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There is no other time when issue arises in the management of real estate other than when the time is approaching to renew rent by the tenants. This scenario usually occurs with sitting tenants that have spent some considerable period on the property. For incoming tenants, paying rents isn’t usually an issue because it is their first time. Most property managers wouldn’t even dare give their properties to an incoming tenant whose rent is not complete or doesn’t have the money to pay. But for sitting tenants, renewing rent can be a serious problem. Many of them would give all manner of excuses at this point and so, smart property managers have a way around avoiding such stress.
Rent reminder notice is one sure way to avoid this. What rent reminder does is to prepare the hearts of your tenants away ahead before their rent expires. The mistake many property managers make is that: they wait till probably a week or a month before the expiration of the rent before they start requesting for rent from tenants. This isn’t a good practice. From experience and based on what that have been tested and worked, the first rent reminder notice should be sent to the tenant six months into the tenancy. This would give a sense of preparedness to such tenant that preparation for the next rent payment should begin earnestly.
For those tenants in a long lease arrangement say five to ten years, sending a rent reminder notice every now and then may not be necessary if they have completed the payment of their rent for the period of the lease. But for those tenants in yearly occupation, a good property manager would not want to joke with a rent reminder notice. Immediately the tenant enters into its eight month of occupation, another reminder notice ought to be sent. This time, it is pertinent to state in the letter whether the tenant would want to renew his or her rent at the end of the expiration. At this point, the property manager must endeavor to get a response whether the tenant would want to stay or probably move out.
If the tenant indicates that he or she will be leaving at the end of the rent, then it prepares the property manager well ahead of time on going about what is known as pre-vacation inspection. The need and importance of pre-vacation inspection would be discussed in our subsequent write ups. If the tenant however indicates that he or she would love to renew the rent, then the process of how to go about collecting it should be set in motion.
By the tenth month into the tenancy, another letter known as rent request/demand notice should be sent. At this point, the property manager is saying the tenant should be prepared to make another payment. This would be much easier if the rent has not been reviewed anyway. In cases where the rent may have been reviewed upward, then it is going to be a different ball game entirely. But in all of these, the importance of rent reminder notices is that it prepares the tenants way ahead of time on how to start setting aside monies in order to meet their next rent obligation.
