Late rental payment and collecting late fee & evaluating rentals

Late rental payment and collecting late fee & evaluating rentals

Investor · miamisburg, OH · Member since 2015 · 4 posts · 0 votes

I am relatively new to the rental market industry and currently have 2 rental properties in Ohio. My first rental property was purchased and rented last July and I currently self manage. I have two quick questions:

1) My tenant has been late with rent a few months already. In the contract, it stipulates that he has 3 "grace" days, after which late payments start. I am wondering how the acceptance of late rent and late fee affects my ability to evict him. Is it still a breach of contract and grounds for eviction if he is 7 days late but ends up paying the late fee and past due rent owed? This happened last month and I intend to write up a breach of contract letter to mail to him and store for my records in case we end of needing to evict him later down the road.

2) What is the best way to determine how much you should expect to receive for monthly rent on a new rental property? I know that many factors play into a specific property and it will be on a case by case basis, but I am referring to general rental amounts or possibly a range. Currently I just look at Zillow and monitor what properties are listed. If they are no longer listed on Zillow, I just assume that they received the rent that they were asking (which obviously might not be the case). I feel like there has to be a better way to obtain this information; perhaps an online tool or resource? Any suggestions?

Thank you in advance for all responses, I really appreciate it!

-Kevin

0Reply
31 views

4 Replies

Jump to latestLatest
  • Investor · Westerville, OH · Member since 2016 · 5 posts · 1 vote
    10y

    Rentometer.com

  • Investor · miamisburg, OH · Member since 2015 · 4 posts · 0 votes
    10y

    I've seen that tool, do you find it to be accurate?

  • Sykesville, MD · Member since 2016 · 15 posts · 8 votes
    10y

    @Kevin O'Bryan on (1) definitely contact a local RE attorney with those questions.  The answer will likely vary by jurisdiction, so it is important to understand what your local jurisdiction's laws are.

  • Investor · King of Prussia, PA · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 339 votes
    10y

    @Kevin O'Bryan try Rentometer and contact local/nearby apartments for rent that offer the same number of bedroom/bath that you offer to see what they're charging. Also check on craiglist.com and talk to some real estate agents. All of this is free.

    Regarding the tenant, if your tenant pays late but they pay the late fee along with the rent, then it's fine. However, it depends on your tolerance level of constantly receiving late payments. Consider talking to the tenant and finding out why they've been late. For my rentals, rent is due on the 1st and late after the 5th every month. If they're late, the eviction process begins right away on the 6th no questions asked. We have it stipulated on the lease. We stop the eviction once they make the rent payment and late fees and they aren't late again once they see we follow through on eviction. Hope that helps.

Join the conversationCreate a free account to reply, vote on answers and follow this thread.