The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly Tenant Issues

By Elaine Bernabe

As a landlord, one has to understand that dealing with tenants is one vital part of the job. Even if the landlord hires a property manager to handle the bulk of the responsibilities and duties, he or she has to deal with the tenants in an indirect way. When dealing with tenants, the landlord has to be ready for the good, the bad, and the ugly issues that are bound to crop up.
Knowing some of these issues before they have a chance to rear their head is one way for landlords to ensure that they would be on top of every facet of their business. In connection, we would look at same instances of the good, bad, and ugly issues in this article.
Starting with the good issues, if you lucked out and got yourself a very good tenant that pays on time and takes care of the rental property then you are in good standing. The only thing that you have to worry about in this case is how to make the tenant feel appreciated to ensure that they would re-up once the current lease is over. You can give them some small gifts in any form. Or, you can do the best you can to attend to any maintenance problem the tenants may report.
There are times though when the landlord would have the bad luck of getting a bad tenant. These are tenants who pay the rent late frequently. They may also be annoying to their neighbors. A chronic complainer can also be considered as a bad tenant.
When dealing with this sort of tenants, it is best to keep documents regarding them. For example, any complaint from neighbors in writing should be compiled. When it comes to late payment of the rent, be sure to document it too. This way, if things take a turn for the worse, you would have supporting documents when you evict them.
The ugly issues would have to include non-payment of rent, rule-breaking, and being a general problem. If things get to the point when nothing you can do or say can make the tenant change, the only option would be is to evict the tenant. The process of eviction can be a complicated one too and it is therefore important for the landlord to be aware of it. In cases like this though, having a property manager that can handle the issue for you would be the best case scenario.
Elaine Bernabe invites you to visit http://www.saltlake-propertymanagement.com/Salt Lake Property Management Lake Property Management to learn more information about www.saltlake-propertymanagement.com Utah Property Management and how to grow your rental property business.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?The-Good,-The-Bad,-And-The-Ugly-Tenant-Issues&id=7015697 The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly Tenant Issues

My Renter Quit Paying Rent-What Should I Do

by Marco Santarelli

Non-payment of rent is a serious problem. It's one of those predicaments that places the owner in a hard situation. Moral and ethical values are sometimes challenged by the need to collect the rent. If your one two choices are to evict a family that has fallen on hard times, or to go weeks or months without getting paid, the right choice isn't always apparent. Most owners have a conscience and genuinely care about the safety and contentment of their tenants. So the challenge is finding a solution that works out well for your tenant, and also for your net result.

Being caring and compassionate is great, but at the close of the day, you depend on that rental income to pay for some, or even all of your debts and costs. We're going to talk about some options that aren't always clear. This includes the right way to have an open and effective discourse with your tenants, an effective strategy that may work out well for both parties, as well as the best plan for securing the rent. This will give you the information and attitude you require in order to be profitable and successful.

If you have a renter that is past due on the rent, then sitting down with them and having an open and sincere discussion may end up being really constructive. Most tenants who are coping with fiscal issues will be very pleased to have a talk. In the bulk of cases, they feel guilty and burdened by not having the ability to pay the rent in good time. It's an uncomfortable situation for both parties. So it's critical for both the landlord and the tenant to get their thoughts and feelings out in the open. Keeping it all suppressed will only create more anxiety and stress. Provide your renter with the opportunity to explain their scenario. Permit them to tell you in their own words why they are unable to pay rent charges.

Perhaps because of the state of the economy, their company decided to downsize which suggested terminating their position. Or maybe they had to handle health concerns that drained their checking and saving accounts. It's also possible that their auto broke down and needed repairs. In order to get it fixed so they could continue traveling to work, they had to give their rent cash to the mechanic. These are all eventualities that will prevent your tenants from paying their rent. But as the landlord, you also have to make your position known. Tell them that you also have bills and expenses every month. And since the bank won't give you more time on the home loan payment, you aren't able to give them more time to pay their rent.

