How do you structure your late fees?

[Brian Barfoot]

I'll start by saying: I know I'm too soft on the tenants. 

We have a late fee in our lease of $25 for rents that run 1100-1200 per month but it's a one-time fee no matter how late they are. I also have a bad habit of forgiving the fee if the tenant is proactive about telling me why they're going to be late. I know all about training tenants and may have to do what Brandon was talking about on the podcast this week and hire someone to be the mean guy for me. That said:

How do you all set up your late fees? Is it one time or daily and compounding? How much grace time do you give? Do you grace by postmark or arrival date? 

It's time for us to get better at this since we're starting to be taken advantage of.

[Michael Noto]

@Brian Barfoot A $25 late rent fee is not going to make anyone think twice about paying rent late.  We ad a 10% late charge if the rent is not received by the 10th of the month which in CT is when rent is considered "late"