Rising Tenant Debt Challenges in a Down Economy

Our country’s current economy has had a severe impact on the real estate and housing market.  The nightly news covers the blight of communities impacted by a high number of foreclosures and the emotional stories of people who are facing such a crisis.  Unemployment, lack of medical insurance, and the credit crunch caused by sub-prime mortgages add to the crisis, making the current real estate market grim.  As a result, the downturn of the economy has also significantly affected landlords and property managers, presenting them with an unprecedented number of challenges.

As ‘The Landlord Doctor,’ I’ve reviewed over 70,000 cases of tenant debt, encompassing more than $200 million dollars.  Every day, I witness the negative impact of our economy on landlords and property managers across the country who seek my advice and instruction in reducing or collecting tenant debt.  As I sit on boards of professional associations and talk to the people who attend my conferences, I’m astounded by the increased spark of questions and concerns raised by landlords because of the economy.

As more people are displaced from their homes, those questions and concerns will continue to rise.  The need for extensive tenant screeningcollect tenant debt will increase as people become victims of the economy, and the need to will be a pressing issue for landlords.  There has already been a tremendous increase in landlords seeking my assistance in these areas, which is why I thought I’d share two common questions which have been posed in the past few months.

“My tenant is three months behind on rent. He’s always been a good tenant, but has lost his job. What should I do?”

First, like you, I sympathize with your tenant’s situation. However, three months is a long time to receive free housing. Remember, while you’re trying to be a nice guy, being a landlord is still a business. My experience shows that once a tenant is allowed to become two months in arrears on their rent, the odds are slim that they will become and stay current. In fact, these tenants usually owe much more than two months rent when they leave. When you first become aware of a change in their financial situation, make it clear that while you empathize with their dilemma, you cannot afford to allow the rent to go unpaid.  Be straightforward from the onset, notifying the tenant that carrying a balance due on rent is not an option. Additionally, a good attorney will advise that past case law has indicated that routinely allowing tenants to pay late sets a precedence which could force you to continue accepting late rent payments. Even worse, allowing one tenant to pay late, while refusing other tenants the same latitude, may cause a Fair Housing lawsuit, as all tenants must be treated equally.

“My tenant skipped out on their lease and damaged my rental. How can I collect what they owe?’”

This situation can be more complex. While it’s certainly something no landlord wants to  encounter, it happens.  Though this situation is more common during tough times, efficient property managers have learned to minimize it by applying good business practices from the time the prospect walks through the door, until he or she moves out of your rental. If it happens, I recommend that you take pictures and document all damages.  Follow your state law regarding proper notification to the tenant about the application of their deposit. Insofar as collecting the debt, you have three options:  1) sue the debtor in small claims court; 2) hire a collection agency (only an agency that specializes in tenant debt), or report the debt to all three credit bureaus and attempt to collect it yourself.

While I know that each of those situations has its own unique set of circumstances, a common theme prevails—an increasing number of landlords and property managers are experiencing a rise in cases of tenant debt.  These new challenges should make us more aware of the need for prevention, education and remedies in screening and the collection of tenant debt.

Use this difficult time to hone your skills as a property manager and your focus on the details. Improve your business practices by making small changes and improvements.  As a result, you’ll decrease incidences of tenant debt and increase your profits.  These are critical areas landlords must address to survive in any economy.

Email me your tenant screening and tenant debt questions.

Bill Gray

www.thelandlorddoctor.com

Bill@thelandlorddoctor.com

Copyright 2010 – Click here to reprint/re-post

USA Today – The Landlord Doctor

December 30th USA Today published an article titled “Apartment renters win as vacancy rate climbs”, when he wrote the article author Paul Davidson asked me what effect concessions are having on the tenant delinquency rate.  My quote is included in his article.  The bottom line is that concessions may help rent empty units, but tenant debt continues to rise.

