5 - Games Tenants Play.

At some stage in our lives we all believe in magic, the supernatural, mystical creatures. Most of us grow out of this, and Santa Claus is replaced with the claws of having to take care of ourselves, as we get older.

There are some people though, usually long term renters that think they are the first people to play games when they don’t wish to honor the terms and conditions of leases. These games always involve the same dialogue and it goes like this:

“So and so NEVER fixes ANYTHING”
“I have been asking him to fix “X” forever!”
“You NEVER EVER respond to ANYTHING.
“You NEVER said the rent was due on date “x”
When a Landlord can show a paper trail of consistently and progressively doing the right thing, those words “never” ever and “forever” can easily be diffused in an argument or in court.

Play the game, don’t be the game!

Experience dictates that once you understand a tenant’s lifestyle, you are better armed to prepare to fight a battle you hope to never have. If your property is an older multifamily for instance, have specifics about what can and cannot go down the toilet or sinks. In an area of limited off street parking, detail where and how to park. If there are common areas, identify them and determine who keeps the area clean and how.

Avoid the creepy crawlies on paper, and the six-legged ones will be avoided on the floor and elsewhere.

Tolerance of late rent and habits.

When a tenant pays rent late more than once, there is usually more to it than meets the eye. The biggest black eye is a habitually late paying tenant has other issues...and you just happen to be caught in the web... less of deception and more of priorities.

Your approach to this problem is a systematic consistent solution of charging a late fee every time and being proactive in starting the bits and pieces of an eviction process no matter what. This is a very hard pill to swallow. It is not normal in everyday conversation to say, “hand me money or I will disrupt your life and make you move all your worldly belongings to the street.”

For a new landlord this change in mindset (yours) can seem to bother you. Unfortunately, when you receive a foreclosure letter from the bank, or your personal credit gets dinged you tend to be less tolerant the next time.

It is better to define your process of doing business and live by it. This is your livelihood, not a “feel good”. Feel good AFTER all bills are paid.

Your extrovert habits should not be your behavior as Landlordism King or Queen

Make your tenants friends somewhat, not lovers. This happens more than most people are willing to admit. A friend moves in, and then you loosen your belt on the lease, etc.

Friends, family and those with whom we have an intimate relationship generally create the biggest problems for a landlord. Frequently, they cost you money more in terms of lost potential higher rents from others while the mental anguish associated with banter when they break the rules, break your process and break your bank. Don’t mix tenancy with clemency.