Things happen.
Rent doesn’t get paid or the air conditioning breaks down and suddenly there is no cash coming in. Experienced Landlords know this all too well—and if you are retired and rely on rental properties to generate a steady income, it’s a double hit to your bank account. Not only is there no income, but the bills still need to be paid to maintain the property.
Common sense tells us that every landlord needs an emergency fund. (The fallout from COVID-19 has made this point clear.) Tenants lost their jobs and couldn’t pay the rent. Some received stimulus money and paid the rent while others didn’t. Many assumed that eviction moratoriums meant they didn’t have to pay rent, and such was not the case. Many landlords offered to modify leases so tenants could repay over time.
At Transcity Property Management here in Mesa, Arizona, we responded to the needs of tenants and landlords on an individual basis. If tenants needed to break up rent into multiple payments, we worked with them. Some tenants needed extra time to take advantage of other sources of help and we waived some of the late fees. When all are working in good faith to resolve each separate situation, things have worked out positively with a win-win situation in a difficult time.
We still don’t know the full effect of the economic struggles. But we do know that when all parties are willing to work together, things usually work out. Most landlords aren’t always rich real estate moguls sitting on loads of cash and tenants aren’t always trying to take advantage of political decisions. It’s important to be aware of individual situations.
Whatever the case may be, retired landlords should always be accumulating or building a reserve fund, if they haven’t already. The same is true for all of us who have obligations to pay. We can use a crisis as a reminder that things may not always be smooth and efficient. Savings accounts will reduce stress and anxiety in times of trouble.
In the property management world, an experienced property manager can also help alleviate stress and anxiety when challenges come up in the normal course of operations for rental property owners. Our goal at Transcity Property Management is to be an advisor to our clients and support their tenants, the rent-paying customer.
