Question: Has anyone had a Tenant that was being evicted suddenly have a Fairy Godmother pay their past and future rent?We have two MHPs and some of our Tenants have family members who pay the bills. We love these family members. They pay on time (or early) and the Tenants never cause any issues.We also have Tenants that suddenly ‘find’ money when they are about to be evicted.However, we now have a new twist. This is more of a Fairy Godmother situation.We just had a Tenant who was late on the Rent and about to be evicted from one of our South Carolina MHPs.After the first eviction notice was served we received a call from the Vail, Colorado area. It was from a woman who said that she would pay all past rent and the future 4 months rent. This Fairy Godmother called on Saturday and said that she would place the check in the mail on Monday.Well, I am sure that we have all heard the check is in the mail story, so we were not holding our breath for the check to arrive.However, low and behold the ‘Cashier’s Check’ arrived today for the Past Due amount plus Dec 2014.The woman included a hand-written note that said that she would pay the Rent up til March 2015.The woman wrote that our Tenant and children were very dear to her. However, she did not say that they were related or how they knew each other.Of course we will not evict the Tenant and cash the check.We were just curious if anyone else has run into this situation.Thanks So Very Much!
I have not personally had anything like this happen but I can almost guarantee you will have ongoing payment issues with this tenant until he either leaves or you finally get fed up enough to evict.What I would do is speak to this benefactor and make it clear to them that if the rent is late again for any reason what so ever you will evict. That should save you having to case them for money on a regular bases. Just get rid of them next time.
Yes, I’ve had the exact same situation many times. I’m willing to bet that the lady in Vail is a distant relative who is wealthy and they finally summoned the courage to call her and she has agreed to bail them out. That at least shows the tenant is trying (maybe not getting a job but at least working their network of lenders), and money is money. And I will also bet that she will pay beyond April, because she does not want them to go homeless – she is just hoping they get their act together by April.One big observations here is that you need to have credit card capability at every park, as the Fairy Godmother often does not have cash but a VISA with a zero balance. I have had these helpful individuals call and say “I want to pay up everything that is owed but I only have this credit card” and then put $4,000 on it. If you don’t take credit cards, the opportunity is lost.
Hi,What is the easiest way to have credit card capability for the park? Can someone share a link or provide directions?Thank you.
DallasMHP,If you user RentManager, they have an online portal you can add to handle credit card payments. If not, I recommend PayPal Here. It is an online gateway and onsite service via smartphone or tablet. We have used both and both work well for our needs.
Greg, Frank, DallasMHP & Brandon, thank you very much for your comments!Frank, your comment is exactly correct:"I’m willing to bet that the lady in Vail is a distant relative who is wealthy and they finally summoned the courage to call her and she has agreed to bail them out."The Fairy Godmother’s handwritten letter states the following concerning our Tenant:- “She is a very wonderful person with an amazing heart. She and her boys are very, very important to us.”- "She doesn’t ask for help often."Thanks So Very Much!
I had a dead fairy godmother pay up an evicted tenant’s past due balance. (Relative received money from estate who gave/loaned it to ex-tenant.) I will take money from dead people, at least for tenants who are already out of the park!
Loricooper, thank you for your comment!I am with Frank and Loricooper. If the Tenants are already in the Park, I will take money where I can get it :-).As Frank said:’…money is money’As Lori said:'I will take money from dead people’Thanks So Very Much!
You can take credit cards through PayPal. PayPal has a widget you can insert into your website.Is the ski-bunny Fairy godmother in Vail open to adopting some of my tenants in Kansas and Oklahoma…? :)) -jl-
Jefferson, thanks so very much for your comment!I will see if the Ski-Bunny Fairy Godmother is open to adopting some of your tenants. It might be easier for her to visit them in Kansas and Oklahoma :-).
UPDATE: Fairy Godmothers are good people. Fairy Godmothers will pay the bill for a while, but then they wise up. Ultimately, we have learned that Greg was correct.
As per Greg:
"…I can almost guarantee you will have ongoing payment issues with this tenant until he either leaves or you finally get fed up enough to evict."
Greg was correct.
Colorado Fairy Godmother generously paid 7 months of the Mobile Home Rental. Fairy Godmother had/has a very kind heart. However, at the end the Fairy Godmother realized that she was enabling our Tenant and FG stopped footing the bill.
As Greg predicted our Tenant was not able to pay going forward, thus we evicted them.
The problem lies in that the Tenant did more damage to our POH during the time frame that Fairy Godmother was paying the rent.
In hindsight (which is 20/20) we should have given a 30 day notice of lease ending and found another Tenant.
Hopefully, others can learn from us.
Now, if it was a Tenant Owned Home, accepting the Fairy Godmother’s money might be ok.
We wish you the very best!
We use Square to accept credit card payments in this situation. It’s very simple to set up, just go to the App store to down this app and you can get it set up in 10 minutes. It takes all major credit cards, includes Amex. The funds will hit your bank account the next business day. It charges 2.65%-3.5% fees, a little higher than the regular credit card terminals but it’s convenient.
Happy Investing!
ShanTX, thank you for the information!
Paying was not a issue with the Fairy Godmother. The Fairy Godmother was great and paid early. She paid with checks that went through with no problems.
The issue was a Tenant who was a con artist and who used people (ie…Fairy Godmother; probably neighbors).
Once the Fairy Godmother realized that she was enabling our Tenant, she stopped paying.
The Tenant who was used to conning others was sad and destructive when her ride came to an end.
This Tenant has been evicted.
We are now fixing the repairs.
After renting out Park Owned Homes for a couple of years I have determined that the following are great tools:
- Eviction Report
- Criminal Report
- Credit Report (For our current level of Tenants this is not a high priority)
I have also determined that for us something is almost as valuable as the above.
That item would be:
- The level of respect a Tenant innately has
The higher the amount of respect that a Tenant has for others, then the higher the level of care they will take while living in your Park Owned Home.
For Prospective Tenants initially I deal with them primarily through email.
I treat everyone with respect (even though at some points that is difficult).
The way a person writes and the way they present themselves if pretty clear through the written word.
We just had a Marine and his family rent one of our POHs. The Marines do it right. This Marine is one of the most respectful people I have ever encountered.
Even though respect cannot necessarily be translated into a tangible score…I believe that it translates into the type of Tenant you will be receiving.
We wish you the very best!