Almost every rental property owner faces the fear that
their tenants won’t pay rent. You’ve almost
certainly heard horror stories about long evictions and
terrible tenants.
You can mitigate the risk of late rent payments by
screening tenants thoroughly before you offer a lease. It
also helps to work with a professional Oahu property
management company. Contact us at Elite Pacific Properties
if you’d like to learn more about why we’re able
to collect rent efficiently and on time. Our eviction rate
is very low, and that’s because we have a solid rent
collection process in place.
Try these rent collection tips, and contact a property
manager if you’re still having trouble getting your
tenants to pay on time.
Set Rent Collection Policies and Expectations in the Lease
Agreement
Residents need to understand your expectations are before
they even move in.
As you’re discussing and signing the lease agreement,
talk about when rent is due, how you expect it to be paid,
and what the consequences are if it’s paid late. All
of this should also be documented in the lease
agreement.
It’s also a good idea to offer your residents a
variety of ways to pay rent. This increases the chances that
you’ll have it paid on the first of the month. Offer
online or electronic rental payments, let them know if you
have a grace period and explain how the late fees work if
rent isn’t paid on the day that it’s due.
Communicate Openly and Transparently
When tenants are late paying their rent, they tend to avoid
their landlords. It helps to create a relationship where
they’re willing to talk to you. If rent is going to be
late, you can feel more in control of the situation when you
know about it ahead of time. Encourage your tenants to talk
to you. It’s still necessary to charge those late
fees, but if they can communicate the potential for late
rent before the due date, you’ll be able to prepare
for it.
Reach out to your tenant if the rent is late and try and
find out what the problem is. Be professional and kind.
Usually, you can rectify the issue, especially if it’s
an otherwise good tenant. If the rent is going to be late,
set a date for the rent to be paid.
Stay Firm and Be Consistent with Oahu Tenants
Once you are able to collect the late rent, you can
reinforce your expectations moving forward. Don’t let
your tenants think that by accepting rent late one month,
you’re going to be okay with them paying whenever they
want going forward. Consistency is
important.
You can always evict your tenant when rent isn’t
paid. We recommend trying to work something out first.
The goal is to ensure your tenant doesn’t get into
the habit of being late on rent. This will become a problem
for you if you have to chase them every month. Set the terms
and expectations immediately. You may have a situation
where it’s a job loss or something that’s
causing the problem, and if it doesn’t look like
they’ll regain their financial footing, you may have
to talk about terminating the tenancy.
Good communication, solid and consistent policies, and an
understanding of leasing and landlord/tenant laws will help
you collect rent on time every month. If you’d like
some help, please don’t hesitate to contact us at
Elite Pacific Properties.
