Investor · Windham, ME · Member since 2016 · 180 posts · 37 votes
What is your tolerance when it comes to tenants being late, before evicting? Im currently owed most of May and all of June and I think if I give them more time its just going to cost me in the end. Especially when shes blaming employer, severance and every other excuse you can think of. If I dont evict now, Im guessing Ill be out multiple months which is several thousand dollars. How do you handle these non paying tenants, who with their initial rental application show sufficient proof of income and who also seem to have their **** together?
Property Manager · Michigan Ctr, MI · Member since 2016 · 661 posts · 581 votes
7y
@Matthew Wright May and June is longer than most would like. You should have a very low tolerance for late or missed payments. The fact is that this is your investment, you have money and time wrapped up into it and it is unfair to you to expect that you support another grown adult which you're providing housing for under the initial understanding that they would compensate you every month for your services and your risk.
You should have a very low tolerance but, that doesn't mean you have to be heartless in your approach either. One the best methods that works for us is to be stern but fair when dealing with late or missed payments. If a tenant is late on rent:
The first thing you need to do either after business hours on the 1st or early on the 2nd is to politely notify them in writing that they are late on rent and that they have or will be assessed a late fee if rent is not paid before the grace period (if there is one).
If rent is not received, after your grace period, you should file a 'demand for possession due to non-payment of rent' at the earliest allowable time-period allowed by your state - this initiates the eviction process and conveys that you ARE serious an that rent IS a priority.
You should ALWAYS assess late fees - the only exception to this is a tenant which is late for the first time on rent - for first-timers, we typically assess the late fees and then waive them once the payment is made as an attempt to keep a good relationship but, the thing here is: 1) they don't know that late fees will be waived and 2) you should try to maintain a reasonable good relationship because after all they are in control of your investment.
You should never delay your eviction process period. Employment, medical, lost payments, its on the way, etc. you will get every reason under the sun for missed and late payments but, you should never delay your eviction process for it - you need to be consistent in filing for possession and if payment is received before a court date is scheduled then you can always cancel it, but you should never delay it.
Remain in contact with your tenant in writing. If you don't already you should consider assessing an initial late fee and then a daily late fee (if your state allows it) until rent is received - (you can also always cap your daily fee if required by your state) - this will convey to the tenant that again - late payments are not tolerated.
You'll have people on either side, some will say let them go for as long as you can afford it without paying rent because everyone runs into financial trouble and others will say evict the moment they are 1 day late and don't look back. Doing it this way 1) is extremely fair; 2) sets you up to run your rental like a business (because it is one) and; 3) allows good tenants to remain good tenants while conveying to bad tenants that late or missed payments will not be tolerated.
When you screen tenants you should be ensuring that their combined household income is at least 2-3x's your rent amount. You should always pick up the phone and verify employers, pay stubs and previous landlords. When accepting payments, you should look to receive them online however, if your tenant insists that they mail it, you should write it in our lease that if payment are mailed the tenants need to ensure they choose a traceable mailing option - which will alleviate you of the burden of having to listen to tenants tell you they mailed payment when they didn't.
If you let this tenant go on delaying payment, you are most likely not going to get your rent payments. It is both unfair to you and the tenant. Unfair to the tenant because it is unlikely that they will be able to make up the late/missed payments especially if they are having trouble with them now. Unfair to you because you have money and time invested in this investment and should not be a scape goat for everyone's troubles in life - you offered your property under the impression that they would pay for your service every month, if they are no longer willing to pay for that service, regardless of the reason, it's unfair to you and you should move to replace them as soon as possible. I hope this helps.
Investor · Greer, SC · Member since 2014 · 13k+ posts · 17k+ votes
7y
It is tenants fault or your fault. I assume it's not your fault. Tell her you can only accept rent not excuses. It is a business and unfortunately you will have to file an eviction immediately. She will have the choice to pay the rent before the eviction runs its course or be evicted. Let her know the ball is in her court you have done all you can do.
Realtor · Manhattan, KS · Member since 2016 · 170 posts · 89 votes
7y
@Matthew Wright yes, do not wait to post notices. The legal system in itself takes time and tenants usually see that you are serious when you post a notice. I recently had to deal with a tenant in this regard and i'm still missing back rent because I let it go too long.. take it from me, it was a big lesson learned. They were our neighbors/tenants in a duplex so it was hard to be pushy because we have that "hey we share a wall" relationship. Looking back though, I didn't do him any favors by allowing him to continue to let his own personal finances get out of hand because of lack of prioritization on his part.
