Flipper/Rehabber · Colorado Springs, CO · Member since 2016 · 502 posts · 167 votes
Due to injury the "wife" (unmarried couple) was out of work for 3 weeks. The "husband" just emailed me. Injury occurred 3 weeks ago but they didnt inform me about paying late. They write. "We will be depositing as much of our rent as we can on the first--2 days from now-- and will deposit the rest promptly on the 10th when her check hits our account ." Note, he has a good job and a "big" trust fund. If they had called me when it happened I could have worked something out. This way they are making the decision unilaterally (tenants with ownership complex). should I charge late fee for 9 days at $50 per day or make a deal? I have no idea what "as much of our rent as we can" means. They have not been late so far (moved in July 1 2019)
Please understand that You are being played like a fiddle . Do not believe this nonsense ! Hit them with late fee.. then the quit or pay notice ...then file eviction . They had plenty of money for booze cigs lotto tickets and Christmas gifts I bet !
@Jane S. I would call and talk to them. They should have contacted you when they knew this would be a problem. Ask them how much they will be paying on the due date and how much they are short. Thing happen, you could tell them that this is the only time you will allow rent to be late and it must be paid on the 10th or there will be a late fee.
I don't believe what people tell me anymore. If you are in the area, you could just happen to pop by to wish them a happy holiday and to see how the wife is doing.
I agree with Theresa. They should have contacted you when it happened and given you an update on the situation as opposed to letting you know last minute that they are going to be late on rent. I would definitely give them a call and ask how they are doing to get more clarification on the situation. If they seem to be reliable and responsive tenants, this may just be a one time thing and hopefully the next payments aren't an issue.
Please understand that You are being played like a fiddle . Do not believe this nonsense ! Hit them with late fee.. then the quit or pay notice ...then file eviction . They had plenty of money for booze cigs lotto tickets and Christmas gifts I bet !
Hard to tell if it is the truth or not. I usually lean toward the "one chance" theory. But then again, I don't give much leeway if they do not make it a request rather than just informing you. And I really do not like the fact they didn't inform you 2-3 weeks ago. I would speak with them first, in person, and inform them they will be given a Pay or Quit Notice, just in case said rent is not fully paid on the 10th. You should also discuss with them if they foresee this being problem moving forward.
Of note: I like Dennis M's posts, but it should be noted that his properties are in the D class (if I am correct), so his tenants are almost always lying (as he has said in the past). Prior behavior does matter in these situations for your tenants.
Hard to tell if it is the truth or not. I usually lean toward the "one chance" theory. But then again, I don't give much leeway if they do not make it a request rather than just informing you. And I really do not like the fact they didn't inform you 2-3 weeks ago. I would speak with them first, in person, and inform them they will be given a Pay or Quit Notice, just in case said rent is not fully paid on the 10th. You should also discuss with them if they foresee this being problem moving forward.
Of note: I like Dennis M's posts, but it should be noted that his properties are in the D class (if I am correct), so his tenants are almost always lying (as he has said in the past). Prior behavior does matter in these situations for your tenants.
Actually i have some in b class areas and C . The reality is Most all tenants withhold some truth .. so I’d stick by my past statements on that .
Tenants always have a reason for paying late. Most just don't do it for no reason but despite what their reason is, the rent is either on time or late.
Why not drop by and see how they are doing? Get a bit of information and confirm the injury non intrusively. Maybe bring something like chocolates or a get well card? I would say use your discretion with the late fee with this situation but as others have stated, your lease rules do apply regardless of whether you are informed promptly or not.
I’d charge a late fee. After all, if you don’t abide by your lease, how can you expect your tenants to?
I usually say something like “Thank you for letting me know. Please be sure to include the late fee.”
One final note, although you don’t mention how much the rent amount is, $50 per day for a late fee sounds pretty high and in most states is likely excessive/illegal. You want the late fee to be a deterrent to paying late (and punitive in the event the deterrent isn’t effective), but not so high as to prevent the tenant from being able to catch up and get current. Otherwise, they may stop paying altogether and then you end up with a non-paying tenant and an expensive eviction on your hands.
This is the reason for using Property Management. In the beginning many investors self manage to cash flow a bit more, but stress has its price tag. I hope to have more of my properties rented with Property Management in the future, but it has been a slow shift. As far as what to do in your situation it’s easy for strangers to be arm chair quarterbacks. I have folks that pay late like clockwork, but they send thier late fees with payment. I have one renter that has been in a property close to 8 years and is always close to 20 days late. I plan on it. I had a few renters that the only way for them to ever pay on time would be an eviction scare and it’s just not worth it to me. The late fees adds up so it kind of levels out.
I would only suggest you consider how they've been as tenants up to this point. News like this can be shocking (had the same news last month myself; tenant called me on the 30th and said her brother (joint tenant) fell off a ladder and couldn't pay, so tenant asked to pay her half that day, and again on her pay day 2 weeks away, or 10 days late). To her credit, she did as promised. She was even going to pay the late fee, but I forgave that.
