Tenant Payment Performance Update through April 2022

2022-05-07

Tenant Payment Performance Update through April 2022

 

We’re not aware of any other local management company sending their clients these types of updates. Please let us know if you hear of another company doing so. 

Please be sure to share this with anyone you know interested in real estate investing or looking for a better property manager, so they can see what they are missing!

 

EVICTIONS UPDATE

Detroit’s 36th District Court is still trying the patience of landlords and attorneys due to their bias toward tenants. Their still “kicking the can down the road” on many eviction cases. It’s our opinion that instead of helping these tenants, as they probably think they are doing, they are actually teaching them there is no accountability for their actions. Since the legal system is teaching these tenants they can get away with not paying their rent, they will do what comes naturally and push the boundaries to see what else they can get away with. 

The cost of the eviction courts in Metro Detroit is almost back to normal timelines, with most cases addressed in under 90-days and many in 60-days.

GOVERNMENT AID FOR PAST DUE TENANTS

Michigan has extended the COVID Emergency Rental Assistance (CERA) program again. The previous cutoff was December 21, 2021, but it’s murky what the new cutoff date is. We’re being told applicants will be approved until the funds run out. 

TENANT APPLICANT SCREENING CHALLENGES

We just politely declined ( to avoid Fair Housing issues) an applicant that pasted their name and address on top of the paystub and bank statement of someone else. Fortunately, this one was pretty easy to catch!

Another issue that’s spreading across the country is applicants providing fake medical letters for “emotional support animals”.  This is done to force landlords to allow pets and avoid additional pet-related charges. Websites exist where applicants can just buy these fake letters. We’re monitoring developments on how to identify these, so we can reject them without exposing ourselves to a lawsuit.  

WARNING: due to all these fraudulent applications and the coming displacement of nonpaying tenants, we expect some challenges this year in how long It will take to find new tenants for some Class B and many Class C vacant properties. We’ll probably get a LOT of applications, but most will be denied. So, please understand and be a bit more patient this year!

RENT PAYMENT TRENDS 30-60-90+ Days Behind

It’s getting challenging making sense of minor fluctuations in our data as we add more and more properties under management. Since we’re often hired to fix problems other management companies have caused, we take on many properties with nonpaying tenants. This, unfortunately, skews our numbers. While the effects have been relatively minor up to this point, we’re monitoring them and exploring options if the impact becomes too large.

Overall, there was very little change in April’s numbers.  Our biggest challenge is “patiently” waiting on the eviction process to play out on the tenants that will never pay their past due balances. We wish there was a way to expedite the process and we’re open to suggestions.

Macomb County: Not a lot of change here either. A few tenants fell from the ranks of Paid-In-Full to Partial Payments.


Oakland County:  We just took on a portfolio of nonperforming properties in Pontiac, Michigan which is a Class C area. So, our numbers are a bit skewed because of that. Excepting those, there was little change in performance.

Wayne County: A takeover of a nonperforming apartment building and a small portfolio of single-family properties skewed these numbers also.

Miscellaneous

We’re seeing an uptick in squatters breaking into vacant properties, unfortunately. 

Why? Because all the tenants that thought they could take advantage of the system and not pay rent are starting to get evicted – and landlords aren’t renting to them. So, they have no place to go unless they find somewhere to “squat”. 

The question is, how are the politicians and courts that allowed this to get out of hand, going to solve this problem? You may want to watch the blame game and finger-pointing these parties start doing – instead of trying to actually solve the problem.

Of course, landlords will be portrayed as being rich & greedy and blamed again.

 Again, please refer us to others you know interested in real estate investing or that are looking for a better property manager!

 

 

 

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