Choosing a tenant can be very difficult. There are specific qualities that landlords look for when they screen applicants. They want someone reliable, responsible, and will never cause trouble. You would be lucky if you could find someone like that.
Some applicants look good on paper but are just actually trying to impress you. Their real colors might surface after a few months, and you find out that they are not good after all. If you are lucky, you will not have to experience having delinquent tenants. You already have a lot on your plate, and finding out you have one of them can be stressful. The only thing to do is deal with them as quickly as possible.
Notify, Collect, or Report
One example of a delinquent tenant is the one who fails to pay the rent on time or not at all. We all know how important it is for the landlord to collect the rent. It pays for the utility bills, maintenance bills, and that is where the landlord gets his income. If you have a tenant like this, verify that the tenant had indeed failed to pay rent.
Once you verified that information, send a notice that his rent is due for payment. Include a warning to remind them what the consequences will be if they still would not pay. You can also call them to clarify the situation. There might be a valid reason for the late payment.
Another thing that you can do is to send a Notice to Quit, which stipulates how much they owe you, the deadline for payment, and your intention to evict if they fail to do so.
If the tenant still does not pay after every reminder, you can now consider eviction and reporting them to the credit bureaus.
Why resort to reporting and eviction?
Having a delinquent tenant will only cause problems for you. Would you want to continue having issues with them? They should be reminded that there are penalties for their actions.
Reporting them to the credit bureaus will not only help you receive the money they owed you because there is a much bigger purpose for that. Once you report their misbehavior, it will go on their record. It can help their future landlords avoid having the same issues from delinquent tenants.
How can you report delinquent tenants?
A landlord reporting to credit bureaus will only have two options: to regularly or irregularly file a report about bad tenants. You have to decide which type of landlord you will be.
If you report regularly, it will be well documented and can be useful for future reference. It will also catch the attention of the delinquent tenant and will prompt him to change his behavior because he knows that the bad record will negatively affect his future as a renter.
If you choose to be a bit lenient, it will be a little harder, but can still be done. There are several bureaus that you can report to. They will need you to register and subscribe to them if you want to be included in the tenant’s record. You also need to pay for the registration fee and have the proper equipment to submit your reports electronically.
Next, you have to gather all the documents that are related to your tenant’s actions. If they have unpaid bills, present those. This is where keeping a log of your tenants’ activities becomes valuable.
Once you report a tenant, you have to remember that it is your responsibility to update and provide accurate data. You have to also inform them once the tenant has paid the money they owe you. Inform the tenant that a report has been made within 30 days after submission.
Your last resort should be an eviction. Sure, you’ll have to go back to square one, but it will be worth it to get rid of the stress. Make sure you use Padleads to create your property listings because they will also let you syndicate it to other well-known websites.
Still, the best solution is to screen the tenants thoroughly. But if you did choose the wrong tenants, there is no point in sulking or blaming. Instead, learn how to deal with it the best way you can. Every problem has a solution. You just have to know what it is.