Late Fees?

[Steve Rozenberg]

Do you always charge late fees?

[Steve Rozenberg]

Thanks for the comments. We also learned our lesson very early on in our investing career, by giviing tenants breaks and specials it actually was more work for us to try and remember who got what deal, then if they did not come through when they said we would get upset but really it is our fault for bending the rules.

When we had 20 properties of our own that might have been ok, but now managing over 400 homes there is no way to keep track of everyones "Special Deal'. Not to mention it could be a HUGE Fair Housing Violation and possible Discrimination by letting one person slide and not another. Now that we manage other peoples properties we really do not have the right to give deals, it would only put the owner and ourselves in legal trouble and breach of the contract.

Remember, when that lease is signed it is a Bi-lateral contract, the tenant has to perform and the owner also has to perform. I was told that the first time the owner does not abide by the contract and they let the tenant slide on the rent they are in Breach first and have set a precedent, obviously all state are different but this is what our attorney told us. And said if you put it in the lease you better enforce it.

So like a lot of you all said, we enforce it to the dollar, it is a business and thats what real businesses do!