I have, at my sole discretion, waived the late fee as a one-time courtesy to a tenant whom (a) is in good standing and has paid promptly for at least a year, (b) has informed me in advance that the rent would be late, and (c) pays up within a few days after the late fee would have kicked in.Whenever rent is not received, I start right away with a rent demand letter and proceed with the eviction process on the first day it is permissible by statute, even if the tenant eventually pays (including collection costs). 

Think metros with diverse employers, C to B neighborhoods, and predictable permitting.

But on the off chance that it's not an advertisement, and you're really wondering how to avoid thousands of dollars worth of losses on tenants - screen well, keep rents at or slightly below market rates, maintain and repair your properties promptly as needed, be a responsive landlord, and don't deal in C and below properties and you're probably as close to guaranteed as you can be. "...this post sounds like the beginning of every other advertisement..."

You will not cashflow without 30%+ DP, at which point your C/CROI will be abysmal, and your BRRRR impossible.Prove me wrong.

Unless you want to run your property into the ground, keep up the preventive maintenance.Unfortunately, most investors don't want to pay for this, so ask PMCs to require tenants to do - which most don't (especially Class C & D tenants!).

If you apply Class A assumptions to a Class C or D property - disaster!

A lot of the challenges with PMCs is not the management, it's unrealistic expectations of newbie investors buying Class C rentals, unrealistically expecting Class A results:(Of course, almost half the PMCs in the area:1) Aren't properly licensed2) Don't have a viable website (saw one with just a Facebook page last week!) 

Easiest entry is a live‑in light rehab with clear exits in a C to B area.

, pets stay FREE(0 bookings)Property C - Strict to FLEXIBLE Cancellation, pets stay FREE(11 bookings, 2 inquires)Property D - Control, no changes (STRICT cancellation, no pets)(1 inquiry)ALL properties I made sure "opportunities" where near max (office space with a comfy chair, etc)It's really interesting that I opened up pets to 3 of them, 2 of them I added flexible cancellation and the ones with flexible cancellation SOARED.Had nothing to do with me as a host, or my properties.

Now we're seeing investors pouring money into buying Class C rentals - but, many are getting burned.In our experience & opinion, the main determinant of property Class is not location or even property condition, those are #2 and #3.