First rental heartache

[Matthijs Pol]

Well I found out the hard way why Landlords sell a house with renters in it. I purchased a 3/1 bedroom in Memphis last year. The cashflow was great everything made sense. I did my due diligence everything looked great. My renter paid her first month rent on time, then the second month the renter was late. When my management company reached out the renter said that she got a new job and could not pay unit the 23d of December. I am trying to be a good landlord and give her some grace and said it was ok to pay on the 23d. You guessed it, she hasn't paid since. I am trying to evict her but the court is very backed up. Not sure what else I can do, I just hope she will be kicked out soon. I have learned my lesson and will not allowed any other renter to be late anymore. I will not deter me from buying more rentals but it sure sucks for it being my first rental. I learned my lesson. 

[Niyi Adewole]

Keep your head up @Matthijs Pol ! It happens to the best of us man. The key to investing is to stay in for the long term, try not to focus on the "tree", zoom out and see the "Forest from the trees". 

If it makes you feel any better, 5 years into my investing career i actually had a tenant do something similiar during the 2020 pandemic year. They paid for 2 months upfront and a security deposit, did not pay for the next 6 months and we were not allowed to evict due to the pandemic. This storm will pass