“I guess they do that sort of thing” is what the bank examiner in the time-honored classic said, “It’s a wonderful life,” when he was told George’s brother got the Medal of Honor. The bank examiner’s reply was to let George know in a somewhat subtle way he was not interested in listening to his story but was there on business and business alone.
In the world of migratory (a term I use for renters who move from one property to another, leaving behind financial disasters) and bad renters, I’ve often found these bad renters will see your empathy and kindness as a weakness to be exploited. They will attempt to use your very real human emotions to get what they want.
Several times I’ve fallen victim to that. In one such case, a bad renter who vacated the property owing me $300 in rent and about $800 in damages often talked to me about her sister’s newborn, who had pulmonary problems and was in ICU. Of course, knowing this, I responded with queries about the baby and thought of my being inappropriate to ask for current rent. I knew the gig was up once when calling about rent, I inquired about the baby, and her response was, “What? Oh…that…I don’t know…” She was soon expunged from the property.
The question to ask yourself is if you can guard your emotions when it comes to renting. Can you look at real and false tragedy but stick to the business at hand? If not, you may find yourself on the other end of someone stringing you along to buy time to run up a bill and vacate the property. There is nothing wrong with empathizing with the woes of your tenants, but there is a time for such emotions. Trying to collect rent and keep your property up is not at that time. Your business is providing a home in exchange for money and nothing else. Express remorse or condolences AFTER you have secured your rent.
Just recently, I was able to use my new tool in collecting rent. A renter recently informed me why the rent was late by telling me he had a drunk driving charge and needed to pay his attorney or risk going to jail. My response was to express heartfelt sympathy and to remind him he now had seven days to pay or else begin the procedures of getting expunged.
I may not have a family in Elmira that I want to get to, but I do have a business to run, and personal problems are not my interest.
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