Update on Savings Plan: Tenant Issues

Part of my savings plan for this year had been counting on the income from my condo being rented out to a family. I was going to be able to save approximately $1,000 per month. In theory.

I am sad now to say that this savings plan can pretty much be ignored since I had the bad luck of getting bad tenants, who apparently had no intention of paying me from the moment that they moved in. I did do the background check, pay history, and they came with glowing references from the previous landlord with whom they were with for nine  years without an incident.

How did it get so bad?


I made the newbie landlord mistake of allowing them to be late for one month (their first month) and be behind on the security deposit. I have since learned now that I can not be "nice" but be purely professional when it comes to landlord-tenant relationships. They have since consistently either be late and have bounced six (6)...yes, six rent checks.  They have begged me to give them a chance to catch up with payments since March and so far, they have not been able to. The tenant finally called me back today and asked me to delay her rent until middle of June to catch up for the May payment.  When I asked her when she plans on paying for June, her answer is that she will pay for June in July. I know.. It is my fault that I have allowed this to happen.

I contacted an law firm that specializes evictions today and have found that I will be paying approximately $1,300 to $1,400 in fees from the beginning until the end of the eviction process. Just more money that I do not have.  This on top of one to two months more of lost rental income......

However, I know that I will have to follow this route and should have done so much earlier since my surgery and, consequently, my time-off without pay is coming up soon.

I just hope that they do not trash the place, which would definitely be devastating to me. This is something that I thought would help with freeing up some money for me to save but instead, it has turned into a nightmare. Sometimes, I feel as if I can never catch a break!