Tenant going through hardship

[Christian Rojmar]

Good morning BiggerPockets,

Would love to get your input on how to deal with the following situation.

My tenant for the last 7 months whos lease will expire at end of May next year just called me and told me that one of her children was murdered and that she is not sure how she is going to be able to pay rent going forward as she needs to come up with money for a funeral. She has been a great tenant to date and always paid on time. I told her to take time and process everything with her child's death and to talk again in a couple of weeks. 

She has been a great tenant to date and I do not have a reason not to believe her but there are a couple of red flags that makes me question it. She mentioned that it was her son that was killed but she only ever mentioned having 2 daughters and only the daughters are reflected in the lease agreement - that doesn't mean she does not have a son from a previous relationship that does not live with her. Second, I cannot find any news coverage about a similar incident in the surrounding area over the last few of days. I cannot image she would come up with such horrible lie to avoid paying rent or have a payment plan but something just feels off in my gut.

I am not sure exactly how to address the situation. Have you guys dealt with a situation where tenant is having hardship and cannot afford to pay rent and how did you guys deal with it?

Thanks much!

[Joe Splitrock]

It is pretty common nowadays for people to setup a GoFundMe for funeral expenses. Ask her for a link to the GoFundMe, which should contain the obituary and name. I would personally donate $100 to the GFM account. Tell the tenant they will need to pay rent on time each month to the business. If she doesn't have a GFM account for his funeral, she is missing an opportunity to raise thousands and needs to set one up. As others suggested, look for charities that will help with either rent, the funeral or both. 

Just be firm that rent must be paid. Even if she has a big funeral bill, she may need to slow pay or no that bill and prioritize rent. She can get evicted from her rental property, but funeral plots are forever. 

My first eviction, the judge asked my tenant why she had not paid rent. She said that she had to pay her car insurance. He said that was your choice, why would you prioritize car insurance? Maybe you can live in your car. At the time I thought it sounded harsh, but it was actually practical and good advice. If you have $1000 to your name and $5000 in bills, you have to make choices. Housing should always be #1.