Although the repercussions of the Coronavirus are not fully known, I want to let you know that TouchPoint Property Management is actively working to minimize any impact it could have on your rental property.
Lets first acknowledge that we are all in this together. You, Us, and your Tenant. The better we work together…the the better we will make it through this.
Situations like this are why you hired TouchPoint as your property manager
What we do know:
-We understand how important it is that you receive your rental income as you have your fair share of expenses associated with maintaining your property.
-We do expect that there will be a small portion of our tenants who will not be able to pay rent on time in April and perhaps into May. (We will notify you by email if your tenant has not paid rent by the 6th of the month or earlier if we receive notice in advance)
-Your tenant originally went through a thorough background check and screening process to determine that they were financially responsible and able to pay rent at the time. Unfortunately due to businesses shutting down and layoffs of employees….some tenants will not be able to make their rent payment over the next few months. Many tenants do not have a choice as they live paycheck to paycheck.
-In the past, if a tenant was late…we would follow strict rent collection protocols that could potentially lead to eviction court to collect payment or remove the tenant from the property. For at least the next 60 days…this will not be an option as the eviction courts are closed as there is a moratorium on eviction fillings. This means that if your tenant can not pay rent…we have no other choice but to ride this out and work with them. (We are working on putting together repayment plan addendum where applicable so we can collect back rent from your tenant over time as this clears up. Tenants are still responsible for rent and they don’t want a negative credit impact.) Please stand by for our next update on this
-Believe me when I tell you…the tenants are not happy about not being able to pay their rent. They are also scared as they don’t know how they are going to provide for themselves and their families.
-There is a natural slow down in the time-frame that it takes to rent out vacant properties as well…as many prospective tenant applicants are not physically moving due to the above mentioned financial issues and or fear of contracting the virus by being out in public and viewing properties. (All of our properties have an online video walk-through tours, we have self show lock-boxes, and our application and leasing process is 100% online. This means that tenants cant rent your property from us sight unseen over the internet without leaving their homes)
-It is not wise for properties to sit vacant too long as they are susceptible to undetected maintenance issues and or vandalism. (If your property is vacant now, you may want to consider making your property more marketable by reducing your rent list price or offering concessions to attract a qualified tenant’s who are on the fence on which properties they should rent out first. Your competition will be doing this. Your Manager will be making recommendations to you on a weekly basis.)
-Most lenders understand this problem and are offering the Owner’s forbearance on mortgage payments up to 12 months without late fees or negative credit ratings. And after the forbearance, they will offer payment plans. (This means that you are in no immediate risk of defaulting on your mortgage for the time being. Borrowers should contact their lender servicing company in advance to find out more details and notify them of any hardship that you may be experiencing)
Here are related links:
https://myhome.freddiemac.com/own/getting-help-disaster.html
https://www.hud.gov/press/press_releases_media_advisories/HUD_No_20_042
-When this blows over there are still going to be some tenants that won’t be able to pay back rent and may need to be evicted. We recommend that you look into purchasing a rent loss and eviction insurance policy from either of the two providers below. These policies don’t go into effect until the tenant has actually been evicted from the property. Once the tenant is evicted they will retroactively reimburse you for lost rent and eviction costs as per their policy with you. These insurance companies require proof that the property is being professionally managed. We will work with you and them to get you signed up if this is what you choose.
Surevestor
Steady Market Place
***Your Team at TouchPoint will be monitoring this and giving you regular updates. We will all make it through this.