Link to Article: “Apartment renters win as vacancy rate climbs”

Bill Gray

Bill@thelandlorddoctor.com

www.thelandlorddoctor.com

Tenant Debt & Screening Forum www.theinformedlandlord.com

Tough Economy Makes Tenant Debt Tough, but Not Impossible, to Collect

The downturn in the economy has caused many landlords to lower their credit requirements for new tenants.  Of course, lowering credit requirements increases financial risk. Renting to a tenant with little or poor credit increases the likelihood that the tenant will at some point leave owing the landlord money.

This change in rental criteria is understandable, considering the need to keep all units rented.  But know that when you lower your standards and in turn incur debt, this debt will be tougher to collect than if you had rented to a tenant with good or great credit.  If you use a collection agency to collect the debt, you should also lower your expectations about how much you feel they should collect.

Collection agencies are reporting that they are receiving many more files than two years ago.  The average amount of debt in these files has also increased.  Relaxed rental standards, coupled with the high unemployment rate, have put collection agencies in a tough spot.

The American Collectors Association reports that the collection industry debt recovery rate is down 30-40% over last year.  Angi Pusateri, National Sales Manager for RentDebt Automated Collections, confirmed that her company is experiencing a similar decline in debt recovery.  However, RentDebt Automated is weathering the storm well and has added employees in the last year at their offices, which are located in Nashville, Tennessee and Dallas, Texas.

Jeff Cronrod, the President of Rent Recovery Service, a national collection agency specializing in the collection of tenant debt, estimates that nearly 40% of the debtors his company is trying to collect from are unemployed.  “It is not that these debtors do not care about the debt or their credit. They simply have no means to pay the bill,” Cronrod explained.

Saul Wertzer, President of Rent Recover Solutions in Atlanta, Georgia (not to be confused with Cronrod’s Rent Recovery Service), told me that his company has also seen an increase, not only in the number of collection files, but also an increase in the average amount of each file.  I have heard this from every company I have spoken with, in every corner of the country.  Wertzer went on to say that it is important for landlords and property managers to think long-term about debt they are owed by previous tenants.  Over time a good percentage of tenant debt is collectible.

If your collection agency has served you well in the past, stick with them, even though recent recoveries may have dropped.  Trust me, every agency is experiencing a tough time collecting debt.  Don’t jump ship and hire another agency, because eventually the economy will improve and many of these tenants who owe previous landlords will get back on their feet.  When they do, they will work to clean up their credit and pay their debt. But don’t wait until then to do something about it.  Now is the time to make sure the debt you are owed is reported to all three major credit bureaus. Whether your collection agency reports the debt or you report it via an automated service, make sure every dollar you are owed is reported.

Doing so will greatly increase the odds that you will get paid the debt your previous tenant owes you.

Email me your tenant screening and tenant debt questions.

Bill Gray

www.thelandlorddoctor.com

www.theinformedlandlord.com

Copyright 2009 – Click here to reprint/re-post

Tenant Debt & Screening Forum www.theinformedlandlord.com

New Landlord Forum – Tenant Debt and Tenant Screening

Thanks for reading my blog.  I try hard to respond to every email I receive, but I receive more and more every week.  It is getting hard to keep up.  I started a forum that will address tenant debt and tenant screening issues to help answer the commonly asked questions.  Please help me get the forum off the ground by registering and posting your questions.

The forum url is: www.theinformedlandlord.com

Thanks,

Bill Gray

Bill@thelandlorddoctor.com

www.thelandlordoctor.com

Copyright 2009

Landlords Who do Not Screen are Shooting Themselves in the Foot

Of the 20 to 30 emails I receive per day from landlords with tenants who owe them money, 5 or 6 are from landlords who did not screen their tenants before they rented to them and are now upset that the tenant burned them.  I shake my head when I read these requests for help.

