As many of you may know, I struggle to keep a human element in my business as a landlord. It has at times cost me money. One lesson I learned the hard way is that there is a point where you are not helping a tenant who is falling further and further behind in their obligations.
I thought I might have reached that point with one of my tenants recently. Starting in December, he stopped paying rent. Although he made a payment in January, it did not even cover the January bills. Although I did not doubt their intentions, I wondered if they were in a place they could not afford. The businessman in me was pushing to evict, but I wanted to give them another couple weeks.
On Thursday, the tenant gave me a large payment that went a long way to catching up, in spite of continuing difficulties the family is having. I believe the rest of the money will be forthcoming soon. Plus I was able to stay true to what I wanted this business to be like, with a human face and not just run by numbers.
Sometimes believing in people can have it's own reward.
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