All Forum Posts by: Jerome Keizer

     So this may be an oversight but the National Guard falls under Department Of Defense. I am also an Active Guardsman and Department of Defense has a budget and we are being paid. The only Military Branch affected is the Coast Guard who falls under Department of Homeland Security. 

      I know others have said this is a business, but part of running a business is keeping turnover rates down. Evicting will cost you more than late rent. You should still charge late rent fees but if the tenant is in the Coast Guard I would just explain in writing that due to the government shut down rent will still be late but no eviction will be started until ten days after an agreement is reached. It should take about ten days for pay to be submitted.

     Side note for all of the hard core business minded individuals. Coast Guard men and woman are under Contract and cannot just quit and find another job. They can be charged and jailed for this. Should they have money saved? Sure, but 10% of their wages over a year will not cover most rents. And the tide can be turned on you also saying shouldn't you have enough in reserve to cover your vacancy?   

     Just my two cents!

@Jerome Keizer there was a similar post that got a lot of rrsponses on both sides of the fence, some saying start the late fees, then eventually the eviction process like you would do with any other tenant, then others posted that since it's already approved that all the Fed's will get back-pay, you'll be wasting your time and money, especially if the shutdown ends in a couple of weeks.

The unknown is will this end in a few weeks or a few months, what do you do if it's a few months, Are you willing to cover the cost at that point?

If it's a great tenant personally I'd wait it out.

I saw a financial news segment discussing that all the big banks, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, USAA, etc... are all holding off on collecting mortgage payments, credit card payments, personal loans, etc... for up to 3 months and not charging any late fees or reporting any negative hits to the credit bureaus if you're a Fed and being affected by the shutdown.

While we're not big banks, they have the same mindset that I do, it's cheaper, less time consuming, and in the interest of the long-term relationship to work with the customer. If it were a job where the tenant wasn't guaranteed the back pay that would be a different story.

Hello Jerome, 

Tell us, how many units do you have in total?, where in Hawaii is this a small/big city.  The reality is, the rent is one of if not his most important bills he has to pay.  Its up to you to decide, he can easily put off his other bills, and tell them what he's telling you.  Does the tenant pay for electricity water etc... More info please, thanks