The effects of the global Covid 19 pandemic have been devasting to countless businesses. Restaurants, retail stores, and the service industries have been decimated. Luckily for them, public sentiment and sympathy has been on their side and consumers have made a conscious effort to help when they can. Public and social media campaigns have rightfully implored us to shop local, shop small, and shop often. In some cases, these calls to action have undoubtedly saved local businesses. But what about the businesses that are struggling and not getting help? What about the extreme cases where local, state, and federal laws and ordinances are actually working against them and there is no sympathy from the public? This is the situation that thousands of mom-and-pop landlords find themselves in today.
Initially eviction moratoriums were imposed at the state level fairly early on in March 2020. This was especially problematic for many landlords. The spring months are an important time for collecting rent in Detroit, with large summer property tax bills due in early July. While aid to struggling tenants was well warranted, the action was completely one sided as it did not mandate any sort of property tax relief. The only form of aid was to allow a delay in payment in some cases. As state moratoriums finally ended in August, landlords attempting to regain possession of their properties were met by court systems jammed and backlogged with months of cases. Little relief would come from that source anyway, as The CDC soon imposed their own ban on evictions in September of 2020. As if these challenges were not stressful enough, now we are facing a third moratorium, this one imposed by the new administration at the Federal level.
Unfortunately, as time has gone by, many tenants have realized the impossibility of being evicted and have given up on even trying to pay rent. In some cases, this is due to the inability to pay and sadly in some cases it is just the unwillingness to do so. This is where having the right property management company can make all the difference in the world for struggling landlords. Cash for keys, forgiveness of past rents, and discounted past due balances are all possible ways of trying to recover nonperforming properties. The best managers though have become experts in the various Eviction Diversion Programs (EDP) available to past due tenants. According to Jordan Glass of Midpoint Real Estate Services in Detroit, the programs are tricky and cumbersome to navigate. They also require assistance in gathering documentation from the tenants. That said, when successful they have proven to be the most effective tool for landlords to keep funds flowing into and from their investments. To date, Glass has recovered over $51,000 in past due rents on behalf of Midpoint’s clients. He has several other cases in processing and adds to them each day. Even as moratoriums expire, courts are expected to be backlogged for months. This only increases the value of professionals like Glass who can assist otherwise stuck landlords in trying to recover past due rents and keep tenants in their homes.
If your current manager has not been taking advantage of EDP programs and you have tenants that have fallen behind, Jordan Glass can be contacted at 313-659-1700 or at info@midpointdetroit.com
