@Kimberly Kesterke . I’m glad you got your rent but your not clear yet. He’s almost to Feb rent. Rarely have I had a tenant this late not fall behind and dig a hole they can’t get out of. I recommend applying the rent to the late fees first. Courts will usually award rent but not late fees. If he goes past the grace period in Feb once again post the eviction this time immediately. I’m going to also recommend another thing. If you need help managing/ working on your properties get a PM. BE SURE TO VET THEM FIRST!! The PM also keeps all your income and expense records for each property. Plus they would have been dealing with this guy not you. It’s a huge relief when you find a good PM. RR

@Jonathan R McLaughlin . The only leverage she needs is the fact that he hasn’t paid rent. I don’t believe a judgement for a couple hundred dollars from small claims will matter. ( if small claims even issues one). The judgement issued for back rent will matter because it will show up on his credit score and future land lords will see it. RR

Your tenant sounds like a person that owea money to a lot of people. Sure he was aggravated when you asked for rent because the rent money isn't there, he gave it to someone more threatening than you. He doesn't respect you because you gave him too much leeway plus a job.

Originally posted by @Ralph R. :

@Edward L lauckern. Absolutely not. The OP owes no explanation to this guy whatsoever he’s late with his rent. If she owes him anything it’s an eviction notice. Here it’s 2 months lost rent after the notice to flip a unit. She’s already lost 1/2 a month. It will cost her 3 months rent plus repairs to get her next full rent check. Why does she owe him an explanation?? RR

She might not, but it's a chance that this guy might come to his senses. Sometimes it's better to work things out rather than evict. In my.opinion inshoukd rather see if there's a chance to mend the situation rather than spend money in court. This guy took advantage because he saw an opportunity, if he sees that he was mistaken and his tactic isnt going to work he might straighten himself out.. might and might not .. in my opinion it's worth it to see if it can be corrected

@Edward L lauckern . I manage about 60 tenants a month. Been doing it for years. Experience tells me it doesn’t happen very often. If she is risking 2 months or more of rent (a couple thousand dollars maybe?? We don’t know how much?) plus the cost of a flip. In my book the risk isn’t worth the gain. In fact I don’t see a gain with this guy. He will try it again I promise. Possibly another tenant won’t. Land lording is a tough business. It takes a tough tough attitude to succeed. After the second or third time most landlords learn that or give it up. RR

Originally posted by @Ralph R. :

@Edward L lauckern. I manage about 60 tenants a month. Been doing it for years. Experience tells me it doesn’t happen very often. If she is risking 2 months or more of rent (a couple thousand dollars maybe?? We don’t know how much?) plus the cost of a flip. In my book the risk isn’t worth the gain. In fact I don’t see a gain with this guy. He will try it again I promise. Possibly another tenant won’t. Land lording is a tough business. It takes a tough tough attitude to succeed. After the second or third time most landlords learn that or give it up. RR

True but what if court doesnt go the way you want it to? Maybe they give this guys a few extra.months on top of the couple months it takes to get to court? my opinion is a basic settlement tactic that in the best case can save your income steam until the end of the lease (then maybe get rid of him) in the worst case you're out an extra months pay on top of eviction costs etc that you're going to have to pay anyway.

  Her question was how to save her credibility and I'm simply giving her a possible way not that could work, not full proof by any means.  If he doesnt pay a few days after you have a conversation with him then boom evict him through court 

@Kimberly Kesterke

I had something similar like this happen to me. It was actually much worse. I even bought my tenant a $3,900 truck with no interest payments of $250/month. I used him as a handyman for my rentals and dealt with him being late on rent and his truck payments. Then he stopped paying for both. Then would start back up paying me about 50% here and there. I finally had to evict him. That upset him so he smoked in the house non stop until he had to leave. The house was completely trashed and had damage. I spent $4,000 on turning the house and it still smells like smoke after painting the ceiling and all walls. I even got new blinds for the windows and it still reeks like smoke. I learned my lesson the hard way. They will walk all over you if you give an inch and appear to be soft.

@Edward L lauckern Never heard of an eviction court not evicting when the tenant owes rent unless the unit is unlivable. RR

Originally posted by @Ralph R. :

@Edward L lauckern Never heard of an eviction court not evicting when the tenant owes rent unless the unit is unlivable. RR

 Depends on the judge and the excuse the tenant gives.. judges in my area have allowed tenants more time to pay rent in certain circumstances especially if children are involved 

Thanks for sharing your story and for the warning! Don't be too hard on yourself. We all learn from mistakes.

@Kimberly Kesterke looks like you learned the lessons the hard way, don’t worry most of have learned the hard way too.  

The credibility you are talking about is just you implementing your systems and maybe a letter stating rent is due when it is due and that late fees will always apply going forward.  I assume you’ve fired him as a PM, if not please do so immediately. 

The don’t hire a tenant is my only policy. And When I took over my current Multi family property I had to make it clear with the current tenants that I would not allow them to perform any work on the property. Since the last owner had allowed them to do things such as roof repair, lawncare, painting, etc...  that’s just a lawsuit waiting to happen someone not insured climbing on the roof to do some repairs.  

Good luck moving forward.  Just learn from it and try not to repeat it.  Granted you have more experience then me so you are doing lots right keep it up.  

@Kimberly Kesterke There’s a lot of good advice here. I lean more towards follow the law of the lease with no emotion. Also, no self deprecation, only lessons learned and stoicism but that’s easy for me to say.

Sometimes doing a sort of thought experiment and pretending like you’re having to step in and solve a problem for somebody else can bring things into focus and lighten the situation. You may quickly realize that the only thing you have control over is how you enforce the lease. Everything else is a waste of time and energy.

BTW- kudos for being so honest. I don’t know that I would’ve shared all that. “Respect” in Ali G voice, And Kudos to BP community for being so nice

@Kimberly Kesterke first of all, I give you credit for sharing your story, knowing it paints you in a bad light. That takes courage and I will be the first to tell you we have all made mistakes, even though we knew better.

I think you may not understand the core mistakes you made. You said you hired your tenant despite the advice against it. Ignoring good advice is the first mistake here. Secondly, you said you liked him, so why would he do anything bad? The biggest crooks I have ever met are extremely likable. Trust is built, not given based on emotional assessment. It doesn't matter if you like him or if he likes you. 

You are compounding the situation by letting the tenant continue to live in your property. As soon as rent was past due, you should have given notice to pay rent or vacate. My guess is they will be late in February, because they paid late so rent in January. Don't make the mistake of threatening eviction and not following through. When he is late in February, post notice and follow through.

You don't need credibility with the tenant. Stop seeking approval or validation from others, especially your tenant. Have a rent policy and follow through. No emotion. If they want to keep living there, they need to pay rent on time.