Late Payment But Late Fees Increase Cashflow, What Should I Do?

[Jordan Payne]

Single Family Rental tenant pays late consistently (5 of last 6 months) but pays and pays late fees which boost my cashflow by $75 per month. Tenant has never gone past the end of the month without paying in full but has not paid in full until the last 2-3 days of the month for the past couple of months. 

What should I do? I don't mind the extra cashflow but the tenant has effectively stolen a month from me thanks to a not so great property manager. 

Side note: The tenant's lease expired in February and is on month to month now so I can use 30 day notice to end things if I choose to and would only need to go through the eviction process if he refused to vacate the property. 

[Greg Scott]

The good news is that there really isn't a right or wrong answer here.

If you are fine with a slow-pay tenant, enjoy the extra cash flow.  I'd still recommend sending the pay or quit notice when they are late so you can evict quickly should the rent not come in.

If you are tired of babysitting the late-payer, then non-renew.