My tenant always pays rent late but usually before the 4th. This month the tenant still has not paid rent or reached out & today’s the 11th. I already informed the tenant that there will be a late fee than she told me that she was out of the country until the 14th. That was false because i live downstairs and i have seen her come in and out of the apartment on my camera.This is the first time this has happened and i want to avoid this from happening again, my tenants don’t know me as the landlord i act as the middle man/property manager What should i do ?
My tenant always pays rent late but usually before the 4th. This month the tenant still has not paid rent or reached out & today’s the 11th. I already informed the tenant that there will be a late fee than she told me that she was out of the country until the 14th. That was false because i live downstairs and i have seen her come in and out of the apartment on my camera.This is the first time this has happened and i want to avoid this from happening again, my tenants don’t know me as the landlord i act as the middle man/property manager What should i do ?
You are getting mucked down in unimportant details. It doesn't matter if she is in the country or not. Rent is due on the 1st and it is the 11th, so it is 10 days late. Consult a local attorney. Serve her with a pay or quit notice, which is the first step towards eviction. Use a process server. They will try to serve in person, but they can also post on the door and sign an affidavit of delivery. If necessary, proceed to eviction. In the future, you want to post notice sooner.
Don't listen to excuses and try to untangle truth from fiction. I would also advise that you disclose to tenants that you are the owner and landlord/manager of the property. Hiding that from tenants is a big mistake and comes back to bite you later. If you end up in eviction court, your name is listed on there as the owner. How do you expect honesty from your tenant if you are not being honest with them?
I am coming back to post again. I see a lot of people going hard on saying to file. I would try again to get a good answer. Let them know that you (or someone else) saw them at the property. (your call on the other issue) Make it clear that it needs to be addressed or you will file. Make an agreement to pay and stick to it if she don't pay. No one wants to rent to someone with an eviction on record so make that clear. I have 87 units, and out of some odd 1.8 million in rent collected over the years I have less than 15k in bad debt. About 99.2% collection. I have filed about 5 times. I'll admit it was usually later than I should have but I don't think its hair on fire time on the 11th. I've also collected 13k plus in late fees and that's with waiving more than I maybe should have from time to time. Another tip. Does this person have a significant other or roomate? On my first eviction filed I was always dealing with the boyfriend who we will call "Mr Excuses" Well I finally got sick of it and filed. Then I get a frantic call from his GF because the sheriff came by and served them. She had no idea they were a few thousand behind on rent! The best part was she had enough to cover it all! Lesson learned. I've even had some luck getting younger tenants parents to give them help or a kick in the ***. (look for these numbers on the emergency contacts on the application). Best of luck!
Always follow the lease, that's what it's for. If you have a clause in the there that states after 5 days you have a late rent fee, then charge the late rent fee. Tenants learn from our behaviors, we set the the standard. If you allow 3 days one month, then 5 days the following month, you've set a precedence and moving forward they will know that it's okay to be late each month with no repercussion. Sometimes we have to train our tenants to be good tenants, but that comes with follow through.
I agree with most of the comments start the eviction process. She can’t be to smart if she try’s to tell you she’s out of the country but lives in the same building as you lol.
If you own the property in your name what would the sending address be if you didn’t want the tenant you have you address when you send the notice and late fee ?