Yesterday I was talking to the third tenant, who said that while tenant 2 did fall off a ladder, that wasn't the reason they couldn't pay, it was because tenant 1 spent 3 days in the ER. It's crazy she'd lie to cover up a perfectly plausible reason for not having the rent. Anyway, I would consider their tenancy as a whole, as to whether I'd charge them the all of late fee, especially such an exhorbitant one. Can you legally charge that much? I like an earlier post about giving them the notice to pay or quit. "Mr Tenant, don't worry it's automatic and just a formality...." bwoo har har har...
The similarities in yours and my situations are crazy coincidental. Is there a tenant website they all go to for late paying rent excuses to be used 2 days before due?
As you stated in your post, you know the tenant has access to money to pay you on time and he is just paying late because this month it is more convenient for him to do so. There is a difference between not having the money to pay and paying when they feel like it. I'd charge the late fee.
@Jane S. The key is being consistent and enforcing the lease as written. Hard to do sometimes but you have to proceed like a third party property management would and follow the lease as written.
I would say absolutely charge late fee but 50/day seems crazy and I doubt it would hold up in front of a judge. You may want to reevaluate what goes into your lease. This is a perfect reason why - if you can’t enforce it it shouldn’t be in there.
@Jane S. I agree with the following already-given advice:
You really should double check that those kind of late fees are legal. They sound awfully high. This is an example of why the advice of "do what your lease says" is not very good advice.
You should call them and get a little more clarity. But I will add that you also should not get terribly involved. Use this conversation to kindly alert them that you will have to file for eviction (or whatever the first step of eviction is in your area), but once they have paid in full, the eviciton will be canceled. This will act as your "insurance" that time is not wasted on believing they will pay on the 10th if they end up not keeping their word.
It is not a good sign that they waited so long to bring up this issue. But at the same time, what difference would it make if they told you weeks ago? It doesn't change the fact that you expect them to pay on time. If you were injured, you would still be expected to pay your mortgages.
I do not think you need to drive by and talk to them in person. It really isn't your problem or business. And definitely don't bring/send them a get-well card and chocolates. You are just their landlord, not their friend. Keep the relationship professional.
I responded to his email asking how much they were planning to pay on the first and the 10th, since he didnt specify. I'm not going to drive by as they told me they dont like it when i do. I sent them a holiday card which I do for all. I'm wondering why his paycheck doesnt factor into rent payment. Thanks for all the help. I checked the lease, the late payment fee is $30.00. I must have revised it. I am calling him now. The "wife" says my phone calls cause her a lot of "upset" because she says I am always "asking for rent" but when I asked if I ever did that she said "no". Cant wait to be rid of these fools. Big mistake. altho a PM would have rented to them.
Yep. My thoughts exactly. Cut them loose. They sound like a PITA. There are too many other good people out there in the world that would be thrilled to reside in your properties.
just spoke to him & he apologized profusely. he says its up to me to decide how much late fee. He's paying $740 today & balance on the tenth $1045. he was explaining their pay schedule & i said its not my responsibility to keep track of when they get paid. He was cordial. I can communicate with him but not the "wife" as she is a drama queen & has many imaginary ideations concerning me. says i rifled thru their underwear drawers but then denied she said it, said i remind her of another landlord. So rude! They dont' remind me of any other tenants, they are the solitary worst. He said they will be all caught up starting in Feb. Again thanks for the great response. Had to laff at someone's comment about Dennis and his "D" class tenants ...
If it’s in the lease, then follow it. If you feel bad about it then phrase it as if the lease is the bad guy, “I am bound by the lease as much as you are.” Don’t set the precedent that the lease is flexible, or you’ll just open yourself up to more problems in the future.
I’m all for being a good and understanding landlord, but that goes both ways. If they wanted to not pay a late fee they should have asked before it was already late.
Definitely charge the late fee. But $50 per day??? Besides the fact that's not realistic/reasonable, is that even legal?
I would also post an eviction notice (in accordance to your state laws). Tell them it's automatically generated for all your properties when rent is late BUT you will not file it so long as they pay their remaining rent (plus applicable late fees) by the agreed upon date. This way, if they don't pay, you've already got that process started and can file immediately.
@Jane S. Be cautious of accepting partial payment. The tenth may come by and no check. Their excuse may be that you accepted partial payment and that was good for the rent. I would have some kind of addendum stating that accepting partial payment is not a resolution for full payment, state the late fees etc.
Jane had a good point. You are a business not a charity. Would your mortgage company allow you to pay the mortgage late? No.
Remind them that rent is due the 1st
Late fee of 10% is applied the 2nd
Pay or quit letter goes out 4th
Eviction proceedings start on the 7th ( or whatever you decide)
Do not take a partial payment. This will delay the eviction ruling. It will honestly delay you another month. Plus it sends a message that you take late payments.