The first bounced check, the first unexpected vacancy, the suddenly leaky roof, these can all come out of nowhere, but need to be taken care of immediately. You should have explicit steps explained in your leases as to how you deal with missed payments and this needs to be explained in detail to the tenants. How you deal with this the first time sets the stage for every subsequent incident.
If you say it’s OK, just never do it again you could be opening Pandora’s box. It’s not OK, your time is valuable and it will take YOUR time to collect replacement funds, deal with the issue and to get the new funds back into the bank. Never ever discount your time as it is the one item you can never get back, you can always earn more money, but once that hour is lost, it’s gone forever. The lecture ends here.
Depending on regulations and laws in your area, you need to understand how you are allowed to deal with this. Can you evict immediately, do eviction filings require a certain procedure? Find these steps out so you are prepared, you do not want to evict a good tenant, but you also need to know the steps to start these procedures so you can show that you mean business.
For unexpected vacancies if you initially created reserve funds to cover this you will sleep much better if they do occur. If you have a regular maintenance and property review schedule you can catch potential roof, foundation, or other problems before they become too costly. You don’t want to wait until something becomes a real problem before addressing it and preparing in advance with proper leases, understanding all the procedures and regular maintenance can keep money in your pocket while at the same time allowing you to sleep without waking up in cold sweats worrying about your property.
If you missed Tip #1, it is available here, Landlord Tips #1, Don’t buy where you live, buy where tenants live
If you missed Tip #2, it is available here, Landlord Tips #2, Spend Extra Time Screening Tenants, So You Don’t Spend Time Evicting Them Later
If you missed Tip #3, it is available here, Landlord Tips #3 – Being a Landlord is a Business, Treat it Like a Business
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