Property Manager · Michigan Ctr, MI · Member since 2016 · 661 posts · 581 votes
7y
@Matthew Wright May and June is longer than most would like. You should have a very low tolerance for late or missed payments. The fact is that this is your investment, you have money and time wrapped up into it and it is unfair to you to expect that you support another grown adult which you're providing housing for under the initial understanding that they would compensate you every month for your services and your risk.
You should have a very low tolerance but, that doesn't mean you have to be heartless in your approach either. One the best methods that works for us is to be stern but fair when dealing with late or missed payments. If a tenant is late on rent:
The first thing you need to do either after business hours on the 1st or early on the 2nd is to politely notify them in writing that they are late on rent and that they have or will be assessed a late fee if rent is not paid before the grace period (if there is one).
If rent is not received, after your grace period, you should file a 'demand for possession due to non-payment of rent' at the earliest allowable time-period allowed by your state - this initiates the eviction process and conveys that you ARE serious an that rent IS a priority.
You should ALWAYS assess late fees - the only exception to this is a tenant which is late for the first time on rent - for first-timers, we typically assess the late fees and then waive them once the payment is made as an attempt to keep a good relationship but, the thing here is: 1) they don't know that late fees will be waived and 2) you should try to maintain a reasonable good relationship because after all they are in control of your investment.
You should never delay your eviction process period. Employment, medical, lost payments, its on the way, etc. you will get every reason under the sun for missed and late payments but, you should never delay your eviction process for it - you need to be consistent in filing for possession and if payment is received before a court date is scheduled then you can always cancel it, but you should never delay it.
Remain in contact with your tenant in writing. If you don't already you should consider assessing an initial late fee and then a daily late fee (if your state allows it) until rent is received - (you can also always cap your daily fee if required by your state) - this will convey to the tenant that again - late payments are not tolerated.
You'll have people on either side, some will say let them go for as long as you can afford it without paying rent because everyone runs into financial trouble and others will say evict the moment they are 1 day late and don't look back. Doing it this way 1) is extremely fair; 2) sets you up to run your rental like a business (because it is one) and; 3) allows good tenants to remain good tenants while conveying to bad tenants that late or missed payments will not be tolerated.
When you screen tenants you should be ensuring that their combined household income is at least 2-3x's your rent amount. You should always pick up the phone and verify employers, pay stubs and previous landlords. When accepting payments, you should look to receive them online however, if your tenant insists that they mail it, you should write it in our lease that if payment are mailed the tenants need to ensure they choose a traceable mailing option - which will alleviate you of the burden of having to listen to tenants tell you they mailed payment when they didn't.
If you let this tenant go on delaying payment, you are most likely not going to get your rent payments. It is both unfair to you and the tenant. Unfair to the tenant because it is unlikely that they will be able to make up the late/missed payments especially if they are having trouble with them now. Unfair to you because you have money and time invested in this investment and should not be a scape goat for everyone's troubles in life - you offered your property under the impression that they would pay for your service every month, if they are no longer willing to pay for that service, regardless of the reason, it's unfair to you and you should move to replace them as soon as possible. I hope this helps.
Investor · Greenville, SC · Member since 2016 · 5k+ posts · 13k+ votes
7y
Rent due on the 1st, late on the 6th, eviction filed on the 11th (or some set similar schedule per the lease). It has nothing to do with tolerance, excuses, rental application, emotion, or any ambiguous stuff.
Rental Property Investor · Baltimore County Maryland and Tampa Florida · Member since 2013 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
7y
When I self-managed, I didn't even wait as long as Mike above suggests. I file for rent court/eviction as soon as the rent is considered late. I also make sure the tenants understand that once they pay in full (to include court fees and such), that the rent court and/or eviction will be canceled.
Doing this gets the action started asap to either get your due money or get your property back. Never delay filing at the promise of paying you by a certain date. Always kindly tell them that is great and once it's paid, eviction proceedings will be canceled.
Just be frank but nice about it. Keep them at arm's distance. If they feel comfortable enough to tell you all their life problems, you are a little too personal with them. Keep it friendly but professional. Keep conversations short. When they start telling a story, professionally the cut that short and bring it back to the facts and end the convo and wish them a great day.
Specialist · Huntsville, UT · Member since 2015 · 458 posts · 249 votes
7y
I totally agree with everything that @Ricardo R. and @Nicole A. said. I've seen late payments pile up to ridiculous amounts and they almost never get paid back. I agree with being civil about it but if they think they can take an inch, they'll take 10 miles.
I especially love Nicole's strategy to always start eviction immediately but to also let them know in the notification that it can be undone if they pay up right away (because if they think they are definitely being evicted, sometimes they will just throw their hands up in the air, give up and not even try or they will get mad and wreck your place). You will rarely get late payments if you do it Nicole's way.
