All Forum Posts by: J. Wang

@Jiebing Wang, what's a few days matter? You're getting your rent, let it go and be grateful. You sound like you are resentful she doesn't have an acceptable excuse for paying late but you would be ok with the situation if you felt sorry for her. The only thing that matters is your income. You have better ways to exercise your emotions and feelings. And better ways to spend your time.

Have you ever considered using a management company to handle your rental so that you don't have to be burdened with minutia?

@Jiebing Wang

I have a few tenants.  One pays electronically before the first, the other pays electronically usually on the 5th.  Now, I don't get perturbed about payments up to the 5th because my mortgage payment doesn't come out until the 8th.  But, if it upsets you, you could reward the behavior that you want.  If your rent is $1,000/mo then knock $10 off if they setup electronic payment and pay by the 1st.  If it is not by the 1st, then the cost is $1,000.  Most banks subscribe to a service that offers ACH payments.  I like to have payments deposited into an upfront account, then I transfer to another account with the same bank for a little measure of safety.  The service the tenant uses sends a text message to my phone saying tenant has paid.  It usually shows up in my account the next day. 

One of the other things that I do when I have done my screening and we sign the lease is that I give them a short one-page document that explains why I charge $50 for a late fee and goes through a short calculation showing the price of the price of the house and an interest rate.  I describe that they are borrowing a $130,000 asset.  When the regular rent is not in place, the normal payment is not covered, I'm losing $31/week (@5% interest), not to mention that if I have a rent payment coming out of a bank account, I have to scramble to make sure I have it covered.  If I'm not paid by that next week then there is a bigger problem.  I've had a tenant that had two months in a row where he made the late payment.  He has a good job, but they had a large car repair bill and the next month another situation came up.  The next month he was back on track.  Each time he was late, he sent advance notice to me and said that he would send the $50.  It sets the expectation.  I've been leasing properties for 12 years and it seems to work for me.

@J. Wang I'm curious...do you really need the money on the first that bad? Or is more of a control issue....?

A few thoughts: 

Check your state law regarding pay or quits before rent is considered late by state law. Your lease can say the 1st, but the state might not recognize it until the 6th.

Tenants will be tenants. They will pay late, give you headaches, that's part of it.

I did the same thing a few years ago regarding placing a tenant that had an eviction. She was so nice, said the eviction was placed on her by her mother in law during her divorce as a way to get back at her. She seemed so sincere so I rented to her. Enter: Professional tenant. Despite everything I read about real estate and landlording, sometimes it takes $ to learn a lesson. 

@J. Wang  Ok so we have this same law in RI, no late fee until the 5th, most tenants still pay on the 1st.  For one tenant I had to put in the lease any payment not received before Close of business on the 5th is received on the next business day. I also informed him that he could continue pay as he did but when his next potential landlord contacted me I would report the facts, that payments were due on the first and what dates they were received so just because I could not charge a late fee that didn't mean he wasn't late.  He was better after that but he was a PIA on everything too.  I never did hear from another landlord when we decided to part ways.

On maintenance I would just set your standards and stop talking to her. Less emotional discussion the better.

@J. Wang  Change your lease to have rent post and be due on the 25th of the month prior. Charge late fees as of the 2nd of the month. You will receive rent on the 1st. This is how my lease is written....I comply with all local late fee laws and still get rent on the 1st (Las Vegas has a 3 day law and I technically give 6 days). I've been doing this for 10+ years. Simple fix to outsmart the chronic late payers. An added bonus is receiving rent earlier than the 1st: I would say 50% of my tenants pay on the 25th and another 40% pay prior to the end of the month. About 10% actually pay on the 1st. Simply brilliant. @Russell Brazil Can you tell I love my chosen field? I seriously used to play property management/office as a kid. Other girls played family or school and I played office. lol

@J. Wang

Just to add another example...  I've had tenants who pay late, but consistently pay..  I have one for close to a dozen years I just expected their payment to come around the 8th...  They are nice people, "elderly," which explains the slight delay in payment.  Actually, one spouse just passed away a few months ago.  I keep getting paid and they don't give me any trouble.  I'm getting paid so what does it matter...  Sometimes, not always, a little bit of understanding goes a long way...  Good luck.

In my business - as well as my clients' - rent is due on the 1st.  The 1st.  There is no acceptable grace period.  None.  This is made clear before the lease is signed, in the lease, and in a "Welcome Letter" - all that require it and payment via electronic delivery only.  When you allow a tenant to pay late, a precedent has been set.  If you moved to evict her, she would have a valid claim that she ALWAYS paid her rent before the 5th but not on the 1st and you accepted it every time until now.  The problem in the eyes of the court, and many others, is that you as the Landlord changed the covenant as evidenced by your behavior.  My recommendation is to not prize late fees and late payments are indicative of an inability or unwillingness to pay as agreed.  If she doesn't pay on the 1st, post a Notice To Quit on the 2nd.  Be specific in it that the lease states payment is due on the 1st and that she has violated the agreement repeatedly and it will not be tolerated further.  Manage to the lease.  The American Apartment Association's research that the majority of landlords who fail do so because they failed to enforce their own leases.  Pretty telling...

You're getting too emotional and taking this too personally.

She is technically wrong; rent is due on the first. However, she can legally pay late and you have no recourse, so why get worked up over it? If she pays on the 5th, accept it. If she pays on the 6th, charge the late fee. If she pays on the 12th or whatever, start your eviction process. It's a business, not training your child on how to be a good citizen.

A good business will be responsive to maintenance requests. Don't start playing games with her to punish her for what you consider bad behavior. Be a good business owner and maybe you'll teach her to be a good tenant.

On the other hand, I would not tolerate a Tenant berating me. That would generate a simple letter requesting she speak to me respectfully. When she's close to lease termination, make it very clear you won't renew her lease because of the late payments and other behavior and move on.