Tenant Payment Performance Update v2023-08
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EVICTIONS UPDATE
The eviction process is speeding up! We successfully recovered control of over 13 properties by either having bailiffs remove nonpaying tenants or by getting nonpaying tenants to vacate before we sent bailiffs (saving owners money!).
All, but Detroit’s 36th District Court, are finally caught up and we are seeing processing times significantly improving. We are starting to hit pre-covid processing times.
The only negative eviction news we have is that the Michigan Supreme Court recently chose to extend the COVID-related minimum two-hearing eviction process permanently. So, even if a tenant doesn’t show up for the first eviction hearing, judges are supposed to adjourn and reschedule another hearing. Some nonpayment cases may also be stopped, for up to 28 days, if the tenant can demonstrate they have applied to a rental assistance program.
TENANT APPLICANT SCREENING CHALLENGES
Summer is almost over! We have noticed that there are more vacant homes as landlords are able to recover possession of their homes. However, the rental market is cooling off leading to more extended vacancy periods. We have noticed that with increased screening qualifications, it is harder for tenants to find homes. Well-qualified tenants have more options when searching for a rental.
Correspondingly, we’ve noticed that some landlords are becoming more creative with their rent specials to attract qualified applicants.
On the other hand, we continue to see applicants submit fraudulent documents, and references, and do anything and everything to hide any information that may result in denial. While we do our best to work with every applicant, we have also amped up our screening process and efforts to find information an applicant does not want to disclose.
Due to concerns about being accused of Fair Housing discrimination, and getting sued, we have to proceed carefully with every application we receive. As a result, it’s taking us longer to process each application.
RENT PAYMENT TRENDS 30-60-90+ Days Behind Update
We saw a slight decrease in the number of tenants paying total rent last month. We expect this is due to the back-to-school time. We noticed that around this time families spend more on necessities and school supplies for their children and that stretches their monthly budget. However, we were able to work with numerous families to get them on a payment plan to help them stay on track. As the graph shows, the number of tenants paying partial rent did increase this month and we continue to see a decrease in the number of tenants paying no rent.
Macomb County:
We had a sharp increase in the number of tenants paying full rent. More tenants have been able to get back on track and pay full rent after they paid off their past-due balance with a payment plan. Correspondingly, we also saw improvements in those paying zero rent.
Oakland County:
Our rent collection efforts have generated improvements in 9 out of the last 12 months of tenants paying full rent! The number of tenants paying zero rent has also decreased as we were able to evict several non-paying tenants in the Pontiac area
Wayne County:
The positive trends also continue in Wayne County. In addition to an increase in the number of tenants paying full rent, the number of non-performing tenants continues to decrease. This is due to our eviction team working hard to remove the non-performing tenants
