Property management and evicted tenants

[Tarcizio Goncalves]

Hi BP community,

Wanted to run an issue by you all and hopefully get some advice.

I have 6 units under management through a local property manager. Last month, we lost two tenants due to non-payment. I had to evict them. This month, I have a third tenant that hasn’t paid rent yet and I am hoping we don’t have to evict them either. I am hoping they are just running late on their rent

Wanted to know if the property manager could be to blame here. Just wanted to get some advice before I have a serious conversation with them. Any advice on what questions I could ask and what to expect from this conversation? Looking to see what property managers could do to prevent vacancies due to non-payment, in this case, possibly 50% vacancy. 

Thank you all

[Kenny Dahill]

@Tarcizio Goncalves

This could be the managers fault, or it could be unfortunate timing.  That to me is the most important factor to determine.

If you're being honest and say C Class, then evictions aren't uncommon but hopefully not common.  D Class is another story.  A few questions:

• Why were the tenants paying late?  Lost job, car issues, etc. can really help paint the picture.
• Did the PM try to negotiate?  As a landlord and business thinker, I would rather take off money from rent to allow them to finish the lease and then look for a new tenant.  Often people feel like if they can't pay 100% then they shouldn't pay at all.  I'll take 90 cents on the dollars if it means avoiding hefty eviction fees and vacancy.
• How long did the tenants live there?  If they struggled in the last few months maybe they hit road bumps, if it was month 1-3 then that's unacceptable screening.
• How many applicants did you have for each unit?  Were you desperate and took the first who 'qualified' or made the wrong decision amongst several qualified applicants.