Am I proceeding with default rent in the correct manner?

[Reaz H.]

I closed on a quadriplex on the 1st of March. Immediately, I drove over and put in an information packet (which included rent payment instructions and a tenant information sheet) in a manilla envelope in each tenants' mailbox. 

Now most of the tenants communicated with me because the previous landlord and his management company connected us. There was one exception, which I will refer to as the "silent unit". I announced via email on the 3rd that I would be visiting the property on the 5th and that it'd be a good time to give me the rent in person. All tenants responded positively and schedule to meet me with the exception of the silent unit. So that day I met with the 3 tenants. By NC law I have 30 days to deliver notice of where their security deposits are being held. I delivered it to the other 3 units and decided to knock on the door of the "silent unit" to do the same. One of the tenants (husband) answered the door, and I introduced myself. I gave him the notice for the security deposit and broached the topic of rent since clearly they were not going to bring it up. He said they'd be turning in the rent late and they knew about the late policy. So I reminded him that the rent would now be due with a late fee and that they'd have to pay the full amount with cashier's check or money order. He told me that they would and that I should also talk to his wife as she handles rent.

So I came home and wrote out an intro email letting her know that I was around and met her husband and that she should let me know in advance next time that they might run late. And that usually I would just put the notice up on the 6th day. Again, I did not hear from her for a few days. So on the 8th of March I filled out the Pay or Quit notice and demand payment in certified funds within 10 days. It would reach them on the 10th. But that evening she writes to me apologizing for her delay in responding cause she was busy and that she'd be making payment by the end of the week. I thanked her but did not mention the notice. On the 10th I visit the property to collect rent from a couple of tenants and happened to see the wife of the silent unit there. So I introduced myself to her and seeing that she was on the phone I kept the conversation brief. She said that she would pay soon and I told her that she'd be receiving a notice and that they needed to comply within the stated time. 

Now on the 13th of March (yesterday) I wrote to her and said that I have not received any payment and that time was ticking away. She wrote to me and said that she had already sent payment and that if I didn't get the payment by Friday then she would stop payment on the check and issue another one. So you see where this is going? Immediately, I became concerned that they mailed me a personal check. I wrote to her letting her know of my concerns and that they should consider paying me in certified funds (cashier's check or money order). I did also give them an option of paying on Venmo (not sure if this was the wrong thing to do). I came home from work and found an envelope in my mail box from them. They had sent me the information sheet filled out AND a personal check with only the rent. They did not make a late payment. And she signed below the signature line. I don't even think it was her signature because it was just her name and did not match her signature in the tenant information sheet. Sufficient to say, the mobile bank software may not accept it because the signature line appears black. I did not attempt to deposit this check.

So I shot her an email stating that I received an envelope from her with a check that did not cover her dues for March. And that I would NOT be accepting it as payment for March because (a) we do not accept partial payments. They need to pay the full amount and (b) the amount was a personal check which is not a form of payment I would accept after they have entered the late period. I also added (c) that she needs to sign the check above the signature line. 

Have I been doing the right thing from a legal perspective? Am I taking the right steps to deal with this? This is my first time collecting rent and these are inherited tenants. I want to make sure that I can remove them if need be but I would not want them to go through too much hardship for silly things. Having said that it's day 15 and I don't have a full payment. How would you do it? Would you do anything differently?