property management question - Posted by eric-fl
Posted by eric-fl on December 04, 2000 at 16:36:42:
okay. I’ve admitted my weakness (inexperience) in this area before. I have a SFH I have rented out to a young couple. My first straight rental property. I screened them very thoroughly, and they checked out. Credit reports, employment references, landlord references. I set them up on a draft program with Versacheck and gave them a discount so that I could print off the checks for the rent. Rent is due on the first.
So the tenant calls me today, the 4th, and says the money is not in there. She says she had it in there, but another bill hit sooner than she thought, so now she is under the amount. I actually hadn’t drafted it yet, lucky for her (and me). She asked if she could have it to me by thursday, the 7th. This is only her second month in the property. I told her I’d give her until then. I explained to her that the expectation is that it’s there on the first, and why that was so (checks clearing, etc.) I think she genuinely did not understand how all this worked, as this was her first checking account, and she only got the account to participate in the draft, since it meant a small discount. I waived the late fee that I could have charged ($25). I explained to her that from now on, the first means the first, and if she is late again, I will assess the late charge (and I really will, I promise).
My question is this: Was I too lenient? It’s my first rental, and her first SFH rental (she was in apartment complexes). I’m afraid I was - I want to keep a business relationship, and keep her expectations realistic. But I don’t want to seem unreasonable. I will be sure to assess the late fee in the future, but I guess I had a “one time exception” philosophy. Also, I have an ace in the hole, I have the last month’s rent already, so I can always use that if she’s not whole by Thursday. If it comes to that, of course I’ll begin The Process. Ugh. Comments welcome.
