Posted by George on December 30, 1998 at 12:52:22:
Your comments are understandable and I won’t “slap you down” for them. I did see that Montel show you spoke about and although I don’t believe the house was actually just given to her, that’s not the point. Montel did say “she may be able to own it in a year”.
Anyway, I’m probably more humanitarian than most, maybe to the point of “xxxx” (sorry, I was censored here!). We donate to an orphanage, we always donate to local charities and I’ve been understanding when tenants run into a problem. The key is the tenants EFFORTS. Some simply forget to send the check and if you don’t remind them, they’ll forget forever. My partner and I worked a deal with a particular tenant because he got paid on the 30th, we gave him a couple days grace period. But he kept up his end of the deal. This is a business. It is the way I pay my bills. It’s not like the property is paid off and I’m putting $500 in my bank account, so what if it’s a few days late. My mortgage is due, my taxes are due, I have to pay repairmen, etc.
My very first tenant taught me a lesson. Single mother with 5 kids, (she came with the house). One month, late rent with late fee. Next month, late rent, I had to call, check’s in the mail (no late fee). Next month, late rent, I had to call, she asked if she could pay 1/2 the rent twice a month. Okay, I’ll work with you. On due date, I got 1/4 of the rent. Check bounced. I went to bank to present check for collections, saw her balance on screen. Went to the house (by now phone disconnected), she apologized and wrote me a new check. I told her it wasn’t good, she insisted it was (remember, I knew her balance). So we did the eviction thing. It was as amicable as I could make it. She was still in my house. I asked if there was oil in tank as it was in January. She said yes. I told her that I would fill the tank if they needed heat (hindsight says I probably should have anyway, but she assured me she had oil). Went to court, she didn’t show, judge ruled in my favor and gave me a judgement for $2200 (lots of luck collecting it). She still gets to stay another 30 days until I have to go back to court for “possession”. Possession is granted, now I have to wait until the constable makes appointment to throw her out. Anyway, he serves her with 5 day notice or 10 days whatever it was and she leaves the day before her eviction. House is trashed, no heat, frozen pipes, flooded basement, etc. Sorry, it’s business and must be treated as such.
but that’s none of their business !