Strategies That Help Landlords Avoid Eviction
Since the end of the pandemic, evictions have been on the rise in Portland, and across the entire state of Oregon.
Even though eviction is something that every landlord must deal with at some point, the reality is that it’s entirely possible for landlords to avoid evicting tenants if they use the right strategies to help avoid eviction.
In this article, we will share with you several strategies that landlords can use to help the costly eviction process.
Steps For Avoiding Eviction
One of the best ways you can avoid the eviction process with a tenant is to make sure that your lease is very clear about rent, and the consequences for paying rent late.
Some key points that your lease should include area:
- When rent is due
- What your grace period is
- When rent is considered late
- Late fees
- When the eviction process starts
Having clear language in the lease regarding rent is not enough, you must also be willing to enforce the rules because, if you let your tenant get by with paying the rent late, that tenant will take advantage of your generosity and be willing to do that again anytime in the future.
Worse yet, tenants who pay their rent late won’t hesitate to tell their friends, family members, or other renters that they’ve paid rent late and that those tenants can do the same should they encounter similar circumstances where they must pay late in the future if they are renting from you.
Encourage Communication When If Your Tenant Has Financial Problems
Another important thing that you can do to help avoid the eviction process with your tenant is to be willing to communicate with them when they experience financial problems.
Since the start of the pandemic, it’s not uncommon for many tenants to have lost jobs, changed jobs, or industries, so it’s best to encourage your tenants to be very upfront and communicate with you if they are experiencing financial problems.
It’s always best to be willing to work out payment arrangements with tenants, especially if you know the money is coming because good tenants are worth their weight in gold.
It’s better to work with them rather than just take that tenant through the eviction process and start all over again with finding a new tenant for your property.
Connect Tenants with Local Social Support Services
Another important thing to do once your tenant reaches out to you regarding a job loss that will cause them to be late paying their rent is for you to connect them with local social support services.
Tenants must be made aware that help is available to them if they’re unable to pay their rent on time or if there’s faced with not being able to buy food for the month, they should know that support programs are out there that they can tap into to help cover the gaps until they get back on track financially.
Offer Them Cash for Keys
Let’s be clear, the absolute last thing that a tenant wants is to have been an eviction on their rental record, the same is true for the landlord, every landlord wants to avoid eviction with their tenant, therefore offering them an arrangement like cash for keys is ideal.
Cash for keys is one of the most time-tested ways to avoid eviction because, instead of taking the delinquent tenant through the eviction process, the landlord offers them a viable cash payment for them to move out within a set period.
Even though cash for keys is an ideal way to avoid eviction, this agreement must also be in writing and the tenant must be made aware that if they violate the agreement, they will immediately face eviction.
Inform Your Tenants That You Will Report the Eviction to The Credit Bureaus
Last of all, but most important, if an eviction with a tenant is moving forward, you should also inform the tenant that you will be reporting the eviction to the credit bureaus.
This is important to mention because, in today’s world a credit score is priceless, and nobody wants to have an eviction on their Portland credit report which could hinder their ability to successfully apply for a mortgage loan.
It’s best to lay out all the consequences of the eviction to the tenant right from the very beginning so that they’re aware that there’s more than one consequence that could affect them financially in the years to come.
Contact Rent Portland Homes – Professionals
At 4RentLocal.com/Rent Portland Homes – Professionals, we specialize in local property management services for the Portland Oregon area.
Our property management team saves owners the time, money, and hassle of managing their rental properties themselves so that they could focus on earning passive income and passive cash flow from those rental properties.
If you need help with property management services, including evictions, contact us today by calling (503) 447-7735 or clicking here to connect with us online.
