In case you didn’t know, I bought a house years ago when I was stationed in North Carolina. My plan was to bounce back and forth between the Marine Corps and local Navy shore commands for the rest of my career.
God and the Navy had other plans.
So now I am a landlord and have been for a few years now. We have had some really good renters and some not so good renters. We had one set of renters who trashed our house before leaving. When I heard about that, I asked what recourse I had. The answer…
We will annotate it on his credit report.
My heart sank. I thought all was lost. This clown trashes my house, leaves me with the bill, moves out, and all I can do is have a mark put against his credit. About 4 months after this happened, I got a call from my property management office. They said the guy called from Afghanistan and wanted to know what he needed to do to get this off of his credit history. Apparently he was not able to find a place for his family to live since he moved out of my house. His wife and kids had been couch surfing the whole time. He got deployed and discovered that the reason his applications had been denied for housing was because another property management company put a black mark on his name. The system worked. He paid what we asked and we had the property management company take their mark off of his credit.
Last month our renter was almost 25 days late on his rent. He paid, but man was it late. I found out today that he is not able to pay his rent this month. Bummer.
I met this guy when I was driving across North Carolina. He was so thankful that he had a place to live. He gave me a long tale about the rough cards he had been dealt and was excited to finally have a place that was safe for him and his family so that he could put the pieces of his life back together. I felt as though I was helping to provide for his family.
I have found myself praying for this guy. I pray that my house would be a safe place for him and his family, that it would be a blessing in his life as he recovers from his past.
Now I find myself in a position where I will not be receiving any rent. My property management company contacted me to let me know how much it would cost to file the eviction papers.
I cannot afford my mortgage without getting his rent money (I am not asking for money here… yet… LOL), but I also don’t want to put him out on the curb yet. According to my management company, he has said he has the ability to pay for all fees and missed rent at the beginning of next month.
I decided to not file eviction paperwork. I know… I know… Emotions and Business don’t always go well together. I might end up regretting it, then again, I might not.
If he does not pay his rent at the agreed upon time next month, then I will file the paperwork.
What would you have done?
I would give him a chance, but in the end you have to have the money.
I would have prayed, just as I imagine you have and followed the Lord’s lead…as
I am thinking you are :).
Mike, been thee with our house in Wichita Falls. You night want to talk with him and find our what the issue is and try to work it out.
Having been told he can and will comply with all late fees, I would give him a chance, but serve a notice and have my property manager keep it on file. Then I would talk to him and make sure he’s got a plan to keep up in the future. I would also be ready to come down hard and fast if I find out he’s playing me for a fool.