Tenants late with rent

[Jon Treskot]

In need of some council, in the last six months my wife and I have purchased 2 investment properties. Both have existing tenants. One of the tenants is late with rent every month and is giving me BS excuses all the time. January is almost over and haven’t received rent yet. She said her account got “hacked”. I told her that as of now we are going to take the late fees out of her security deposit. Are we being too lenient? Should we start the eviction process?

[Nathan Gesner]

One of the most common lies: "My bank account was hacked into."

You have a dud tenant and need to get rid of them immediately. Tell them to get out in the next five days and in exchange you won't go through a forced eviction and everything owed. If they refuse, file eviction immediately and go after them for everything they owe.

Don't ever take deductions from the security deposit. Ever! The security deposit should remain untouched until the tenant vacates and you have the property back. Then deal with it according to the law. If you use the deposit to pay for charges the tenant refuses to take responsibility for, you'll chip away until there's nothing left when they move out. If they owe you money, collect it from them or kick them out. Save the deposit for the charges remaining after they leave.