Collecting Rent During A Pandemic

[Todd Baldwin]

Hello fellow investors!

I have seen many landlords who have missed at least one month's rent in 2020. Some landlords have missed several months worth of rent. I know a few real estate investors who have "forgiven" rent, and others who have dropped rates in hopes that tenants pay. 

In 2020, I collected 100% of the rent that I was owed. I didn't discount any units, I didn't forgive any rent, and I certainly don't have any tenants who are several months behind. 

I have 35 tenants, and some of them were laid off due to Covid. Many of them lost hours, and in Seattle where I live, #cancelrent is trending on Instagram and Twitter. 

So how on earth did I not miss a single month of rent in 2020?

I spent hours researching municipalities, non profits, and government programs that assist with housing. 

There are a TON of programs out there that will pay rent on behalf of your tenant if your tenant has lost their job, or even if they are still employed but they have reduced hours. 

One non-profit that I called is a local church in my area. The man I spoke to paid December's rent for one of my tenants. He told me that in his 20 years of working there, he has never gotten a phone call from a landlord on behalf of a tenant. Moral of the story is the money is out there, you just have to call around to find it. 

I have another tenant here in Seattle who is in between jobs. He is currently unemployed, BUT he starts at a new job, a great job in fact, at the end of January. He asked me if he could pay January's rent on January 24th. I don't know about you guys, but I hate getting rent late, and with Covid you legally cannot collect any late fees. So I called the human resources department of the city that my tenant lives in. I explained that he is currently out of work and he won't have a new job until the end of January. The city got back to me right away, and they are paying for his rent for the month of January!! 

What that means to me is that I get my rent on time. What that means to my tenant is he isn't falling behind on rent, and he has some breathing room as he begins his new career. 

The problem is most landlords don't know these programs exist, so they forgive rent, they offer discounts, or they just go without collecting it, putting their tenants at risk of eviction once all that back rent becomes due. 

If you have a tenant struggling to pay you, cold call every non profit and government program in your area. The money is there.