Cash For Keys is NEVER the right decision!

[Andrea Coulter]

I am a small landlord in Upstate New York. I have a tenant that has not paid me since December of 2019. In 3 Days it will be 13 months that she has not paid and yet my state will not let me evict her for possibly another 5 months? Maybe longer? I started the eviction January of 2020 PRE-COVID. In March, I was 2 weeks from a final court appearance for eviction when COVID happened then, EVERYTHING was halted. As of today, I still will not even consider offering cash for keys! Why? Because it is helping to promote a mentality among tenants that will not correct itself. It must be fought! I will be taking my losses, learning my lesson and moving on with dignity. A little wiser, a little more diligent and a whole lot more cautious on who I rent to in the future. A tenant that does not pay rent and is then given cash for keys will most certainly do the same thing to the next landlord...and the next...and the next. It is a mentality that is unacceptable and more contagious than COVID itself! The mentality hurts the current landlord, future landlords and most importantly it hurts the good tenants that DO pay on time, by creating more risk in the marketplace, inevitably raising rents. Please landlords, think about the 2nd & 3rd order consequences of Cash for Keys.