Short on rent due to death in the family

[Lacey A.]

Inquiring for your thoughts! 

Background on the tenant: I have a tenant who was occupying the home when we bought it 2 months ago. The lease is up at the end of June. We had them “reapply” in terms of paperwork when we purchased it and they don’t meet our qualifications (3x income to rent, 650+ credit score, $ in the bank…). 

Scenario: They texted me at 2am saying “we have an emergency please call me”. I have a newborn, so when I see the message at 6am, I called. They picked up crying telling me there was a death in the family that they would have to buy plane tickets for and they weren’t sure if she’d make June rent, which is due in 10 days. The deceased is not an occupant. Seeing that it wasn’t a house related emergency, I sympathized and told them we would give them some space and check back in a few days. 

Next Steps: 

We have a pretty good idea how we will handle the situation. 
How would you handle this situation? How do we word our email follow up to keep things legal and kind? After all, we are listing and will need to show the home while they’re occupying it. 

Thanks in advance!

[Galen Ikonomov]

Mr @Nathan Gesner is always spot on with his comments and suggestions.

 I want to add one thing that is very rare in landlord's considerations what to do... IT IS NOT F'ing OK to not have any money saved up. I don't care what excuses people have not to work 3 jobs if necessary to save up $5000. I heard your story that you inherited the property with these tenants, but I will think backwards on this one. How in the world you got no savings? There are 2 jobs per person in the United States at the moment, so that excuse that there are no jobs, aint gonna fly.

 Like Nate G said, I would give them a little breathing room but make it clear for them that this is ONE time exception. And if you are concern that they are going to start blaming you being a cold hearted individual, it is not you, it is the Policies in your business.

 I know people will say or think that I am not sympathetic, but how much I care let me tell you. I came to the States 7 years ago with almost no English and $10 in my pocket. I worked 3 jobs, 18 hours per day for 7 months to get my self going.