What is the best way for tenants to pay rent?

Question

Hi,

I am new to the real estate game. My partner and I were wondering on what are the ways for tenants to pay rent? is there a company/website/app you recommend and what is its associated service charge?

Monthly payment via venmo would be a bad idea. Right?

Thanks!

Ika Sargeant · Answer

@Vinh Nguyen Yes I usually send a reminders if one of the tenants have not paid the day before late fee is charged. All of them pay on time and I like the fact that in addition to my own accounting I can track the zelle payments. The best investment is making sure you get good tenants to start with.

Theresa Harris · Answer

Honestly it depends on you and the tenant. I would avoid anything where they can go in later and dispute the charge and take the payment back.  I've used etransfers through their bank and postdated cheques.  I like the latter as I get them in one batch from the tenant and then I can go to the bank and deposit them on the first of the month.  Not everyone has a bank account, so that can limit payment options for tenants.

Vinh Nguyen · Answer

@Ika Sargeant thank you! How do you go about implementing it? Just have tenants pay the first week of every month through zelle/Apple Pay? What if they forget or is there a reminder alert? And how does late rent fee implemented?

Ika Sargeant · Answer

@Vihn Nguen there are lots of Platforms. Now I use Zelle and Apple Pay because I heard they are more secure. I used venmo and then migrated to these two platforms. Lots of platform do collect rent but some will charge for this service.

Vinh Nguyen · Answer

@Joseph Firmin great! thank you!

Joseph Firmin · Answer

Make it as easy as possible. As a landlord, you could use Cozy.co... great platform. Venmo isn't bad, as long as you get paid. Make it easy and impossible for them to say they couldn't pay or it was late because of xyz... There are tools from ACH, Venmo, PayPal, PayNearMe, etc..