Lost rent money, having nervous breakdown

Hi guys, I was having a nice mellow day. Was checking out Barnes and Nobles than went to the atm and pulled out $300 for my rent. I was walking home, walked down a few blocks than noticed my money wan't in my pocket. I panicked, walked all the way back to the atm. Retraced all my steps, nowhere to be found. I even went to the restaurants that I walked past and asked the employees if anyone turned anything in and no results. Rent is $660 and only have $400 in my account. What do I do guys?

Do you have family who can loan you the extra money until you can pay them back?

 

Why are you paying your landlord for rent in cash as opposed to a cheque?

 

Anytime I had rented, it was always paid by cheque.

 

Otherwise, if you can’t get the money by the due date, maybe you can speak to your landlord, explain to them what happened, and provided they’re willing to cut you a (small) break (meaning, a bit more time to get the money together), let them know when you can get the balance of the rent money to them, at the earliest.

 

I wouldn’t hold out hope that the landlord will agree to above though, so keep doing what you can to get the money together, whether you have to borrow from a family member, friend, etc.

 

I’ve heard of landlords cutting a break under tough circumstances, but like I said, I wouldn’t hold my breath.

 

I wish I had a better answer for you. Sorry this happened, OP - what a pain!

Thank you very much for your responce. This has been very devastating to me. I have have been renting for a very long time, and have always been able to pay my rent. Never had a large sum of money fell out of my pocket before. This is very frightening, having my life on the line. I wanted to get some things done today but have just been sitting in my room crying for hours.

Oh my goodness. I am so sorry you're going through this.

 

Is it possible to get money loaned to you from either friends or family?

 

Try to stay calm right now and figure out ways to sort this out.

Thank you very much for your responce. This has been very devastating to me. I have have been renting for a very long time, and have always been able to pay my rent. Never had a large sum of money fell out of my pocket before. This is very frightening, having my life on the line. I wanted to get some things done today but have just been sitting in my room crying for hours.

 

Aw, I'm sorry you're feeling this way, people!

 

Do you have anyone who can loan you the money until you can pay them back?

 

Also, do you know your landlord personally?

Thank you for your kindness Sherry.

I called my parents and they said they can't help. I don't know her personally but have been renting her for over 3 years.

Sitting in your room crying is not going to help and yes I understand how upset you are. Seriously, you need to pay rent with a cheque, not cash. Someone probably found the money and kept it.

 

Talk to your landlord, tell him the truth, hope he will give you some time to pay him. Borrow from friends or family.

People,

 

I am so sorry you lost the money. In another thread you mentioned a savings account. Can't you take money from it?

First of all, call your landlord, tell them the story, and offer them half for now, and see if they can give you an extension on the remainder.

 

This sucks. I'm so sorry. I'd like to say I'm "smarter" than this, but I lost my credit card, debit card, and driver's license out of my pocket at a city parade last year. Lesson: learned....next time, I'll be more careful. I'm sure you will be too, but that's little comfort for you now. I'm sorry.

I called my parents and they said they can't help. I don't know her personally but have been renting her for over 3 years.

 

Ok, so if you know that you can't borrow the money from someone else and that you won't be able to get the money in time, contact the landlord asap.

 

If you've been renting from this landlord for three years, and have always paid on time, the landlord may be more forgiving.

 

Call them, explain what happened, and see if you can negotiate more time to pay the balance of the rent that's owed. Make sure they're aware of the fact that you have always paid your rent on time, and that you have done so for the past three years.

 

Do you have funds coming into your bank account any time soon, people?

I'm so sorry that this happened. Why can't you pay your rent by transferring the money to their bank account? It's much safer.

 

But I'd try to call other family members if possible (since your parents can't borrow you money) to ask to borrow for money. If they can't and if you've always payed rent on time, I'd call the landlord and explain the situation and ask if you can pay a part now and pay the remainder later.

I get paid last Friday, then get paid on the 11th. Thank you for all your support everyone.

I get paid last Friday, then get paid on the 11th. Thank you for all your support everyone.

 

So maybe you can ask to pay the remainder on the 11th. It's not such a long time, I'm sure they'll understand.

I get paid last Friday, then get paid on the 11th. Thank you for all your support everyone.

 

So if you paid half the rent now (as LH suggested - because, yeah... you need money in the bank to survive until you're paid on the 11th), you can advise the landlord that the earliest you can pay the remaining amount will be on January 11th, your next pay day.

 

Let us know how everything works out, people!

The other thing you could do, in addition to offering half now, is to offer the other half in collateral. Do you have a watch, an iPad, anything of value, that you could offer to your landlord to hold in the meantime, as a measure of good faith? I would first try the explanation/half payment offer, but if they balk at the suggestion, then offer collateral.

I'm so sorry! You can get through this. Try to breathe.

 

What is the rental agreement where you live? Do you know the formal policy - it may be on your lease ?

In some cases, delayed payment is possible except there is an extra initial late charge and then additional by the day.

 

Are you aware of the actual consequences for first time delayed payment? Or are you freaking out jumping to worse possible conclusions right now?

Yes, let us know how it goes, People.

 

Crossing fingers for you and hoping your landlord will be reasonable.

I'd just get in touch with whomever you normally hand your rent to and let them know your intention to pay the difference on the 11th. If you're paying cash, I doubt they'd be so strict / formal to hand you a pay-or-quit on the 6th. And unless your place is rent-stabilized, it's difficult to imagine what incentive they could possibly have to if you've been paying faithfully these last three years.

 

It's easy to be afraid of landlords, and I'm not saying you should take it as license to be a d1ck, but it takes a pretty rare day and a rare tenant to make it worth the hassle to evict a reliable source of income for three years because they once paid five days after the grace period.

I'd contact the bank to have them review the 'eye in the sky' around the machine. That could point to forgetting to take the cash (and which customer came behind you) or otherwise might show how the money exited your possession.

 

Also, why pay rent in cash rather than a check or money order that would prevent a need to walk around with wads of cash?

 

I'd explain the shortage to the landlord along with a date you can pay the rest. A 3 year tenant is not something your landlord wants to evict over a single incident.

How are you doing, people?

Not too good, my landlord wants the money asap, and haven't had any friends or family able to help. I'm very stressed out.

Not too good, my landlord wants the money asap, and haven't had any friends or family able to help. I'm very stressed out.

And you would, too. Try not to get too worried over them wanting to assert that standard rather than patting tenants on the back. It's nothing personal or necessarily even meaningful that they don't chance a forgiving attitude being taken advantage of. If you'd lived or understood a landlord's situation, you'd know it would hardly be worth giving up what you know from the last three years to be a peaceful and reliable source of income over a one-time late payment.

You need to be more financially responsible going forward. Money never should be thrown in a pocket it belongs in a wallet or equivalent. If you find that you have no monetary reserves you need to make changes in how you spend money and also consider working more. Otherwise you'll be living paycheck to paycheck for the rest of your life. This month it's lost cash, next month could be a car repair or a health issue that prevents you from working. This incident really blows but it's only a blip on the radar of your entire life.

 

As far as your landlord goes, it's not that easy to kick somebody out, it can take months. Tenants have rights. Even if they are behind on rent. Use the time to build those reserves and get solvent again.

Agreed ^^ tell him it won’t be possible but offer him some collateral.