Landlord keeps calling about the rent before its due.?

My landlord is a pain. She never comes and fixes things that have been wrong since day one. My rent is due on the 1st, but is not considered late until the 7th. She called me on Feb 25,2008 asking about March 1st rent. Then she called again today asking about it. Its not considered late until the 7th. How can I get her to stop harrassing me?

Get caller ID...don't answer your phone.

That is how you deal with someone like that.

You have every right to pay it on the 7th if you wish.

As a landlord myself, I can offer some insight into this problem.
She may be calling early to make sure you are going to have the rent on time because you may have been late in the past. Most landlords have to pay a mortgage on the property you are renting, and pay it out of the rent they collect. I had one tenant that if I wasn't there to collect on payday, by the next day they had blown their paycheck on booze and gambling, and I was out of luck. This person was just too much trouble to deal with so I finally evicted him.
Let me state two things about the repairs: Most leases state the tenant is responsible for the inside repairs, such as changing light bulbs and clogged toilets. Any repairs the landlord does comes out of their pockets, and when they are only making about $25 a month on the property, they aren't going to do the minor stuff the tenant should be doing. If you broke something, don't expect the landlord to fix it without charging you for the repair. You broke it; you pay for it - same as in a store.
Secondly, if I have a tenant that is always late with the rent, and constantly comes up with excuses as to why they can't pay but yet they still have cable TV, a cell phone, and smoke three packs a day, I have little sympathy for them.
My tenants that pay on time (so I'm not late on the mortgage payment and have to pay a late fee) always get their repairs done right away, and I even take care of the 'light bulb' type issues for them.
Questions on the 'repairs not done since day one': Did you put the request in writing? Is it an actual repair or something you decided you didn't like after you moved in? (One tenant called me to repair a ceiling fan that wasn't broken. She simply had decided she didn't like the way it looked after she moved in and wanted one with three globes and a dimmer instead of the single large globe it had. Another decided the brand new carpet I had put in right before he moved in was too light in color so dirt showed up too much. He never vacuumed the place.)
Check your local laws on what the landlord's responsibilities are, and what agency you can complain to if she has a legitimate repair to do but won't do it. - Note: Don't abuse the system because if you keep reporting trivial things then the one time you really need something repaired they will assume you are just crying wolf again. Be sure and put the repair request in writing.
Above all else, don't wait until the last second to pay the rent - it makes landlords nervous and they won't be as willing to help you when you do get into a jam.
Zeba
http://www.jigsawaday.com

It may not incur late charges until the 7th, but its still DUE on the first. Pay it on time and she won't bug you.

If it is due on the first it is late on the second.

Try paying on time, maybe that will help.

She isn't "harassing" you. You pay late and she calls and asks for her rent. Since you often pay late, she has now begun calling in advance.

Your rent is due on the 1st. She has voluntarily given you the courtesy of not charging you a late fee until the 7th. This does NOT change the due date of your rent. Your rent is still due on the 1st.

If it is due on the 1st, the 2nd onward is considered late. She just doesn't charge you a fee until the 7th. The 7th is not an extension of the date when your rent is due. It's due on the 1st. Anything after that is late, wether she charges a fee or not.

If she won't make repairs, call the city for an inspection.

If it says in your lease that its not considered late between teh dates of the 1st and 7th, then tell her in a nice way that she will be getting her money soon. And do pay her like the next day.

If she called you about rent on the 25th, maybe its just a reminder.

Pay your rent on time. The rent is DUE on the first of the month. The 7th is a grace period for mail, etc.

You are paying your rent late.

This is the same thing for mortgages. The payment is DUE the first. You have 15 days before a late fee is charged.

If you sign a lease remind her that the lease stated when the rent was due or just don't answer your phone

This month when you pay the rent, give her a list of things that need to be fixed. Next month when she asks you about where the rent is, tell her that she will have it no later than the 7th as she always does, and ask her how her plans for correcting so-and-so are coming.

There are a lot of good landlords out there. I've never run into one that gave me the least problem. Find a new place unless your rent is outrageously low, in that case, decide it you can put up with her.

Here's what you should do:
Write a list of everything wrong with the property - the repairs which you believe the property needs AND everything else which is wrong..

In that same letter, quote the sections of the lease you are referring to about the due date, grace period and late fee.

Make a copy of the list for your file. Keep a copy on the hard drive. "Snail mail" the original signed letter to her.

She SHOULD get the message.

Thanks for asking your Q! I enjoyed answering it!

VTY,
Ron Berue
Yes, that is my real last name!

i would suggest paying the rent on the 1st and look up online about an esctow account and taking landlords to court dont do it without making sure it is what you want to do i was a realtor and our company had an escrow account situation when we took over a house prevoous properity managers were not fixing things and the tennants made an escrow account and paid rent to the account properity managers could not get the money untill it was settled in court or thngs were fixed you must continue paying rent but they must fix the discrepencies if in lease to recieve funds. states differ and i have no legal experiance but you could look into it

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