mom...".

If your money is so tight as the landlord that you are maximally stressed over rent coming a few days late, you need to work that out on your end and not create a problem where there really isn't one. 

I have one tenant who has been with me since I bought my first building.  He is always helpful and accountable,  shoveling snow alongside me on winter days, keeping me informed about issues as they come up, etc.  He eventually put a new roof on my building and did an excellent job!  He is late with the rent every month, but he always pays.  I know to count on his payment and I know it will be late.  I'm a realist and I know that kindness and cooperation go both ways in any good relationship.

[Nathan Gesner]

I don't have time to read all the posts, so maybe this has already been said.

1. Rent is late on the 2nd. The law doesn't allow the landlord to charge a fee until the 10th, but rent is still late.

2. Repeated late payments is often a sign of bad things to come. Accepting late payments and fees as "additional income" is a fool's errand that will eventually cost you much more than the late fees will earn you.

3. Yes, I would start with a fairly stern letter reminding them of the due date. 

4. I also recommend you start figuring out how to terminate a lease when the tenant is consistently late, or how to evict if they fail to pay by a certain date. DO NOT let them go the entire month before you act. If you can't figure it out or don't feel comfortable, then find an attorney that can handle it for you.

[Mark Cruse]

It seems like you need more experience in being a landlord. 

The worst thing you can do is be seen as an unreasonable and irritating component. If there is an environment created that can be construed as a hostile relationship, in most cases you will be the one who loses. Dont focus on petty things and understand the big picture. 

If your rent is always paid before the 10th over a sustained period of time you are winning. 

[Joe S.]

Some very unique answers.  I don’t self manage any longer. However, one time I had a tenant that was with us 16 years and they usually paid late…..

[Don Konipol]

Quote from @Kristin Boekhoff:

I put a tenant in my first rental property two months ago. Last month she paid the rent seven days late and this month she is ten days late and counting. (In Baltimore City there is a mandatory 10-day grace period and in Maryland the max late fee you can charge is 5%.) I happened to speak with the leasing agent who found her and she suggested that I send her a "bad start" letter. Has anyone else done this? If so, any suggestions of what to put in the letter?

Seems to be a difference of opinions here by some very experienced landlords.  In my mind it’s the tenants mindset that’s important here.  If the tenant doesn’t know about the grace period and is just late it will get worse - and probably be a collection hassle or worse for the entire tenancy.  If the tenant is aware and using the grace period purposely, then you may have a tenant who pays consistently - on the 10th.
with your latest info that you haven’t received payment on the 11th I’d venture you have a problem tenant. The only “fix” is to move to immediate eviction.  Either that will get the tenant to perform - at least for a period of time , or cut short a whole lot of aggravation. 
Studies have shown that the longer a poorly paying or non payment tenant stays in a property, the greater the chance they do purposeful significant damage to the property. 

[Michael Smythe]

@Kristin Boekhoff what's most important is to create a system you can follow 90% of the time or more. 

Why not 100%? 

Because there's an exception to every rule.

Find out WHEN you can legally send a notice of eviction and start sending it on the allowed date.

Create your system work within the legal boundaries of the law and you'll be less stressed:)