You are taught the important lesson of tenant screening when you are about to step in this field of real estate. You have read and heard the horror stories about landlords harassed by bad quality tenants, and you remain vigilant to make sure that only good quality tenants get inside your property. It is your desire to allow only those tenants who are well behaved and pay their rent on time. But no matter how prudent you are, it is almost certain that you will have to deal with a nonpaying tenant one day.
Tenant is good but he is facing a financial problem
May be the tenant is not all that bad, but finds themselves unable to pay the rent because of harsh circumstances. You can empathize with a tenant who has lost his job but as a professional landlord, it is your responsibility to get him out of your property as soon as possible. The longer such a tenant lives in your property, the bigger is your loss. After all, your lender will not give you a concession just because your tenant has lost his job and it will ask you to pay your EMI on time.
Eviction can be a long and tiring process
You cannot legally ask your tenant to leave during the period of the lease agreement that he has signed. Your only option is to utilize eviction, but this legal process is long and complex and also expensive. It also makes your tenant feel bad about you as a tenant. Also, your tenant can approach a lawyer who might suggest him to declare bankruptcy to evade eviction. This legal process can drag for months and you continue to lose your rent till the decision of the court comes in your favor.
Give some money and ask him to leave
However, there is an easier way out for you as a landlord. Termed cash for keys, this is a method where a landlord pays some money to their non paying tenant to make it easy for them to move out of his rental property. In return, he agrees to hand over the keys of the unit to the landlord.
This may sound unreasonable to you as a landlord. After all, it is your tenant who should be paying your outstanding rent rather than you, isn’t it? But when you know that the tenant is not in a condition to pay his rent, it is futile to expect him to repay his outstanding rent to you. Yes, he may be a good tenant and he really likes to move out of your property, but he doesn’t have the money to make the arrangements.
In such a situation, you can give some money to the tenant to decide for a truck and the mover to take their items out of your rental property. In return, you not only get the keys of the home, but you can also ask him to clean the premises before moving out.
Forget your outstanding rent
Cash for keys is a much better process as you do not hire a lawyer to carry out eviction. You also do not create any ill will and the tenant feels obliged to you for having helped him monetarily. Of course, you must swallow your pride of being a landlord and convince yourself to pay money to your tenant for moving out of your property. In this method, you get the keys from the tenant in a very short time and you pay far less than what you must spend when you undertake eviction to get rid of the tenant.
If you’d like to talk about property management, or you need help with Everest Property Management, please contact us at Everest Realty.
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Palm Coast Property Management
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As a top producing Realtor and Property Manager; Terry specializes in sales, extensive construction homes, rentals, REO’s, short sales, and all aspects of Real Estate. After graduating the University of Michigan with a master in MBA, Terry continued his endeavor and now has over 15+ years of experience in the Real Estate world. If there is anything that has to do with Real Estate and sales, you can always be sure of Terry to provide important, specialized knowledge.
