We recently purchased a 4 plex, fully rented. We closed early June. We sent letters each tenant introducing ourselves, our contact info, asked how they would like to be contacted, how to pay rent etc etc. We only heard back from three of the four. The one we never heard back from we have been unable to reach via cell. The first of the month came and went, the 5th was the established late day and the 8th is when the eviction process was supposed to start. In oregon now, they have extended the eviction moratorium which basically prevents tenants from being evicted until after september 30th and gives them till march 31 to pay back the rent we never collected.
Anyone have any suggestions on how to handle this? Im trying not to get frustrated but they are making it a little difficult by not communicating. I did notice a nice new mustang in the driveway last week... just the icing on the cake. A lady, Gentleman and their kid.
Real Estate Broker · 3412 S. Harlem Avenue Riverside, IL 60546 · Member since 2015 · 6k+ posts · 5k+ votes
6y
@Andrew Westlund property management is a hands on business, and the best way is to show up in person. Once you get control of the property you can establish procedures so that you don't have to be there all the time, but whenever I take over a property I find a lot of reasons to be hanging around the property. I use the time to meet contractors, lawn care vendors, take care of minor maintenance issues, etc. My goal is to "accidentally" bump into all the tenants and then I can explain where and how they pay rent, make maintenance calls, etc.
Rental Property Investor · Northern, CA · Member since 2012 · 5k+ posts · 5k+ votes
6y
The few times I’ve had problems with tenants, I’ve went to the property in person, knocked on the door and talked to them face-to-face about it.
Sometimes the tenants also tried to previously dodge my phone calls, or not answer the door immediately when I got there, but I’ll just stand there and keep knocking and wait until they answer and we’re able to talk/work it out. It has worked every time.
Phone calls and letters are easy to ignore. An actual person standing on your front porch and knocking on your door, not so much.
Real Estate Broker · OR · Member since 2018 · 311 posts · 226 votes
6y
Curious if non-payment is new this month and they are just dodging your calls. I would get proof of collections from the previous month (from the previous owner) and see if this is a reoccurring non-payment that was not disclosed.
I agree with the face-to-face. You’re the new owner, and if you’re self managing, putting a face To you the new owner and establishing that connection. I would also consider After the meeting, dropping your first documentation stating that rent wasn’t paid so you’re documenting nonpayment.