| While the end of the year is a very busy time of | | | | tenant debt. |
| the year for most of us on a personal level, it is | | | | 2. Hire a collection agency that specializes in |
| usually a slow period for landlords. Many of us | | | | collecting tenant debt. If you do not have an |
| spend this time working on our taxes, cleaning out | | | | agency, spend an hour online and find one. If you |
| our desk drawers and preparing for the New | | | | don't know what to look for in an agency, read |
| Year. | | | | my blog article on how to hire a collection agency |
| One often overlooked piece of housekeeping that | | | | to collect tenant debt. "How do I Hire a Collection |
| impacts your profit is old tenant files which still | | | | Agency to Collect my Tenant Debt?" |
| have balances due. All too often, landlords simply | | | | 3. Report the debt to the three major credit |
| file them away and forget them. By storing these | | | | bureaus, Experian, Equifax and TransUnion, as a |
| files without taking any action, you are literally | | | | collection account. The ding on your previous |
| throwing money away. You may think it's | | | | tenant's credit report should remain there for |
| impossible-that you'll never see a dime of the | | | | seven years after they move out. There are |
| monies owed, but some percentage of the debt | | | | several online resources for reporting tenant debt |
| you are owed is collectible. It may not be | | | | to the credit bureaus. It's worth your time and |
| collectible today, but over the next seven years, | | | | effort to research them. |
| some of that money most likely will be paid. | | | | Too often, I hear landlords advising other landlords |
| Take the time to do some end-of-the-year | | | | to forget any debt they are owed and move on |
| housekeeping. Start by separating old tenant files | | | | because it is not collectible. From experience, I can |
| which have no balance due from the ones that | | | | tell you this is not true. While all of it may not be |
| owe. One by one, go through the files with | | | | collectible, a percentage of it is, maybe not |
| balances to make sure each contains a signed | | | | immediately, but over time, you can recoup some |
| lease; then, make a breakdown of what is owed. | | | | of your profit. |
| There are three different options to select from | | | | There's only one way to ensure that you won't |
| when collecting your lost profit. Each has its pros | | | | collect any of the debt, and that's to do nothing, |
| and cons. | | | | storing the files away and resigning yourself to |
| 1. Got to court and sue the previous tenant for | | | | accept the loss. Trust me when I tell you that |
| the balance owed. This option can be expensive | | | | doing nothing will cost you profit. |
| and time consuming, but with the proper | | | | Contact me with your tenant screening and debt |
| outcome, it can be an effective way to collect | | | | questions. |