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Re: Late fee - how to collect - Landlord Forum thread 181418

Re: Late fee - how to collect by Anonymous on July 7, 2009 @23:36

                              
I personally always end up waiving my late fees. I explain I dont want to make money on late fees, I want rent paid on time. The late fees is to punish late paying tenants. Then I usually get the rent on time after that.

Either way I would never charge a late fee on a day or two late. I am not friends with my tenants but I do want them to enjoy living in my house not have a gruge until they eventually move out.

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Re: Late fee - how to collect by Anonymous on July 8, 2009 @09:46 [ Reply ]
If you always waive your late fees, some tenant is going to eventually figure this out. Then your rent will come later and later. Finally it may not come at all. (Hey, if he won't charge me the late fee, maybe he won't evict me either!) Some tenant is going to figure this out. Then he'll push it to the limit. By that time, you won't be able to enforce the late fees since you have always waived them. You have set a precedent that the late fees in your agreement are void. Not a good thing. They'll enjoy living in your house rent free all right. Enforce the clauses of your lease. If you don't, you have no credibility.
    Re: Late fee - how to collect by Anonymous on July 8, 2009 @16:10 [ Reply ]
    You have to approach this on a case by case basis. My tenant was late with the very first months rent. This in itself is not good. The excuse was that the Post Office didn't deliver it in time. She said they told her they would deliver it the same day! No carrier offers same day delivery of a letter, not FedEx, not UPS and not the USPS. I asked her why did you wait until the last minute to mail it? Answer, bla, bla, bla. I didn't buy this BS so I enforced the late fee. Couple months later she gives me a NSF check for the rent. This time it was the bank's fault, yeah sure. Late fee again. She was sore about this because it was not her fault, but the bank's fault. Couple months later, you guessed it. Late again. Why? Her purse was stolen in the Walmart parking lot. Duh!
      Re: Late fee - how to collect by Anonymous on July 9, 2009 @00:53 [ Reply ]
      You CAN'T approach this on a case by case basis. Not unless you want one tenant compaining that you enforced it against him, but not against some other tenant that paid late. I can see a cry of discrimination already. (how do you prove that you weren't discriminating against the person you failed to waive it?) If they pay late, they are assessed a late fee. If there are true extenuating circumstances, you send a letter that says due to those you will waive the fee this time ONLY but they will be enforced in the future. This way you don't set a precedent where you can never charge a late fee.
Re: Late fee - how to collect by # 1 M-bone on July 8, 2009 @11:36 [ Reply ]
My tenants know that I would rather have the rent on time than to get an extra 10% because I tell them that. If they must pay late, then they must be accountable and pay the late fee. You as the landlord do not take the blame because your tenant can't pay their rent on time. You have to teach them that they have to blame themselves for their own mishandeling of their own finances. How are you the bad guy and why would you feel that tenants should hold a grudge and blame you because you enforce what your lease says?

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