Cut Losses Quickly
By Joseph M. Kaiser

Cut Losses Quickly . . .

Fine tune!

It hurts, I mean it really really hurts when you find yourself in a bind and realize that its time to call it a day and try to come and make things work tomorrow.

Often, that means taking it in the shorts and enduring a loss.

Believe me, an occasional loss is a cost of doing business and it happens to the best of us. And when a loss is staring you in the face, cut it and go.

Now, don't go making a habit out of it.

I had a tenant who'd been with me a long time. Nice fellow with an honest wife and a couple of grandkids they're supporting.

Daughter is in and out of jail leaving mom and pop to pick up the pieces.

I get that call that every landlord doesn't want to hear, Joe, were going to be late this month. Under normal circumstances I reiterate the ground rules and ask them to leave. This time, I didn't.

Two months later their rent check bounces and were in trouble. Now I do ask them to leave and they agree to be out by the twenty eighth of the month.

I stop by a day or two early, find no one at home, and see through the windows that nothing has been packed. Furniture still right were it was the last time I showed up.

Not good.

Phone is disconnected, I leave a note and plan on showing up tomorrow.

This time, they tell me they cant leave because their new rental house deal fell through.

I'm looking down the barrel of a three month delinquency now and ask myself a simple question . . .

Joe, what the hell were you thinking?


I filed the eviction paperwork the next day. there's three thousand dollars I will never see again and I just let it happen.

About a thousand of that was something I couldn't control, but that other two thousand was a direct result of me hoping things would get better and me eventually paid. I might as well wait around for the tooth fairy.

Cut it and go.

Forget about hoping that things will turn around, that they'll pay eventually or any of that other wishful thinking jazz. It ain't likely to happen.

Landlords sometimes don't evict because the figure if they do, they'll never see that back rent. So like me, they wait for months hoping that tenant turns things around. Trust me, they never do.

What I should have done was given them an extra week to come up with the dough. I should have required a note signed off right then and there for the unpaid rent, and I should have started eviction proceedings that very day.

Now when they don't pay Im already set up to get them out of there at once and I don't lose that extra two plus months this sucker ended up costing me.

Works the same with houses you've got on the books that just aren't selling.

Some sellers just keep right on asking top dollar and make those monthly payments on those empty houses until they flat run out of money. That too makes no sense whatsoever.

At some point, sooner than later, you need to drop that price and think about making it on the next one. Today, cut and go.

Summary

I had a house recently that we fixed up and sold . . . four times now. For any

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