All Forum Posts by: Karen Johnson

Thank you. Perhaps that will increase their "motivation". :)

Yes, in this situation she is past the grace period and not seeming that committed to making things right (regardless of added fees, which I reminded her of before she actually became delinquent). That is why I think I need to take some more decisive action.

I do have late fees. I give a grace period after which the late fees kick in. She has generally paid before the grace period expires, so I have not had reason to charge it.

Thanks for all the advice. I will contact the tenant one last time to advise that I am issuing the pay or quit notice and will be starting eviction proceedings at the end of this week if they do not resolve the issue (and I will be following through on that). I will also post the notice to enter, and arrange to visit the property for an inspection in short order. And thank you for the tip to check on their utility payments. I will work on that as well. I like the very specific verbiage used to discuss the tenant's ability to pay rent as and when due, and I will be using that. Thanks also for the link to the evictionsunlimited.com site.

Regarding the grace period - I do realize it's working against me (I might as well just make the rent due on the 5th), so I'm no longer going to include that in future leases. I gave flexible options for payments including ACH, but I didn't anticipate a need for it with these tenants given their financial situation. My mistake, and I will not make that mistake again.

Regarding the month to month lease in the winter - I initially had no intention of re-renting the property when the tenant's lease was up due to certain circumstances that arose. Given that, I was comfortable extending to a month-to-month lease and the ensuing vacancy. However, things have changed and I have decided to continue renting and so no, it was not the best choice to make. I am not under pressure to re-rent the property though, and I am well positioned for a time of vacancy if it should arise. All that being said, I wouldn't make the same decision if faced with this choice again.

Hello,

I have a tenant who is consistently late on rent payments, but usually pays before the 5 day grace period expires (after one or more reminders from me). This month, she has yet to pay the rent. After multiple reminders, she finally responded to me yesterday to say she would be paying the rent when she got to work. However, the rent is STILL not paid. We use Chase QuickPay, so it's not a question of the check being in the mail. To add some color - tenant is financially in good shape (or at least they were when I rented them the property) and I don't believe cash flow is an issue for them generally speaking. However, they are currently month-to-month and planning to buy a house at the end of the year. Pure speculation on my part, but I suspect they may be trying to garner enough funds to complete the purchase of their new home. I have no facts to back this up, but the longer she takes to make payment, the more I think this is it. She's historically been quite communicative regarding rent, so this time feels a bit different since she has not been as responsive.

I've written a pay or quit notice and was planning to give a little more grace (until the weekend) before dropping it off in person at the property. Am I putting myself at a disadvantage by waiting the few more days, or does it really not matter at this point? Property is in Philadelphia. The notice states they have 10 days to pay or quit, which I think is the right duration for this jurisdiction. Should I reach out to her again to try and get her to pay or just deliver the notice and if she pays great otherwise move forward with eviction process? And finally, if anyone has general advice regarding where to find the latest and most accurate information on evictions in my area, I'd be grateful for the help (and I'll take advice about these types of situations in general). Thanks!

PS - In case it makes a difference - the lease expired in August and tenant is now month-to-month. I visited the development a few days ago for unrelated reasons and I know that they are still in the property.

Thanks @Sylvia B.

Thanks @Bill Gulley .

Hello,

I had to perform some repairs to my roof and ceiling due to ice damming. Am I required to issue a 1099 to the contractor if the cost is covered by insurance? To be clear, insurance cut me the check and then I paid the contractor from the funds issued. I am asking in preparation for next year. I didn't realize that landlords were required to file 1099s and I don't want to be as unprepared next year as I was (am) this year. Also, if anyone can recommend some good tax related books for landlords, that would be great. I only have 1 property and am not really planning to get any more in the near future.

Thank you.

I bank with Chase and use their epay system. No exchange of account information and no fees in either direction. The tenant does not have to be a chase customer, but they do have to sign up for epay. They can set up whatever account they like for payment.

Thanks for all the different perspectives guys. I appreciate the food for thought. I think as long as everything else checks out, I will be willing to rent to them.