Investor · Windham, ME · Member since 2016 · 180 posts · 37 votes
7y
@Jason D. in Maine you can’t assess late fees until 15 days late, I believe cant start eviction process until then either. But I’m getting with my attorney this week to get educated better on the laws and establish my own process that’s starts the eviction process as soon as I possibly can.
Gorham, ME · Member since 2018 · 280 posts · 186 votes
7y
@Matthew Wright in Maine its not late until the 16th day. Then you have to file a 7 days notice to pay. After that you can file for eviction. Partial payments do not count either so even if she paid half she could still be evicted. Just had to do this with a tenant and a few days after the court date was set they left and we didn’t have to go to court. Now I turned it over and have a renter for July 1st that’s been vetted thoroughly
Once they get that far behind, it is hard for them to catch up. I would start the eviction process now as they owe you two months' rent and I'll bet another month's rent will be added in 10 days.
Lots of well intentioned but incorrect timelines for ME here.
When rent is 7 days late you can/should serve the 7 day notice to quit on the 8th of the month (assuming rent due day was the 1st). Follow the statutes with wording and process or it'll get tossed out if you go to court. Meanwhile, secure a court date.
Late fee can't be assessed until 15 days late so hit them with that on the 16th. Late fee can be no more than 4% of monthly rent and has to be previously stated in writing with the tenant (like in a lease....). If they are just a tenant-at-will with no lease you can't charge them a late fee at all.
If they still don't pay have the summons and complaint filed and served by the sheriff since you already have a court date scheduled. Make sure you leave enough time to have the summons served far enough in advance of the hearing to meet the minimum time requirements (again, follow the statutes).
I would definitely suggest using an attorney for the first few evictions which will help you learn the process. After that there is little reason you can't handle them yourself so long as you follow the process to the letter.
What is your tolerance when it comes to tenants being late, before evicting? Im currently owed most of May and all of June and I think if I give them more time its just going to cost me in the end. Especially when shes blaming employer, severance and every other excuse you can think of. If I dont evict now, Im guessing Ill be out multiple months which is several thousand dollars. How do you handle these non paying tenants, who with their initial rental application show sufficient proof of income and who also seem to have their **** together?
We evict 100% of non paying tenants midway through the month. No exceptions. Grandma is sick, kid has cancer, car broke down, lost job etc.....None of it matters. No pay = no stay.
Real Estate Agent · Southington, CT · Member since 2008 · 5k+ posts · 3k+ votes
7y
@Matthew Wright In my experience once someone falls behind this much they will never catch up and this will be an endless cycle of them making excuses for not paying and you getting frustrated with the situation. If there’s no money, there’s no money. Start the eviction and let the process play out.
Non-payment of rent is of the clearest paths to a successful eviction a landlord can have. You have a lease saying the tenant should be paying x dollars in rent and they aren’t. That is about as clear cut as it gets if it gets to the point where you are in front of most judges.
Baton Rouge · Member since 2019 · 28 posts · 29 votes
7y
I have had one tenant start telling me why she would be late. I just simply restated our rent policy to her and assured her that we would not deviate. The rent was on time.
I'm in NC, have been to eviction court a few times and have represented myself as the property owner. Currently, I have moved all properties under a single LLC. Question - Since the properties are in a business, can I still represent myself in court or am I required to use an attorney?
Specialist · Milford, ME · Member since 2016 · 630 posts · 378 votes
7y
Disregard any comments on time frames that are not Maine specific. If you are off by hours you will lose your eviction and have to start over. Go to Pine tree legal’s website and read all the specifics there. If rent is due on the first you cannot give the first notice until the eighth and the notice has specific wording as to what has to be written. You cannot include amounts owed for other things besides rent and legitimate late fees assessed after the 15th. A way around that is in your lease make sure you have a section that explains the application of monies received. So that utilities, late fees, pet deposit, everything comes out first and what’s left over is applied to Rent.
In our operation everyone who is late on the seventh gets a notice on the 8th and eviction process starts. They can always stop the eviction process by paying up. We also will call the court and reserve a court date that’s 30 days out so that we don’t run into the situation where the block is full and we lose another 30 days because the courts only do evictions on certain days in the month. You can call the court and find out what date that is in your local area.
You can do your own evictions as long as the property is not owned in a corporation or other entity whereby you are practicing law by representing them. But read what’s on Pinetree legal’s website and do exactly as they spell out.
Property Manager · Syracuse, NY · Member since 2016 · 601 posts · 384 votes
7y
10 Days and eviction goes out. You can be a little more lenient if they've been completely up to date and without problems before. You're not only losing the rental income, you're paying out your holding costs.