Real Estate Agent · Sisters, OR · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
I received an email from a local apartment broker saying in our State rent collection is down about 5%. For myself this has not been the case I am at 100% which I have been through out the COVID situation. I still have my fingers crossed and am still waiting for the sky to fall. Would be interested to see if anyone is starting to see a crack forming in their collections.
Rental Property Investor · Des Moines, IA · Member since 2020 · 232 posts · 116 votes
6y
@Josephine Wilson I think another saving grace for me, was that all my tenants were considered "essential workers". So no one got laid off during the lock downs.
And the whole "essential workers" label, is seriously making me rethink how I screen tenants in the future.
The number one characteristic to screen for is character. So my advice would be to go ahead and make sure they have a decent job that should stick around. But anybody that has been evicted or has marks on their record indicating they don’t keep their word. I would rather have a stand up guy that tended bar then a loser that has an “essential job.” Something may happen and you will have to work something out with your tenet but if they are good guy they will bust their *** trying to make things right. Where a loser or your typical the world is against type will be happy to take advantage of any situation and have a you owe me attitude.
Rental Property Investor · Des Moines, IA · Member since 2020 · 232 posts · 116 votes
6y
@Michael Barido For Iowa at this time, occupation is not a protected class for fair housing at the State level. And just quickly looking around at other jurisdictions around the US, it is a protected class. So definitely do your research, on where your rentals are located, so that you're following the law.
@Michael Barido For Iowa at this time, occupation is not a protected class for fair housing at the State level. And just quickly looking around at other jurisdictions around the US, it is a protected class. So definitely do your research, on where your rentals are located, so that you're following the law.
Source of income may be something that cant be used to deny someone.... at least in Oregon. So LLs should be sure to know their localities laws.
Rental Property Investor · Douglas County, MO · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
6y
All 12 renters have paid early or on time all year, just as they always do.
One tenant did have a small issue this month, however. For 7 years he has paid rent through his bank's bill pay system. They mail us a paper check, which always arrives on the 30th, 1st, or 2nd, depending on what day of the week the 1st falls on. So when we checked the mail on the 3rd and it wasn't there, I texted him.
He called his bank and they told him it was mailed on the 26th, so he put a stop payment on it. The next morning he went to the bank and got the rent in cash and brought it to us. I told him if the check ever arrived I'd let him know and shred it.
It finally got to us on the 10th.
What is USPS doing? Why can Amazon ship me something by USPS and it gets to me in 2 days from clear across the country, but a check sent from within the same state takes 15 days? Craziness!
Investor · Lees Summit, MO · Member since 2015 · 3 posts · 2 votes
6y
@Steve K. The # of unemployed people has risen to 13m. In my demographic that is huge....according to 1 source, 35% of Americans rate their financial condition as “dire”. Lots of people are hurting in this country and many of them are “somebody’s” tenant.
@Steve K. The # of unemployed people has risen to 13m. In my demographic that is huge....according to 1 source, 35% of Americans rate their financial condition as “dire”. Lots of people are hurting in this country and many of them are “somebody’s” tenant.
I realize many people are suffering from this. Luckily none of our building's residents have experienced job loss due to Covid, and hopefully they don't. If they do, our plan is to work with them on a payment plan and help them get back on their feet as much as possible. Just to be clear, the resident who was evicted did not lose his job, he simply chose not to pay and took advantage of the eviction moratorium to receive free rent for a few months. We reached out to him to find out about his situation, inquired about whether a payment plan would help, etc. and never heard back. Then we gave him every opportunity to leave prior to getting a judgment on his record, and offered him full rent forgiveness if he would vacate. He chose to stay as long as possible and told other residents in the building he was just taking advantage of us because the court was closed, and he was planning to milk it as long as possible. Poor choice on his part in my opinion, as a few months free rent is not worth having an eviction on ones record. For those actually hurting I hope landlords have compassion and help out as they can, but there are other people taking advantage of the situation who don't seem to realize that landlords have bills of their own to pay.
Rental Property Investor · St Augustine, FL · Member since 2019 · 264 posts · 279 votes
6y
@Eric Bilderback I just had a check bounce I'm August and waiting on check for September. Getting ready to start the eviction process if rent is not received this week. I don't have a mortgage on this property and this tenant has a full time job. Don't think I will have an issue with eviction. I would not evict if he were unemployed because I can absorb the loss and would not evict a tenant due to a COVID related issue. However this is not the case with this guy. Too many good tenants looking for housing in Florida.
Rental Property Investor · Harriman, NY · Member since 2020 · 27 posts · 2 votes
6y
@Rene Owczarski
The other day I was thinking when it comes to screening is it bad if I just accept people who are “essential workers”? I feel like landlords are takin a risk now with this COVID situation. I’m not yet a landlord but it’s funny you say that because I feel the best way to minimize any payment issues from tenants is by accepting only essential workers. Would it be illegal to do such thing?
Investor · Greenville, SC · Member since 2016 · 5k+ posts · 13k+ votes
6y
There are a few trillion reasons why rent collections are in good shape...
The magnitude of the unemployment rate has historically not been the catalyst for consumer credit issues...the direction of the rate has though. For example, the unemployment rate remained relatively high from 2010-2013 but consumer credit was fine during that period.
It's also challenging to assess true unemployment. For example, we have ~30 million people collecting unemployment benefits right now, which is a staggering number (per the weekly continuing claims reports from the state agencies). But the official monthly unemployment rate from the BLS (bureau of labor statistics) is much lower (even when accounting for the pandemic programs). We likely have millions of people collecting unemployment benefits that are employed. The rules which prevent that from occurring have been eliminated during the pandemic (job search requirements and employer penalties).
Property Manager · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2020 · 42 posts · 31 votes
6y
@Wesley W. I just purchased two multifamily homes in upstate NY. I think even with the moratorium, it doesn’t mean that they can rent for free. They still need to pay back rent. NY is one of the landlord friendly states. Hopefully this is true.
@Eric Bilderback I just had a check bounce I'm August and waiting on check for September. Getting ready to start the eviction process if rent is not received this week. I don't have a mortgage on this property and this tenant has a full time job. Don't think I will have an issue with eviction. I would not evict if he were unemployed because I can absorb the loss and would not evict a tenant due to a COVID related issue. However this is not the case with this guy. Too many good tenants looking for housing in Florida.
If August's check bounced, I would ask for a money order or bank draft. People who are gaming the system are the ones that irk me.
@Wesley W. I just purchased two multifamily homes in upstate NY. I think even with the moratorium, it doesn’t mean that they can rent for free. They still need to pay back rent. NY is one of the landlord friendly states. Hopefully this is true.
Sure, they have to "pay" back rents, but what good is a monetary judgement in court? You cannot collect on these people.
Rental Property Investor · Des Moines, IA · Member since 2020 · 232 posts · 116 votes
6y
@Ray Valdez Like I mentioned in a prior post, in depends on your localities rules, and if they are more stringent than the federal rules. Just looking at NYC as a for instance, occupation is a protected class under fair housing laws. So if you discriminated based on occupation in NYC it would be a fair housing violation.
Rental Property Investor · Plant City, FL · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 379 votes
6y
Two months ago we went back to pre COVID rent collection. We have had some people struggling but they got local government programs to assist them in a timely manner. They also kept good communication. We haven’t had any issues like the media is trying to portray, but I believe a lot of this is because we truly want our tenants to succeed and we have a good open communication with them.