Please e-mail us if you have any questions or would like to add or share any material / information. Have a great month and Happy Holidays!
John Nuzzolese
John@theLPA.com

I know lots of landlords who think it is a good will gesture to deliver a turkey for Thanksgiving or a bottle for the Holidays to their tenants. Please don't get me wrong, but I learned a long time ago that it is not a good idea to get in the habit of giving gifts to tenants. Many of you know what I mean. Tenants normally think they deserve the gifts you give them. Then they expect them each year. What if you don't give a gift to your tenant after you gave him something the previous year? There may be hard feelings on the tenant's part. After all, they feel it is their hard earned rent money that you are using to buy their gift along with all the other comforts you enjoy in life.

So, if you must reward your tenant for paying the rent as agreed, why not make it worth your while too? Let the tenant earn your gift by paying the rent early.

FREE Download Early Payment Voucher Early Payment Voucher Use your computer's word processor to edit the amount of rental discount.

The tenant doesn't pay?

Nonpayment of rent is obviously one of the biggest problems facing landlords. It always was and probably will continue to be. But for now, we can take steps to minimize losses when rent isn't paid.

Nonpayment of rent doesn't always mean the rent was not paid. A partial rent payment creates an unpaid portion. In many leases, including The LPA Lease, past due charges such as unpaid late fees are deemed payable as "added rent". Unpaid Added Rent is the same as unpaid Rent, valid grounds for eviction.

If you need to collect unpaid rent, there is a legal process that must be followed.

When rent is not paid on time, the landlord should be prepared to take action like an automated robot, to collect before too much time passes. Don't be strung along by the tenant waiting for some windfall that may never come.

1. Late Rent Notice - Be prompt in issuing your tenant a late notice when the rent is not paid by the end of the rent grace period. (That is the date rent becomes late - in my lease it is after the 5th day after due date). I always recommend using a late notice that informs the tenant of late fees. (As long as your lease provides for late fees) I also think it's a good idea to let the tenant know that you or your management company operate on a schedule and the clock is always ticking each month.
2. Phone call - If after you haven't received the rent or a response from the tenant within a reasonable time (2-4 days after sending/delivering the Late Notice), give the tenant a call to find out what is wrong. This can be done before the late notice is sent if you like. Give the tenant a "heads up" that the late fees can build daily. Also inform the tenant that on ____, 2007 the account automatically goes to the attorney's office for eviction proceedings plus the attorneys fee will be added to the balance owed (if your lease provides for attorney fees like mine does.)
3. Eviction Notice / Attorneys Letter - I prefer to send an attorney's warning letter (optional) instructing the tenant to pay all rent and late fees before actually commencing eviction in court. I send it along with a Notice to Pay Rent or Quit, Demand for Payment. (Ask your attorney to prepare a warning letter for pre-eviction situations.)
4. Eviction Process - If the cure time in your eviction notice expires and the tenant has not paid, you must be ready to go forward with a court eviction. If you are unfamiliar with the process of evicting a tenant, I highly recommend you use a lawyer who is experienced in landlord tenant eviction cases. Unless you are an attorney or an expert at landlord tenant law, it is not a good idea to do it yourself the first time.

When the tenant doesn't pay the rent, it is a serious matter not to be ignored. Many of us prefer to give the tenant another day and keep hoping that nothing is wrong because we don't want to believe anything is wrong. Just remember that the longer we give the tenant before trying to collect, the easier and more comfortable we make it for them to steal from us.

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"How do I know that you are who you say you are? My lawyer wants proof that you are the landlord." - After 6 months of living here and paying late every month, I told him that unless he pays the rent plus the late fees, he'll find out in eviction court who the owner is. - Marcia C., CA

"The heater for the pool is broken. I can't swim in cold water. You'll get the rent when the heater gets fixed." - Since the use of the pool is not in the lease, the rent and late fee must be paid. - Charlie J., Fort Myers, FL

"My family comes first and I haven't even finished my Christmas shopping. If I have anything left this month, I'll send you the rent Mr. Scrooge!" - Steve S., BVR Mgmt

"He that places a feast of knowledge in front of a starving mind, Not only fills and empty heart, but quenches a thirst divine." -Dylan Martin

Behind every great idea is someone saying "it won't work". - unknown

"A mind stretched to a new idea, never goes back to its original dimension". - Oliver Wendell Holmes

"How much did your last tenant problem cost you?"
- John Nuzzolese

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