“Moderation in all things,
especially moderation.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Over the years as a Charlotte property
manager, I’ve gotten a lot of calls from landlords who tell some version of
this story:
We had placed a family of
tenants into our rental home and everything was going great! They paid on time for the first 8 months and
were really a joy to interact with. I
mean, Brett, when minor repairs were needed around the house, they took care of
it at their own expense- they would just call and ask if it was okay with us if
they made the repairs! They really were
a beautiful family; you should just see their youngest daughter, Cybil- she
reminded me of my granddaughter! But, I
digress…
The problems started when they
were late in July. Apparently there was
some mix-up with accounting at their work and the paychecks weren’t cut
correctly that month. I was okay with it
(things happen); they wound up paying on the 15th that month and I
didn’t charge them the late fee that I could have. They assured me this was a one-time thing and
they wouldn’t be late again.
August 1st came and
went and there was no rent. When I
called to ask about it, I started getting voicemail. Two weeks went by and I was wondering if I
needed to start thinking about evicting them, but then they returned my call. They said their car had broken down which
left them without transportation to work, so they had to choose to pay for the
car repair instead of rent (you can’t earn money to pay rent if you can’t get
to work). They said that was also why
they didn’t call me back immediately; they didn’t have the funds to pay their
cell phone bills either. After apologizing
profusely, they asked if they could wait until the 1st of September
to pay. “Of course,” I said.
September 1st came
and we got a check for about a quarter of the rent (for August). They said the rest would come from the
paycheck on the 15th. When the
15th came, they called to explain that it was either paying back
rent or paying the light bill, and the children couldn’t live without
heat. And they also had to pay for
Cybil’s dance recital which she had been looking forward to all year. “Our kids need to come first.” Then they told me what a great landlord I was
and said they were so appreciative of my understanding.
Brett, this story goes on, but
I’ll bottom line it for you. The tenants
are 5 months behind and I am beside myself and out of patience. I wish they would just get caught up! Where do I go from here?
First of all, there is nothing
wrong with being a nice, understanding person.
We have enough jerks in the world.
And what’s done is done; it’s a sunk cost and it’s time to deal with the
facts on the ground.
If the tenants are 5 months
behind, it’s time to evict. There is no
way that they can get caught up at this point.
Find an eviction attorney (ask a property manager for a recommendation
if you need one) and get the ball rolling ASAP.
In NC, you could be looking at 6-8 weeks if the tenants prolong the
process (and possibly longer if they know how to play the game). You need to get your house back and stop the
bleeding.
A caveat- I don’t ever want to
evict anyone. It’s expensive, it’s
time-consuming, and it is a lose-lose-lose proposition (owner/property
manager/tenant). At lease signings, I
communicate to tenants that if they are having payment issues (life happens),
to contact me immediately so we can work something out. Whether that means a payment plan, negotiated
vacancy, or something else, we need to talk it out and negotiate a workable
plan. We’ve worked things with tenants
in the past that has made the best out of a difficult situation. Everybody needs a place to live.
But we’ll never get to 5 months
of non-payment. It just can’t
happen. Sympathy, at that point, turns
into taking advantage of home owners, which isn’t fair.
Though every tenancy situation is
different, there are a few non-negotiable parameters:
1. Non-payment can never get past 30 days. That’s 2 pay periods and past the point of
return for most tenants.
2. If a payment or negotiated vacancy plan is
agreed upon, it is set in stone. If the
plan is breached (for any reason), eviction must be filed.
3. Don’t take it personally. Rental properties are a business and
sometimes business stinks.
I am all for sympathy. But with rental homes, sympathy can kill your
business if not used with moderation.
Brett Furniss is the head property manager of BDF Realty
(Charlotte
Residential Property Management), the trusted real estate advisor for Charlotte
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