What would you do?

Question

Question for all you landlords, some I'm not one yet, but hoping to be someday.

I work with a kid who just rented a house for $1000/month. He's a decent salesman, but not great at managing his money. He makes about 42K/year.

His new landlord let him move in (with the fiance and baby) and had him pay 1st with splitting the deposit over the next few weeks.

The road to his new place is terrible, we live in NH and they don't plow the snow right away. He's missed work 2 days already this month.

He now needs snow tires so he can get back and fork to work, but that means he can't pay the deposit when he was supposed to.

Obviously he made a mistake by not having any emergency money, and I believe the landlord was desperate to get the place rented this time of year and made a mistake by not getting the deposit before they moved in.

I told him to go to the landlord and explain his situation. I'd love any thoughts, feedback or advice. I'm here to learn!

Jerry W. · Answer

As a landlord I can absolutely tell you that coming to me before the rent payment is late is much better than me chasing you down and saying where is my money. The best thing is to pay, the next best is to be honest up front. All of that being said buy him some Dave Ramsey books. He is headed for a crash if he does not get his finances under control. The stress about money has caused many nice folks to get bitter or depressed and caused many breakups of families.

Marcia Maynard · Answer

Certainly he can ask, but he better have a back up plan to get the money quick. Borrow it, sell something, pawn something, day labor, request an early birthday gift, etc. He has to step up to the plate on this and keep his integrity intact. He needs to live within his means and start an emergency fund (equal to 6 - 10 months income). Welcome to the real world.

Account Closed · Answer

I know it sounds harsh, but truthfully you aren't in the business of lending money or extending credit. If he needs snow tires, let him work out a financing plan with the tire company as that is their business, you take on an unnecessary amount of risk by setting this type of precedent this early on.

Marcus Maloney · Answer

I would be understanding but firm at the same time. I understand he need to purchase tires but that is not my concern. I made concessions for him to split the deposit over a couple months period I would respect him to honor that. However if he explained the situation to me and ensured he would not be late again I would give him a chance. I would impose a late fee. Communication is key but excuses are unacceptable. Tell him to address it with the landlord immediately.

Roy N. · Answer

@Kate Stallmann One of my wife's routine pieces of advice to her clients is, "You can always ask". That would be my advice here. He can always ask the landlord for additional leniency - before he is late!! If I were the landlord here, I would point out that I am already being very lenient and would absolutely not entertain an after-the-fact-plea. He could also find a place which will sell the tyres to him with financing ... sure he'll end up spending 10-20% more for his snow tyres, but such is life. Alternatively, he could purchase the tyres on a credit card (or find a family member to purchase them for him) and make VISA happy for the balance of winter. If he is a descent salesman, he just needs to rustle-up a little creativity and he will see there are many avenues away from his present pickle.

Dan C. · Answer

No, he should not ask the landlord. Family and friends are the people he should be turning to if he is in a financial bind.Or devising his own way out of it by earning more money, or using a credit card.

Kate Stallmann · Answer

Thanks to everyone for weighing in, thankfully I'm not really involved in this situation, but since I hope to own some rental properties someday, it's good to see how to handle it. I definitely agree with Jerry W. about Dave Ramsey, actually our boss offered him a free financial peace University class, but you have to be ready to make a change before any of that excellent advice works. As someone who was a renter for 8 years (I can honestly say I was a good tenant, a roof over your head comes first) it's very interesting to see the other side of the coin.

Brett C. · Answer

I'm a softee to my tenants so if I fielded this call I would be nice and try to offer advice but inside I would be annoyed or laughing (depending on my mood). I hearabout life's troubles from my tenants now and again and I'm very nice and I try to help with advice but NEVER money. It begins with snow tires and then what's next? If I made a deal to stretch out the deposit it would be documented in my lease and I would not offer up any other graces to my tenant, especially this early in the relationship! We're landlords, we provide safe and legal housing for a reasonable market rent rate. We don't loan people money so they can buy snow tires. Snow tire money should come from family, friends, credit cards, savings accounts, piggy banks, second jobs, third jobs etc etc. If the roads were that bad I would direct the person to call the highway department.