Tenants and Late Fees
So recently, a light bulb went on in my head while talking with a tenant on the phone. Now I know that some of the more experienced property managers ( Jessica ) will say, “Well, duh!” but humor me for a second.
Here’s the background: Basically, the tenant called me to tell me that because of a recent tropical storm that affected our area, both she and her husband lost two days of work. As a result, they would not able to pay the rent on time.
I should mention that once before she called freaking out because her rent payment was due and she thought that it would be late. She wanted to “come by” to drop it off.
As an aside, under no circumstances am I allowing tenants to come to my home (where my office is) to drop anything off. I reiterated the payment terms including late fees and then … let her off the hook. THAT ONE TIME ONLY.
This time, she asked me to let her know what the late fees would be, even though it’s plainly stated in the lease….and that was it.
Then she mentioned how the neighbors were very happy with them because they were cutting the grass regularly and were nice people, etc, etc. My thought is that she was trying to get me to cut her another break on the late fees.
From now on, there’s a new policy in my properties: EVERYONE PAYS LATE FEES.
Sooner or later, these people will learn to keep some cash in reserve for a rainy day, no pun intended. And they will also figure out that I can’t go to the bank when my mortgage is due and say, “Well they’re really nice people….so I cut them a break….can you cut me a break?” Duh!
