After dealing with over 75 rental units at one time and hundreds of tenants over the years, a pattern started to appear regarding payment of rent. Some tenants were excellent and would pay on or before the first of the month; others would wait for the last hour of the final day before a late charge could be added; the remaining tenants would always be late and pay the late fee every month.
I understand unforeseen events in a tenant’s life. When something happened, I would get that call or letter asking for extra time to pay the rent. My response would be a respectful inquiry regarding when payment would be rendered, and to agree upon a date to receive payment. If it’s their first offense and they are a good, long-tem tenant I waive the fee; if it’s a problem tenant or if they just moved in, I remind the tenant that a late fee would be added as agreed upon in the lease agreement. I also inform the tenant that unless payment is sent to my office by the agreed-upon date, a three-day pay-rent-or-quit notice would be served. If a tenant is late three consecutive months, I serve a lease termination notice. I never try to sympathize with the tenant about my need to pay the mortgage and all the bills, because most tenants don’t care. They see me as a rich landlord that has endless pockets of wealth… HA! |
