Bank account got frozen and deposit rent later?

Question

Thomas S. · Answer

Your tenants is using one of the most common excuses tenants rely on when they do not have rent money. It is a straight up lie. You need to proceed with the state required notification and late payments.

Your tenant is in the process of train his new landlord. You must draw a line in the sand day one. You will likely see the full payment but make sure you insist on a late payment as it is now past due.  If you do not charge the late fee or show any lieutenancy at all your tenant will continue to manipulate you.

You are about to discover whether you have what it takes to be a landlord. Good luck.

Greg H. · Answer

If his account was indeed frozen, he should have no problem providing evidence that this is indeed the case.  A screenshot or a statement on bank letterhead can be easily provided.

I believe in "Trust but verify"

Marcia Maynard · Answer

@Michelle Briotta  You make some good points. Different approaches for different reasons. When a tenancy goes south, it is a lose-lose. We try to save tenancies when we can.  Sometimes that means working out a solution with the tenant that results in a win-win.

I should have mentioned that we don't jump to helping tenants problem solve. We start by reinforcing that paying rent, in full and on time, is one of the most important aspects of renting. If they want to continue to live in the unit they occupy, they must pay rent when it is due. If they don't have the money readily available, they need to look to other resources. If they pay rent late, we can charge a late fee. If they don't pay at all, they can't stay.

Some tenants aren't good at problem solving or seeing a way out of a dilemma. Showing concern and offering a few ideas is often helpful. I'd rather a tenant look for someone close to them to help them (gift or loan), than to expect me to excuse them  from their obligation to pay rent in a timely manner.

If I could verify the tenant's story that the bank account was frozen, that would give me some useful information. It points to his integrity of being open and honest with me (a good thing). It points to the fact that he is not repaying debts (a bad thing). But it wouldn't mean that I would excuse him from his obligation to me.

I, like you, don't accept a tenant's story (frozen bank account, money went to pay for car repair, nephew stole my rent money, etc.) as a reason not to pay rent on time. If I'm sincerely concerned for a tenant's well being and can guide them to succeed as a tenant, it possibly could work out well in the long run. Our tenancies are rarely less than 5 years, most pass the 10 year mark, and our longest term tenants have been in place for more than 20 years. Looking back, almost all of them have faced a time when they couldn't pay rent on time at one point or another.

We currently have 17 rental units... low income, fixed income, and mid income tenants. We've only had to do three evictions in over 20 years of landlording. We rarely need to post notices to comply, but when we do, we act swiftly. It takes less than 30 days to do an eviction, but costs us about $800 for the legal process. That's why negotiating a move-out plan with tenants who can't make it work, often garners a better result.

Thanks for sharing your perspective too.

Marcia Maynard · Answer

This is what I suggest....

1. Take the CASH and deposit it in your bank account.

2. Tell him, if he can't access his funds, he needs to ask his family members or friends for help. You can not accept a promise to pay rent. Rent is due now.

3. Serve him with a "Pay Rent or Quit" notice for the difference in rent that he still owes.

4. Take the check to his bank and verify funds. If the account has sufficient funds, cash the check at his bank. Then tell him you did this, so he can reconcile his bank account.

5. If the account does not have sufficient funds or is indeed frozen, document this. See if you can verify his story that the account is "frozen".

From a google search: "If your bank account is frozen, that means someone (a plaintiff) has filed a case against you for an unpaid debt and won a judgment against you. You should have received a notice that the account will be or has been frozen and that certain funds are exempt from collection."

6. Assuming that he is being open and honest with you about the account being frozen, ask him about the unpaid debt that is freezing up his money and what he plans to do about it.

7. Check his income to debt ratio. Can he indeed continue to afford to rent the unit from you? If not, start talking with him about a move-out plan. Sometimes it's better to ask a tenant to move, or even pay them to move, than go through an eviction process through the courts. Evictions can be very costly, time consuming and stressful.

8. If you haven't already, do a thorough background check. Many renters have made financial mistakes in the past. If his employment is stable and brings in sufficient income to meet his current financial obligations, consider working this out with him. Establish a plan in writing that will bring him current with his rent.

9. Charge the late fee when it's due, according to the terms of your rental agreement. Do this in writing by sending him an invoice or letter that states you are doing so. However, we allow a one-time forgiveness of our late fee for an "oops".  That has served us well in building and maintaining good landlord-tenant relationships.

10. Avoid making agreements or enforcing agreements by telephone or text. All serious communications need to be in writing. If the relationship is good, have a face-to-face discussion as well.

11. My management style is FRIENDLY, FAIR, FIRM, FLEXIBLE (within reason), and FAST (quick to respond to issues as they arise.) It's possible to work with some tenants and still hold true to your rental agreement terms. Anything is negotiable. But you need to be able to discern if the tenancy is worth saving. Tenancies that are worth saving often lead to good long-term relationships and will benefit you financially.

12. When I inherit a tenant, I take extra time to get the tenant on-board with my rental agreement and my management style. Sometimes in the beginning, a tenant may ask for something unreasonable or perform in a manner that is not to my liking. This is an opportunity for me to work with the tenant and figure out how we can both benefit from the landlord-tenant relationship. Tenants need good landlords and landlords need good tenants. Mutual respect goes a long way. Good luck! Glad you found Bigger Pockets! You'll find many perspectives here!

Ryan Dossey · Answer

Yeah..... I'd be preparing that eviction paperwork. Great first impression he's made...

Marcia Maynard · Answer

@Wen Guo Any update? What did you decide to do?

Bank account got frozen and deposit rent later?

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