A problem you may encounter is a tenant not paying rent. Today, we’re talking about this topic and sharing some steps you can take if you find yourself in this situation.

Tenant Communication

First, ask questions. Find out why your tenant is late with the rent payment. If they have had a life event, that’s going to require a different approach than if it’s a small monetary setback. There might have been some unexpected expense that they encountered, and they’ll be able to catch up with rent quickly. If they pay you when they say they’re going to pay you, check your lease and the charge the proper late fee. You can accept the rent and move on. However, if there’s been a divorce, a job loss, or something big that’s happened, it may be insurmountable and things won’t look like they’re going to improve quickly. In these cases, you probably want to ask them to vacate.

Agreement to Vacate

If your tenant cannot catch up with rent, ask them to sign an agreement to vacate. This agreement states they have a specific date by which they need to move out. If they agree to sign this, you know that they will cooperate and it’s more than likely you will avoid an eviction. That’s good news because evictions are costly and time consuming, and you want to avoid them if you can.

Three Day Notice to Vacate

If your tenants aren’t willing to sign an agreement to vacate, you want to serve a Three Day Notice to Vacate. This tells them they have three days to pay the rent or leave the property. You have to avoid holidays, and you cannot count weekends in the notice period. Post this on the door. Either it will get their attention and they’ll come up with the money, or the three days will pass and you have the right to start the eviction process. At this point, hire an attorney to help you, or gather the paperwork yourself that you can file at the county courthouse in the county where your property is located.

Property Management Orlando: Screening

You’ll want to get through the eviction quickly and move onto the next tenant. Make sure you vet and screen your tenants well before you rent to them. You want to know they earn enough money and have good credit. Make sure they have a good rental history and can take care of your property. Paying attention to these things will help you avoid renting to someone who stops paying rent and ultimately needs to be evicted. If you don’t settle on someone and you pick the right tenant, you avoid a lot of this.

If you have any questions about Orlando property management, please contact us at JML Realty Investments, LLC. We know this is a confusing issue, and it can be hard to move forward. We’d be happy to talk about it with you.