All Forum Posts by: Rob B.

Don't mean to sound like an echo in a room, but as others above have noted, really depends on the area you're in; and yes, @Ned Carey has it spot on (as far as the responsibility of the water bill and who that falls on). I would otherwise pay it and move on but also depends on how much it is for; could take it to small claims court now that they've already been evicted, no? @Robert Hernandez

I'm with @Cassi Justiz & @Marcia Maynard on this. You set those expectations early on as far as where you draw the line when it comes to late rent payments. Communication is always key and if the tenant is not communicating early and often about foreseeable problems with paying the rent on time then there's really no excuse. Now, there is a separate thing to factor in considering this tenant is also (from the sound of it) making it difficult for you to collect on the additional rent. That is probably where I would draw my line but as Cassi noted, "pay or quit" is a great way to go. @Andrew S.

Given what I've seen on here on BP, sounds like there is some benefit to starting small -- at the end of the day comes down to your bottom-line business objective; personally I'd start small simply because there are things you're not going to necessarily know to look out for without the experience of the first one. Some mistakes can be more costly than others. Just something to think about! @Keith Odom

There are a lot of great tools out there; rent range or rentometer are two good ones. @Eric Graig

A lot of great responses here already; and thank you to all who have responded because I was sitting on the same question. Just goes to show you how great BP is. Thanks all for sharing (@Timothy Morales and thanks for asking the question!).

What others have said above is pretty spot on. You set those expectations early on as far as where you draw the line when it comes to late rent payments. Communication is always key and if the tenant is not communicating early and often about foreseeable problems with paying the rent on time then there's really no excuse. Now, there is a separate thing to factor in considering she's making those payments consistently (late, but consistent; and you get the benefit of a late fee -- late rent payments every month is a no-no, but she's consistently making the full payment late; it would be really bad if she weren't even paying that in full). Some of this may have to do with how her company pays her and communicating this information should be her first imperative (after all, paying rent on time is what will keep that roof over her head). But, is this a case of "better the devil you know"? -- if you decide to evict, no guarantees about the next tenant, and you're headed into mid-fall. Just my honest opinion; there are many things that are made clear from day 1 - ie. when the rent is due, what those late fees are, when they kick in, etc. --- BUT, there are a lot of systems out there help to automate the late fee creation process to make things easier on the landlord and the tenant. I hope this helps! @Tyler C.

Hi Quan, I definitely understand the concern (especially heading into the winter months in the NE area; believe me, here in Chicago, it gets pretty cold during those months and similar concerns exist). There are a few options here that might help; you can list it and offer a 6-month lease; this should be able to get you right back on track for the season. At that time, offer a full lease extension (might even be able to push the rent up a bit, but I'd focus primarily on getting yourself back on-season and then get a lengthier/standard 1-year lease signed. Also, there are platforms which can help you bring a certain level of automation to that rental management process (ie. automatically syndicating a single listing to 10+ major listing sites, thorough tenant screening with full background checks, digital lease creation, automated online rent collection, and maintenance tracking - all from within your account). Anywho, I hope this helps! @Quan Tran

I am so sorry to hear that you are dealing with this, @Eric Zheng. Patricia has this one 100% spot on. Be sure to document everything (I mean really document everything before you do anything to the place; I know there's probably an urgency to get the place all fixed up but be sure to carefully take photos, and let the sheriff proceed. I know it sucks to go through this process. Screening is the best way to mitigate your risks of renting to a bad tenant moving forward, and you're already asking a lot of the right questions now that you've gone through this first bad eviction experience.

Thank you @Natalie H.! And James does have a good point about using Facebook Marketplace (again, don't want to knock it; my sister secured her last apartment via a quick search on the FB marketplace). That said do you happen to have a link to the listing that you'd be willing to share? I'd also say that by refreshing the listing or unpublishing and then publishing again can help to push that rental up on the listing site feeds (all depends upon the platform you're using). 

@Matt M. - Hi Matt I think you absolutely have the right idea in mind and stick to that; I'm not making any assumptions about her as a renter -- I will say, go with your gut feeling. Sometimes the biggest mistakes are made when you go against that. And honestly, there's more assumed risk based on sources of that income (sure, Child Support $400 is a non-negotiable in most states but still a possibility that the payments come in late; if she's not getting paid on time, how are you going to be paid on time?). I'd personally hold out -- as others have noted, mayyybe if it were closer, but in this instance probably not.