tenant pay rent late twice , last payment come from someone else

[Tina Lee]

Hi all, my tenant pay rent late twice , last payment come from someone else a guy who is not in lease ( since I let her pay me using zelle account) and I have texted her to reminder her to send me late payment and to ask why my water bill went up twice, got not reply for 2 weeks.

and now is march 5th , i still have got her rent ( which is the due date for rent) usually she pay ment 7 ot 8th with a late fee. should I txt her again today to let her know if she pay late again please send late payment this month and with previous two month and ask her if she is ok, since I haven't hear from her for past 2 weeks, and if i don't hear from her again i will call her reference number to check see if she is ok ( when she applied she had gave me her reference number for her coworkers and I did called back then) am i allowed to call them see if she is ok.

if she still doesnt reply to my text what right do i have to contact her? how should i let her know that I am not renewing lease with her etc?

thank yol.9y

[Nathan Gesner]

Quote from @Tina Lee:

I have to agree with Bob. Landlords tend to communicate too much, too little, or too inconsistently. In your case, it's probably too much and too inconsistent.

Think of how a business communicates with you. They send you an invoice each month to let you know a payment is due. If payment is late, they send you a late notice with a penalty. Most businesses will send a second notice with additional penalties and a warning that you may be sent to collections. Then they send you to collections. That's a total of three communications. No texts. No questions about why you haven't paid yet. No knocking on the door or trying to track someone down at their work. No pleading, yelling, negotiating, etc. It's strictly business.

Here's my process:

1. On the first day of each month, Tenant receives an email that their rent charge is posted and ready to pay.

2. On the 5th day of the month, they receive an email that their balance is not paid in full and a late fee has been posted.

3. On the 10th day of the month, I serve a 3-day Pay or Quit through the Sheriff's office and add another $50 charge to the Tenant's ledger. I use the Sheriff's office so it carries more weight and takes any emotion out of it.

4. If they still haven't paid, I file in court to start the eviction.

During this entire process, I'm not calling. I'm not texting. I'm not begging for payment. I'm not cutting deals or offering to waive late fees or reducing charges in exchange for painting my house or whatever. These people are adults and know rent is due on the first day of the month. Bombarding them with reminders either scares them into going quiet or it angers them into pushing back.

Learn to run like a business and your life will be so much easier.