I used to be a social worker and help many times with families displaced by fire. I am a very different kind of landlord as a result of these experiences.
One, I am motivated more by the long-run, wealth building, neighborhood stabilizing model of real estate acquisition...harder in Pittsburgh, but not impossible...than the short-term, quick buck, cash flow model.
Also, I apply a little compassion and common sense to my property management which benefits me, my tenants, and the community. For instance, every unit is at code or better than code, no exceptions; safety and security are #1. Rents are fair to both me and the tenant. In addition to proactive maintenance and inspections, I provide every unit with trash/recycling containers, curb service (someone takes trash to curb and cans back), mow & blow, and snow/ice removal.
Most of my houses are in low income neighborhoods. When it seems like rent is coming a bit late, I check in with the tenant pretty quickly. "What's the story? Why the delay? When can you catch up? What can I do to help? How can we work this out?" Sometimes folks have a bad month...fired, laid off, sick, car breaks, whatever. Frequently, I will allow tenants to miss one month of rent (I do not advertise this) and pay it back as a small additional (to subsequent rent) sum over 6-8 months. In 95% of cases, this does the trick...they get a little relief, they stay in my unit, they catch up no problem.
If there's a problem the next month or a couple months later, I check in to see if it's time to think about getting them out of the unit. What's going on that they can't pay rent? Can I help at all? If it seems like they're going to struggle to stay in the place, I help them move out! I own a small storage facility (20 units) and a box truck. We figure out where they can go. I offer to store some of their things. If they get out quickly and I can get another tenant in (and the place is in good shape), I even return their deposit. I've never had to formally evict someone in 10 years of doing this and this approach has saved me lots of money and headache. And it's humane.
There are some tax benefits to the way I handle things, so the difference between my way of doing things and the usual cutthroat model is only about 6% annually...not small change, but also not so much that I can't earn a nice living (and still employ a few guys year round). My properties are stable and my relationships with tenants are good. I think if other property managers realized they are in the service business instead of the exploitation business, they would have fewer problems and be more successful over the long haul.
That's what I keep telling myself, anyway....