All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

You probably should have worded your question differently.  What you should have said was, "I have a tenant that's been with me for 2 years.  She takes really good care of the place, but she's going to be 900 short this month, and states she's having a hard time making rent every month" What should I do?".  Notice I left the word "great" out of the question.

If I restated your actual question, it would read like this:  "I have a tenant that I've had for 2 years that takes really good care of the place.  Unfortunately, I have to pay 900 of her rent this month, and I find out I've come close to having to come up with part of her rent for a number of the previous months.  What should I do?"  Notice the word "great" is still missing.

Well heck Cameron, let's really get things fixed up here because tell ya what, I'm more then happy to rent any/all of your properties and I'll be an even greater tenant; I'll happily strive to pay you half of your rents because, well as chance has it I'm also saving up to buy another place, always, lol.... 

And ah, yeah, I'll keep em in excellent condition to. I mean, I'm gonna rent em and take full rent's but hey, long as I'm almost paying your rent it's ok, right. 

 Tenants don't ask specifically, they hint they will leave if you don't do something.    The only out of the box solution, is to use her deposit this month, and increase her rent $50-100.

@Cameron H. She isn't a great tenant anymore if she can't pay the rent. This is the beginning of the end.

@Account Closed I know you said it wasnt directed at me but either way I'm not sure what you are looking for. There are dozens of professional landlords here who read what you said and took the time out to share their perspectives with you. Everyone was trying to help. If you cant handle the responses you dont like and are only receptive to the ones that make you feel good, clearly BP aint for you. However, if you want honest and professional opinions from hundreds of years of collective working knowledge,  than this is the place. Man, I wish I had this spot when I was first starting out. People here have took those lumps and are assisting others in clearing hurdles. I  wish you the best but this is a rough biz and you may not always get something exactly how you wish to hear it. With all due respect, so far I have not seen one BS response. 

@Account Closed,

This is a slippery slope of complaining, and she is hoping you will lower rent.     Let me just say, of all the tenants I have thought were "great tenants" ... only 10% did I think that after they moved out and I saw the turnover.     90%, I just thought.. oh wow,  all you did was actually pay on time. 

I'd absolutely let her out of the lease, and suggest she find some place more affordable.   It's not your job to solve her problems.

Do you have any properties with cheaper rent?

In this supposed 'greatest economy ever' I've had a few tenants within the past week tell me they won't be renewing because they can't afford it. One tenant is moving in with friends (he did ask if I had a 3-4 bedroom and I have several but neither will be ready in time) and the other tenant just had a baby so I don't know if she's moving in with her boyfriend or what's going on but sadly things like this will occur more and more often in this economy. 

In the past I have always functioned in the class D space which meant its challenging at times to get very good tenants. They are out there but you have to weed through a lot to get them. Because of this, I'm forced to give all kinds of breaks and leeway. I'm naturally a nice person so its not that hard for me. I just depends on the situation. However, without question you are setting yourself up for a problem here. Any experience landlord here, can see what you presented and will clearly tell you its a problem. Like many said, it wont get better. You are running a business, not a charity. If she cant pay her rent you go find the next great tenant who can. Believe me, everyone has a story of why its so hard and why they cant pay. You allow this, it will be a story every month which equates to you paying. If you desire to pay her rent than oh well, but try to tell Well Fargo or the Nisssan dealer its hard to pay your note and see if they let you keep the asset. 

Let her go before this turns into a disaster. She already sounds a little "off-center" and I suspect she's not as perfect as you think she is.