A Property Managers Guide To Collecting Rent - office in beijing
A property manager��s most important task is collecting rent. So it's best for property managers to do everything in their capacity to make sure your clients are putting their monthly rent as their number one monetary obligation. That means when they move in, it should be very clear where the rent payments are to be sent, when they are due, and that late payments will not be acceptable. The best way for property managers to impress this is to contact them, or send a correspondence a week before the first month's rent is due as to how much is to be paid, where to make the payment, and the last day they can make the payment without incurring a late fee.
It's a good idea for property managers to make rent payment as convenient as possible for the tenant. Besides a mailing address, they ought to have a place where they can drop of payment, like the property management office. Many times clients might want to pay with cash, and being that it's a bit of a hassle to get a money order, stamp etc, they miss the payment deadline. Then, they spend the cash on something else, and to whole setback gets started. Some landlords even have websites to accept credit card payments. It might be costly in credit card fees, but they might wind up ahead of the game because they have less tenants falling behind, and less eviction legal fees.
Another overlooked down-to-earth tip. Self addressed stamped envelopes. Even if you saved only one or two tenants from falling behind, it's a worthwhile investment.
As any well run property management company knows, file keeping is a must. You have to keep all communication you have had with your renters on record. Everything has to be dated. In the worse case scenario of going to court for an eviction, this will be crucial for the property manager.
As challenging as it sounds, no matter what the situation is, as soon as the tenant missed a payment, a letter should be mailed to the renter. The letter should have a late fee attached. Be firm on the late charge. It's a great incentive to stop them from being late again. If you��re a landlord, you should make up with the property managers that you get to keep the late fees. This will keep them from letting the rent go an extra day so they can get the fee. You want to make sure that the renter keeps the "I must pay on time" mentality.
I am going to interrupt before writing about the subsequent procedure to point out that never should there be any arguments, shouting or verbal threatening. It's unprofessional, unproductive, and you can wind up with a black eye, or worse. Stay calm, and don't get personal. If the setting looks like it's going to be explosive, just use written letters and phone calls and do away with the personal confrontations. The main thing is to clarify to the tenant that the same way he has to pay his bill not to get evicted, you have to pay your mortgage not to lose the building.
That said, the next step is to keep up the notices as long as rent is not coming in. Again, make sure all things are dated, and you have a copy of all letters sent.
Many states, such as N.Y., require a landlord to serve a ��notice to quit�� to the tenant. This says that the renter should leave the premises (quit), or pay the late rent. As a rule it gives 30 days to comply.
I'm sure you know that you cannot evict a tenant yourself. If you tried, you could wind up in jail, and get fined to boot. Furthermore, if you switched your locks or turned off heat and or electricity in an attempt to throw out someone, they can bring an Illegal lockout proceeding against you in Housing Court. You can either get a lawyer to start eviction proceedings, or try going about it yourself by filing a nonpayment petition in Housing Court.
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