Advice needed for overdue rent.

[Chris Harvill]

I have a tenant who is over due on her rent and need a little advice.

A little backstory on this:

She is in a 2 year lease that expires 7/1/15. She has been consistently late but generally paid monthly 15 days late up until October of last year. My first mistake was to let her get about 2.5 months behind. Finally in December we worked out a plan to get things caught up by paying every 2 weeks with an additional amount added in order to pay all past due rent off by the end of the lease. Begining in January she was paying every 2 weeks per the plan. April 1 rolls around and I received a text that her utility bill was exceptionally high and she needed a little more time. I told her to double up the 15th. Today, still no money and she is telling me she is trying to come up with the money. She is a school teacher and gets paid on the 1st and 15th so there is apparently an issue with her finances.  

My question for some of the more experienced folks is this:

Should I go ahead and ask her to leave and start the eviction process or shoud I try to get what I can out of her through the end of the lease?

My concern is if I evict I won't get any rent for the next 3 months. If she stays I may get at least part of it. This is my first property and my first lease so I am still learning. I definately will not let another teneant get this far behind again.

In advance I appreciate the advice.

[Jon Holdman]

As you're realizing you've given yourself a self-inflicted wound. 

Bite the bullet and start an eviction.  You've already ceeded control of this relationship to the tenant.  Now's the time to take it back.  You MUST learn to be completely ruthless about this.  Grocery stores and gas stations don't "work something out" to give people free groceries and gas.  You shouldn't either.  For me, rent is due on the first, late after the 4th.  If we don't have a firm plan, I post a pay or quit on the 5th and start eviction on the 8th.  If we do have a firm plan, I'll wait.  But if that plan stretches out very long, I'll do the pay or quit three days before the planned payment date.  No payment and I start the eviction.

Why do you think you'll lose three months rent? For one, you MUST be prepared to have exactly that happen. You need to have cash reserves of at least six months PITI to be in this business. Six months rent is better. You WILL have this sort of thing (or worse) happen and if you count on getting the rent on time every month you're going to get hurt.

Here an eviction is a matter of weeks.  I you start today you'd have possession within a month.  What's the timeline there?  If you don't know and don't know the process, find an attorney and get their advice.   Then start the process.  Today would be a good day to do this.  The money may amazingly appear when you post that pay or quit.