How I Avoid Late Rent Payment
by Adam Shapir
(Denver, CO)
As a landlord I find that late rent payments used to be one of my most common yet tricky landlord issues. I had to learn the hard way that preventing late rents is a lot more effective versus allowing it to happen then scratch your head for solutions.
So how do you stop late rent payment cold in its tracks? Firstly you have to realize that even the most reliable tenant will be tempted to delay paying the rent if they can get away with it scot-free.
You may be a nice person but it does not pay to be an overly forgiving landlord.
Play hardball by having a late rent penalty and making sure that it's enforced strictly. Try not to give in to any excuses or reasons especially in the early months of the tenancy. For excellent tenants who have been with me for a long time, I will tend to overlook the occasional late rent.
From my experience, most tenants will begin paying rent on time once they have to fork out late rent fees a few times. In the long run, this strategy has made rent collection a breeze for me and I'm sure it will do the same for you.