Before threatening them with eviction, and we only suggest that as a last possible resort, see whether their cashflow difficulty is short-term or long term. If they recently lost their job, or had to cope with other bills and costs, it may only be a temporary problem. If that's the case, and their payment history has been solid up to that point, it might be silly to eliminate a good renter who dropped into a bad situation. Alternatively, if the difficulty will take more than a few weeks to solve, then your best plan of action is to get them out of the rental unit. You can't have a tenant living rent-free for an extended period of time. In order to do that with the absolute minimum amount of drama possible we suggest making the renter an offer that they can't refuse.

One attractive offer is usually to give the tenant a 5 to 7 day window for packing, cleaning, and moving out of the unit. And as a reward for their cooperation, you agree not to follow any back rent. You also agree not to file a legal action or eviction papers. Going the legal route for removing a tenant can be timely and costly. It will also cost you seriously more than the back hire they owe you usually. So it's one of those scenarios where you're better off simply cutting your losses. For the renter, they may also avoid having an eviction on their credit report. This is great because an eviction will destroy their FICO score for a few years. Once that occurs, it can be incredibly difficult to do anything in life which requires a background check for approval.

Most tenants experiencing financial problems will jump at an offer like that. Even if it's not what they want to do, it'll keep them out of court and protect their credit. If they are still on the fence , however , you can sweeten the bargain by employing the "Cash for Keys" Technique. This is when you offer the tenant a specific amount, typically a couple of hundred bucks, in exchange for the keys to their unit. It might not seem like rather a lot , however it might truly help them out with gas and moving costs. This may be the honest to goodness difference between the renter accepting or rejecting your offer. But at the close of the day, when talking about dealing with a tenant who is behind on the rent, communication is imperative!

Talk about the problem in order to get the best solution.

[For more articles like this please visit our Rental Property Investing Blog.]

About the Author:

Marco Santarelli is an investor, author and founder behind Norada Real Estate Investments — a nationwide property investment firm providing turnkey rental property in growing markets around the United States. "My Renter Stopped Paying the Rent - What Can I Do?" was originally published on our Real Estate Investing Blog.

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Impossible Real Estate Investment Loans

It seems as though everywhere you turn some newspaper or economist is announcing the end of the recession. While this may be true theoretically, little has changed as far as the literal economy goes. Recently, John O'Bryan (vice-chairman of real estate giant CB Richard Ellis) announced that while things may appear optimistic, the investment real estate game isn't picking up any speed.

In fact, CB Richard Ellis believes that the "global recessionary impact on the commercial real estate market has yet to run its course." Commercial real estate investments are simply at a standstill due to various factors, most of which are directly linked to the recent lending crisis.

Simply put, "the credit crisis and ensuing recession have dragged commercial real estate markets into very trying times... (Reuters)." Even if potential investors were interested in new commercial real estate ventures, the likelihood that lenders would consider approving new investment loans is slim to none.

Instead, lenders are holding onto their money as tightly as they have been since the recession began. Is the recession truly over? Not from a commercial real estate investment point of view. Some may even argue that the investment recession has just begun. Until lenders are willing (and able) to begin lending investors funds once again, there isn't much hope for the commercial real estate investment market.

Or is there? As some investors have recently begun to find out, there may be a way to gain investment dollars after all. Private lenders are now stepping in to pick up where traditional lenders have left off. With little more than an owned vehicle, lenders are able to secure the funds that they need to invest in commercial real estate.

Through the use of Car Title Loans, investors can quickly and efficiently gain needed monies. These loans only require that an investor owns a vehicle in good working condition. The better the vehicle in question is, the more money that a lender can secure.

While there's no doubt that the traditional lending route has hit all kinds of roadblocks, private lenders are ready and willing to create alternate ways for lenders to gain funding. No matter what newscasters and economists are saying, the economy is far from fixed.

Investing in commercial real estate is a great way to ensure that your money grows, just don't wait around for traditional lenders to start approving loan applications once again. Instead, look into a private loan and lock down your commercial investment.

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