What is included in Lien amount

Faye

When a lien is placed do you include the currents month rent even if it is not late? Our rent is due on the 1st of the month and liens are placed after 30 days of non payment which include the current months rent, late fees for previous months rent and Lien notice fee. My understanding is the lien amount is the total due when lien is placed.

CVSSSTORAGE

total due when the lien is placed.

Faye

CVSSSTORAGE said:

total due when the lien is placed.

Faye

CVSSSTORAGE said:

total due when the lien is placed.

Rent is due on the 1st, 30 days past due is the 1st of the next month. Liens get done on the 1st of the next month and that months rent is not past due yet do you still add that into lien amount?

Faye

Faye said:

CVSSSTORAGE said:

total due when the lien is placed.

Rent is due on the 1st, 30 days past due is the 1st of the next month. Liens get done on the 1st of the next month and that months rent is not past due yet do you still add that into lien amount?

I'm asking because I have been doing it this way for 7 years and a tenant that only pays when she has been given a lien has decided that her lien amount can't include the current months rent because it isn't 30 days past due.

skinman

Our lien amount is the total due when the lien letter is generated... It specifically states that rent and late fees continue to be assessed. If a tenant chooses to only pay the amount that's on the notice... I'm fine with it, as they will still not have access to their unit but the past due amounts are paid off.

It also states in the letter if they don't pay by a certain date... their lock is cut, resulting in a cut lock fee, inventory fee and auction fee.

skinman

Her account is "past due" on the 2nd. if our notice is generated after the 1st, the current month is included in the amount.

CVSSSTORAGE

We do not accept anything other than what is on the screen once a tenant is in prelien. They know when their rent is due, so if they cannot pay that big amount they need to pay the past due before their new rent is due. We used to just take the past due amount but it was not helping customers they ended up being late and going into lien again. 

GSS

The way we do it is the following: 

Rent is due on the 1st (we have a 10 day grace period) 
Late fee is applied on the 11th. (locked out) 
Lien fee is applied on the 22nd (or 23rd, depending on the calendar, overlocked) 

Once the 1st of the the following month rolls around they have until the 10th to make a payment on JUST the lien month. If they don't then they owe for the past month (with late and lien fees) and now the current month. 

i43storage

Total due at of date of lien letter.

Faye

Thank you for all of your input. I didn't think we did it different than any other facility. 

AnitaJohnson1269

We stopped using the statement "grace period" as this leads tenants to believe they are not late until the 6th of the month when the late fee applies...  this is where you get your "skips" before the gate locks them.  I always let them know "you are considered late after the 1st, and a late fee will apply after the 5th day past due"  
So technically, if you sent your lien notices on the 2nd of the next month, both months would be passed due. 

CVSSSTORAGE

Anita we also had to stop saying they had 10 days because people would not count the first day due and they would go 11 days. We had so many people argue with us we just tell them on the 10th day you get a late fee