Evicting Tenants is not pleasant, but sometimes it is necessary.

Let’s face it: dealing with renters can sometimes be stressful. But if you have to also deal with tenants who have missed rental payments and don’t seem to care about coming up with a solution to the problem, then you have more problems—and bigger headaches.

Giving renters time to pay their missed payments is important; so is asking them to stay in touch with you regarding rent issues. If you find that your tenants are willfully disregarding your efforts and that more than a few weeks have passed, then you have to escalate the process, which usually means sending out an official notice to pay rent or face eviction.

If more time continues to pass and still don’t see the rent (and any late charges that may accrue), you may, in moments of extreme aggravation, consider your tenants out or shutting off their utilities. Of course, you don’t do either, because both actions are illegal.

Having exhausted other, more amicable means of settling the non-payment problem, you start legal proceedings against your renters. But before a lawyer can take action, you may have to show that as many as four months have gone by without you receiving rental payments from your tenants. In the meantime you’re losing money—and probably a lot of sleep as well.

Herman Boswell Property Management understands the needs of landlords like you. Managing investment properties is a more than full-time job that requires both business and interpersonal savvy. Count on us to handle even the most difficult rental situations with the integrity on which we made our name and through which we’ll protect yours.