Managing the Tenants

Tenants... I dunno. Sometimes it feels as if I'm babysitting more than managing tenants.

Lex and his Indians have decided to stay in the upstairs apartment. Apparently, they had a problem with the landlord and felt as if they couldn't trust him and backed out. When they asked me what the procedure was or if I had already found other tenants, I told them not to worry about it and went to sleep. I'm kicking myself for not lying and saying that there's a cancellation fee or something. Usually I'm quick to think of things like that, but it was like 8:30pm and I just wanted to go to sleep. I usually don't pick up the phone when a tenant calls me so late, but I had a feeling it had to do with their moving situation. Anyway, a cancellation fee is too specific to put in a lease, so I'll try to remember it for next time.

Carver, the downstairs tenant of property Beta, called me up after I sent him the late letter and told me that he can't pay all of August's rent. Linda's 24/7 hospice care is costing more than he has, and Social Security is taking a long time to help pay for the bills. As he explained his situation, I couldn't help but think of that mantra in my last post: "Fuck you, pay me". I wanted to laugh but held it in. Anyway, he suggested that he go on a payment plan and I agreed. Every year, I allow a tenant to go on a short payment plan if an extreme situation arises. The tenant has to have a good track record of paying rent on time, and show me that he/she can come up with the money.

Carver did just that. He makes good money and has a reasonable payment schedule. If I didn't think he could do it, I would have thrown him and Linda out on the streets by now. As for Stan, I haven't had the chance to talk to him yet. His phone is cut off and he wasn't at his job when I went there this afternoon. I really don't want to go over to property Beta to talk to Stan because I might run into Carver, and he'll probably want me to see Linda or something. Well, I've seen enough cancer to last me a short lifetime, so I'll try to catch Stan at his job tomorrow.

I'm not sure how things will work out with Stan and Carver, but I'm glad that Lex is staying. That means less work for me, and I don't have to return their $850 security deposit. Though Carver's money will be short this month, I think I still have a shot at meeting my $4500 quota. It's so refreshing to not hear a peep from property Chi, as I think I finally got the right tenants in that god-awful place. This tenant management stuff is tricky, but I think I'm getting better at it as time goes on.