Thursday, May 1, 2008

Where Is My Rent Check?

Once again the first of the month is here and I don't have a rent check from my renters. I shouldn't have to call and remind them every month. Maybe I should send a bill. The contract states that there is a $50 late charge. I need to enforce that. Of course, this is one of the things that I hate about being a landlord. I don't want to be their mother. I don't want to have to remind them. I don't want to be responsible for their actions if they do something bad. I don't want to clean up after them. This is a wonderful learning experience. I wanted to know what being a landlord was like and now I do. I also know that I don't like it. I will be very glad when I can sell this house or payoff the mortgage and maybe be able to afford a property manager to do the dirty work. Maybe in 5 years or less, if all goes well and my renters pay their rent.

3 comments:

traineeinvestor said...

You should not have to remind the tenant to pay rent. It's a monumental pain to have to check the bank account each month to see who paid and who didn't (especially if you have more than one property as they will all have different payment dates) and then chase the latepayers. It also ties up money as you have to leave a float in the bank account to ensure that the mortgage payments go through.

I now include a clause in my standard lease requring payment by auto-pay. Since then, only one tenant who is not on autopay has been habitually late.

I'm afraid that some wear and tear is inevitable and a cost of being a landlord. I find that I always have to arrange a cleaner to spend half a day cleaning up an apartment between tenants as well as doing some monor repair jobs. It's just part of being a property owner.

I started

Sick of Debt said...

I would recommend going the auto-pay method as well, possibly making an amendment to the current lease. (Seek legal advice on this first)

You will need to charge the $50, otherwise it is not a problem for them to keep doing it.

Daizy said...

They did mention that a bank transfer arrangement would be easier for them. It would be easier for me too. I hate depositing checks.