Tenants that push the grace period every month
Investor · Ferrum , VA · Member since 2013 · 19 posts · 6 votes
I have tenants that pay the last day of the grace period after normal business hours around 8pm. What should I do? I'm pretty fed up with this particular set of tenants not only are they personally inconsiderate showing up to my house at night to deliver rent right before they get a late fee, they are loud, have an unruly toddler, complain or make requests each time I see them, and they seem to break something every other month... I'm unsure of how to proceed, how do I tell them to deliver rent at a reasonable time?
Get used to it. If you offer a grace period, some tenants will use it. If you don't like payments after the first of the month, change your leases going forward to say that all rent is due on the first of the month and the late fee is assessed as of the 2nd of the month.
If you have signed a long-term lease that allows for a grace period, you'll have to live with it until it expires.
The problem with a grace period is then that becomes the new due date in their head, there's no reason to pay prior to that. That being said I offer a grace period through the 5th so I don't have to hear about any complaints about when they get paid, when they get their disability check, a holiday, a weekend, etc. My tenants absolutely do not have my home address, they can pay electronically or mail/drop off at my box. I keep a box at a pack and ship store (like a UPS store) that is centrally located near my rentals and open 9am-7pm Monday-Saturday. Many mail it but others would rather drop it off because either they don't trust the mail or they waited until the last minute.
I provide all of my tenants with a stack of printed addressed envelopes (I bought 1k of them for under $100 ) so all they have to do is put a stamp on it an mail it or hand it to the person at the counter at the pack and ship store and they know where it goes.
I have tenants that pay the last day of the grace period after normal business hours around 8pm. What should I do? I'm pretty fed up with this particular set of tenants not only are they personally inconsiderate showing up to my house at night to deliver rent right before they get a late fee, they are loud, have an unruly toddler, complain or make requests each time I see them, and they seem to break something every other month... I'm unsure of how to proceed, how do I tell them to deliver rent at a reasonable time?
Hello Jennifer,
Great question! I know it can be frustrating when tenants turn their rent in JUST on time. What does your lease say? If you offer them a grace period and they are still within it, there really isn't much you can do about it at this time.
One suggestion I have is at the time for the renewal, inform them that the grace period is being shortened. You can change the date/time to meet what you are looking for. Tell them it is your new policy and they must adhere to it. At this time you cannot change the lease they currently have.
In terms of being unruly tenants, the same applies. Unless they are breaking rules within the signed lease (city ordinances for noise, etc.) you cannot kick them out. When it comes time to renew the lease, you could tell them you wish to part ways and not have them renew. It is a very complicated situation when there is a signed lease involved.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
I would never accept rent "at my door". Never give them you personal residence, but do refer to and email or txt number. Also
While it's not kosher to refuse cash payments, it always bothers me why a tenant doesn't have a checking account - - I jump to the conclusion that they're hiding income.
It's too late for your problem child but fix the lease for follow-on tenants
Thank you all for your replies! The tenants I was talking about in this post have since moved out after their one year lease expired and I have given the management of the property to a local PMC.
I like my tenants so much more now that I don't have to interact with them. It gets old hearing excuse, after excuse. It's worth it just to pay someone else to handle the everyday issues and enforce the rental agreement. Hats off to all of you who can take the abuse of being a LL. I've learned property management is not for me. I still enjoy finding deals that cash-flow, but now PMC costs are part of the monthly expenditure.
Thank you all for your replies! The tenants I was talking about in this post have since moved out after their one year lease expired and I have given the management of the property to a local PMC.
I like my tenants so much more now that I don't have to interact with them. It gets old hearing excuse, after excuse. It's worth it just to pay someone else to handle the everyday issues and enforce the rental agreement. Hats off to all of you who can take the abuse of being a LL. I've learned property management is not for me. I still enjoy finding deals that cash-flow, but now PMC costs are part of the monthly expenditure.
Hi Jennifer,
I'm happy to hear you found a solution! PMCs are a really great way to help create a buffer between you and some of those tenants that can get to you. Hopefully this is just one stepping stone in your path in REI. I wish you luck.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Thank you all for your replies! The tenants I was talking about in this post have since moved out after their one year lease expired and I have given the management of the property to a local PMC.
I like my tenants so much more now that I don't have to interact with them. It gets old hearing excuse, after excuse. It's worth it just to pay someone else to handle the everyday issues and enforce the rental agreement. Hats off to all of you who can take the abuse of being a LL. I've learned property management is not for me. I still enjoy finding deals that cash-flow, but now PMC costs are part of the monthly expenditure.
If you only have a handful of rentals it's worth the cost to have a property manager take care of it. I have around 60 rentals at the moment so it's easier to do it in house but I have a full time maintenance guy who handles all incoming calls. I just take care of paperwork, screen tenants, find the deals, oversee the rehabs, and most importantly....write the checks.
Thank you all for your replies! The tenants I was talking about in this post have since moved out after their one year lease expired and I have given the management of the property to a local PMC.
I like my tenants so much more now that I don't have to interact with them. It gets old hearing excuse, after excuse. It's worth it just to pay someone else to handle the everyday issues and enforce the rental agreement. Hats off to all of you who can take the abuse of being a LL. I've learned property management is not for me. I still enjoy finding deals that cash-flow, but now PMC costs are part of the monthly expenditure.
If you only have a handful of rentals it's worth the cost to have a property manager take care of it. I have around 60 rentals at the moment so it's easier to do it in house but I have a full time maintenance guy who handles all incoming calls. I just take care of paperwork, screen tenants, find the deals, oversee the rehabs, and most importantly....write the checks.
Hi Patrick,
Yes, if I were in the area I could keep it in house and save some money but seeing as I am currently no where near my properties it is not a feasible feat. Again hats off to you for managing them yourself.
I had a tenant, a new tenant at that, recently text me that she would not be able to get off work to pay by the COB on the 5Th, the end of the grace period. She wanted me to drive 3 hours round trip to collect rent from her. I told her I was not willing to make the trip and she can try to pay via her mobile phone, but she's had plenty of time to make payment and the late fee is $10 per day it is late. She made the payment on time...
I do have another tenant that always pays at the last minute on the 5Th. She has also had utility bills come back delinquent at least three times. I can dock her $25 per violation of late payment of utilities, but I don't. Right now they have been paying me steadily for 1.5 years and plan on being there for 4 years total. That allows me relatively headache free accumulation of additional real estate, rather than chasing money that is still technically on time. I myself used to use the grace period when I was a renter, only because I was busy with college and career.