For whatever reason, the landlord rented to someone who “looked okay” and then got upset when the tenant burned them.  Would these landlords buy a used car sight unseen?  Or show up at a dog shelter and say, “give me any dog, I don’t need to see it or know anything about it.”?  Of course they wouldn’t.  As absurd as this sounds, it is basically how they run their rental business.

SUING AN EX-TENANT FOR PAST DUE RENT: What Factors To Consider

Tristan R. Pettit, Attorney at Law, Milwaukee WI -       Tristan’s Landlord – Tenant Law Blog www.petriestocking.com/blog/

Your tenant has already vacated your rental unit – so there is no need to file an eviction action — but they left owing you money.  Is it worth your time and effort to sue them in order to obtain a money judgment?  This is probably the third most frequently asked question that I receive when talking to landlords (the first two most asked questions in case you are curious are (1) which notice do I use when? and (2) how do I evict my tenant?).

There is not a simple answer to this question.  It depends . . . on many things.  Many variables need to be taken into consideration before deciding to spend the time and effort to sue an ex-tenant.  Let’s consider what some of those variables are.

1.     How much money does the tenant owe you?

Is the amount that is owed to you worth the time, energy, and cost to attempt to collect it?  You will need to purchase a small claims summons which will cost you approximately $100.  You will need to personally serve the ex-tenant with the assistance of the Sheriff or a private process server — typical cost between $35-$100.  If you are representing yourself you will spend time away from work and therefore lose some wages.  If you opt to hire a lawyer to represent you, you need to consider how much you will have to pay the lawyer.

There is no magic dollar amount that makes suing a tenant worth it or not worth it.  The “breaking point” as I like to call it, will be different for different people.

An Organized Landlord Has Less Tenant Debt and More Profit

An organized landlord is a more profitable landlord.  I have reviewed many thousands of tenant debtor files, and one thing is certain; by looking at a tenant file after the tenant moves out, I can usually tell you fairly accurately how the property is being managed.  A well-organized landlord who documents everything has less tenant debt, and, as result enjoys more profit.

Organize your files logically and consistently.  At least half of the files I review are little more than a pile of unorganized papers thrown into a file folder; and often very important documents are missing

Apartment Association of Southeastern Wisconsin Tradeshow and Educational Seminar

I am scheduled to speak with members of the Apartment Association of Southeastern Wisconsin September 16th.  I look forward to meeting members and talking with them about how to collect their tenant debt. 

Contact: Tim Ballering “10th Annual Landlord Tradeshow & Educational Seminar” for Apartment Association of Southeastern WI on Meetup

Serb Hall, Milwaukee, WI on Wed Sep 16, 12:00 AM

When a Tenant is Behind in Rent, When Should You Call it Quits?

Today I reviewed over eighty tenant debt accounts and noted that the average balance due is significantly higher than a year ago. With the exception of the most expensive areas (such as California, New York City, and the northeast), the average amount of tenant debt is normally between $2500 and $3000.

I separated all accounts over $4000 and took a hard look at them to determine why there were so many high balances.  The answer was that landlords allowed tenants to go month after month paying little or no rent, before they were eventually evicted or the tenant skipped out. This is obviously a sign of the times.

I assume landlords are allowing tenants to live in their units for three to four months without paying rent for one of two reasons:

Landlords Should Consider Settling Tenant Debt

Some of my most uncomfortable moments have come when talking to landlords about considering settlement offers.  Often, the landlord is so emotional about the debt he or she is owed that settling is not an option.

After 12 years of reviewing tenant debt accounts, I can tell you with certainty that landlords who seriously consider settlement offers recover much more money than landlords who don’t.

If a previous tenant makes a settlement offer, he or she is looking to resolve the debt for some reason right now.  Maybe he is trying to rent another place to live, or trying to obtain a mortgage or another loan. For whatever reason, he is motivated to pay you.  If you ignore the offer, he may find another way to rent or get a mortgage or loan without paying you.  This may be your only opportunity to collect even part of what you are owed.