Jacksonville Property Management Blog

One of the biggest mistakes that many landlords make is that they are reactive instead of proactive when it comes to collecting rent. Jacksonville property management companies like Heth Realty have the advantage of using rent collection software to make the process efficient, easy for the tenants, and successful in bringing in rent on time every month. When you’re collecting rent, be consistent and avoid letting payments slide because you want your tenants to like you.

Create a Consistent Rent Collection Policy

Your lease should indicate when rent is due, how much is due, and what the consequences are for late payments. When these expectations are clearly spelled out, your tenants cannot claim that they didn’t know where they were supposed to pay or when their payment was due. Enforce your rent collection policies and be consistent. If you let the rent come in late one month, you are essentially inviting your tenants to pay late every month. That’s not good for your relationship or your cash flow.

Treat Your Rental Property Like a Business

Sometimes owners will become friendly with their tenants, and then it gets awkward when you find yourself trying to collect late rent. Your tenant should not be your buddy. If you get emotionally invested in the relationship with your renters, it’s going to be difficult for you to run your rental property like a business. If you find that you cannot be professional and businesslike when it comes to dealing with your tenants and enforcing the rental due dates and late fees, you need to get professional property management in Jacksonville, Florida. A property manager can remove the emotional aspect of the relationship, and keep you out of the rent collection process entirely.

Have a Process for Collecting Past Due Rent

When rent is officially late, which means the due date and any grace period has come and gone, you need to immediately begin collecting past due rent. Send a letter, make a phone call, and do whatever your lease says you will do. If there’s a late fee associated, make sure you collect it. If you aren’t aggressive in collecting the rent that is owed, tenants will feel like they can take advantage of you, and you’ll be struggling to get the rent paid throughout the entire lease term.

We have an excellent process in place that ensures our landlords and property owners get their money on time every month. We use our rent collection software to track and accept online payments and implement a collection schedule when rent is late. If you’d like some Jacksonville property management help, please contact us at Heth Realty today.