Before Covid, when a tenant did not pay rent on time and I heard from our property manager that he was not intending to pay, I would go visit the family. I would talk to him outside since I had not notified them I wanted to come in.

They were usually apprehensive but I would be sympathetic to them and ask about their money problems. Then I would bring up that I had heard they would not be able to pay rent and that that might continue for quite a while.

Then I would drop the bomb. I would say: “Well I can offer you $500 in cash if you can be out by XXX (a day 3 days in the future). And I will refund your entire deposit.”

“All I need is to come in right now and look at any damage. It doesn’t matter how much there is or the cause, the only condition is that there isn’t any more damage after you leave.”

Suddenly I became the nicest man alive. I could always enter the unit and there was never any further damage.

On the appointed day, at the agreed time, I would show up with my maintenance guy, a giant ex-marine, and a receipt that said they were voluntarily moving our and I was paying them $XXX. As soon as they were gone, we re-keyed the lock and secured the sliding windows with blocks of wood.

I always gave them cash when they signed the receipt because many had a tenuous connection with the banking system and may have had their bank accounts seized. I did not want anything to stand between them and a motel room.

This is called “cash for keys” and it works. Many inexperienced landlords think it is wrong, but over the years it has beaten the costs of an eviction, lost rent, and damage to the units by a mile. I can get all the court judgements in the world but they are uncollectible. By giving the tenant a part of the money he would have beaten me out of just on lost rent we both come out ahead. They get cash in their pocket and I get the unit rented to people who pay. Lawyers, court fees, and repair costs — they get stiffed.