Rent Reminders

[Kyle Meyers]

Do you remind your tenants each month when the rent is due? Lately, I have had more and more issues with late payments. I have not sent reminders in the past and had not had much late payment trouble. The last couple months, I started sending a reminder email the evening of the 1st if the rent isn't in yet. My tenants pay online and can pay up until midnight on the due date.

[Terri Pour-Rastegar]

Does your mortgage company or the bank that has your car loan send you reminders?

"Reminders" should come in the form of a late notice (with late fee info attached) sent out by mail, email, text--whatever--as soon as rent is late. It's either due on the 1st or it's not.

Sending reminders sets a bad precedent, and tenants will expect to be coddled well into the future.

I too found that a few of my tenants were having trouble making it on the 1st. Turns out they could never be sure if their last-day-of-the-month paycheck deposit got through in time. So, I gave those tenants the option of paying by the 5th. They were thrilled, and now the rent is no longer late. But I do not remind them. I am too busy for that.