There are loads of laws related to tenant-landlord issues. A 3-day pay or quit is essentially a notice that the tenant has three days to pay up or you may start the eviction process. Since you are green in this area, consult a lawyer. A few hundred bucks now will save you potentially thousands and lots of headaches.
You can use this notice when the tenant is behind on the rent. You don’t have to fill out this notice as soon as the rent is overdue. A lot of tenants are sometimes late with rent.
Before you fill out this notice, contact the tenant. Find out if the rent is on its way. But, if you think the tenant won’t or can’t pay the rent, fill out the notice as soon as possible.
The notice:
* Has to be in writing
* Has to have the title “Three Day Notice to Pay Rent or Quit”
* Has to say the name of the tenant
* Has to say the address you’re talking about
* Has to say exactly how much rent is overdue
* Has to say why that much rent is due and the dates the rent was due
* Has to give the tenant the chance to pay the rent or move out in 3 days
* Has to say that if the tenant doesn’t pay in 3 days, they’ll forfeit the lease.
* You have to sign and date the notice
Be very careful when you fill out the 3-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Quit. The notice won’t be valid if you:
* Don’t say how much money is due,
* Ask for more money than what is due,
* Ask for rent that was due more than 1 year ago,
* Ask for something that’s not rent. This can be late charges, interest, utilities, property taxes, or damages,
* Tell the tenant to “pay rent and quit” (instead of “pay rent or quit”), or
* If you don’t let the tenant chose to forfeit the lease. This is called “election of forfeiture.”
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Personally I use a property management company (My property is 150 miles away, so I kinda need to). But even when I lived 1 mile from my property I used a PM company. They are professional screeners and rent collectors and the good ones will cover some portion of eviction costs (e.g. up to $500) if needed. They deal with tenants, including those who have trouble paying and have the skills and knowledge to work these issues.
