How to Motivate Tenats to Ppay?

Question

Hey BP!

My mentor has two rental properties in Baltimore and he prevouisly left in the care of a PM who was shady. So with his poor handling of the properties most have fallen in the habit of not paying for rent. Now that I am in charge, I'm trying hard to address their issues and make them feel comfortable. But, only 3 out of 9 have payed this month. What can I do to get them to pay or is eviction the route we have to go? Thank you for taking time for reading and asnwering my question.

Mike McCarthy · Answer

@Jeromie Williams I would have talked to them before rent was due to let them know that a new PM is in town and you will 1) be addressing any significant issues on the property (there are probably issues) and 2) expect rent on time.

Notice to each unpaid tenant to pay or quit - following your state/city laws precisely. Show them that you mean business. Both on the upkeep of the property and collecting rent. Within a few days (I don’t know MD laws), the eviction process starts along with whatever fees are spelled out in the lease.

Tim Jacob · Answer

You need to learn how to file on them in court.  If they aren't in the city just do it all at once and your court hearing can all happen at once at the same time.  Keep in mind you need a rental license.  They are getting real strict on that and are threatening jail time if you don't.  Before I take them to court I would make sure I have the licenses which includes a lead cert.  The lead cert needs to be current.  I think it would be in your best interest to see that status of your rental licenses and inspections and for whatever needs to be done get it done before filing on them because they will be less agreeable after they realize you are taking them to court.  If everything is already done I would go down there monday and file on all of them. Tell the landlord he or she shouldn't be surprised if they stall the court.  If they come to court they get a free lawyer which will help them stall things with an escrow claim.  That means they claim the property  has defects and instead of getting a judgement court is stalled another month sometimes more during which time a city inspector will do an inspection of the property.  If they finds faults  you must fix them, have the inspector come back, and then go back to court prior to getting a judgement.   If the tenant does not put the money in escrow as is usually the case it is kicked back to regular failure to pay.  After finally getting a judgement wait another week before filing the warrant which is usually a quick process for the judge to sign being another week or so.  Problem there is you have to wait on the sherriff to get the notice to schedule the eviction.  Sometimes that can be another month.  Then the sheriff will give you a 3 to 8 week time for the actual eviction.  You have notices to post in the mean time which if you dont do will the void the entire process.  After all of that you can have your eviction provided the weather is good enough which is probably ok 90% or more of the time.

With 7 delinquent tenants I'm sure some will get the message but if these delinquencies are 6 plus months you are looking at a long ordeal to get them out as they will probably not be able to catch up unless your landlord is willing to accept voiding some of the past due rent.  Some won't fight you knowing they are wrong but some will.  I would let the owner know that.  Some of these tenants are probably not going to be gone until the late summer at which time they won't pay the rest of the time they are there and will leave the place trashed at eviction meaning a cleanout, full house repaint, and cleaning along with more typical turnover costs like a lead recert.  Thus some of these turnovers could cost you over 3k due to tenant damage.

I know none of this is good news.  If you need help with the legal issues let me know.  Good luck.

Theresa Harris · Answer

Tell them there is a new sheriff in town and if they don't pay, you will evict them.  Then follow through.

David Stumpf · Answer

@Mike McCarthy said it well.

Send them a pay or quit notice immediately. Before they receive the notice contact each person who still owes rent and let them know that you are taking over and are the best person to contact for any information regarding the property. Also let them know that late payment and non payments will no longer be tolerated. Make sure it is clear that "Late payments will result in eviction proceedings".  Next call the people who have paid on time, thank them for their payment and introduce yourself the same.  Learn how to file evictions and start them as soon as possible.  It sounds harsh but it is the best way to have tenants pay on time.  Allowing tenants to pay late without consequences only causes tenants to fall further behind in rent.  I am curious as to why your mentor is not helping you though this?

Jeromie Williams · Answer

@David Stumpf He is working with me but we both don’t have a lot of experiences in directly handling with the tenants. So this is a new a experience for both us.

How to Motivate Tenats to Ppay?

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