What do you do when a tenant simply won't pay? There are several ways this can go down.
1. You have them set up to direct deposit the rent money into your bank account (bad idea!) and you simply never see the money. But, at least you're up each night at midnight checking your bank account, HOPING the money is there because you know that any day now the mortgage payment is going to be sucked out of that very bank account.
2. Tenant states that they mailed the check/money order/shiny objects/car wash tokens. You watch the mailbox every day and. . . well, you wouldn't be here if this was working!
3. You visit the property to collect the rent and the tenant is not home. BUT, their cars are in the driveway and the TV is on inside. Weird.
In Arizona, the Arizona Landlord Tenant Act is very clear when it comes to collecting rent. Arizona law, being relatively landlord friendly, leaves very few reasons for a tenant to legally withhold rent. SO, you need to serve the tenant a 5 DAY NOTICE TO PAY OR QUIT. This is the only way to get the forcible detainer (eviction) process started for non-payment.
You can beg, plead, and sweet talk all you want, but until you serve the 5 day notice, you will GET NOTHING, YOU LOSE, GOOD DAY SIR!
Let's me stop for a moment and say I'm not an attorney. There are a couple of differences between the experienced staff at Beehive and attorneys. 1. We did not go to law school. 2. We know more about landlord tenant law than they do. (Okay, more than 99% of them.)
We pride ourselves on good screening before move-in, so we have very few evictions, (fewer than 1%). But when we do need to collect rent, the most effective method is to serve papers. There is no amount of cajoling, persuading, negotiating, coaxing or wheedling that will get someone to pay like the TICK TOCK of the 5 day clock! It's also inexpensive and easy! Need help getting a 5 Day Notice into the hands of your tenant? Stop Stressing! Call Beehive!
