Real Estate Investor · Saint Petersburg, FL · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 951 votes
12y
I use a box at a UPS store, so I can accept UPS and FedEx in addition to mail. They also make it easy for my tenants to drop off the rent in person and just have the person behind the counter put it in my box. I get an email when I get a package or mail in my box, I think it's pretty convient. I never tell my tenants where I live.
Real Estate Investor · Saint Petersburg, FL · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 951 votes
12y
I use a box at a UPS store, so I can accept UPS and FedEx in addition to mail. They also make it easy for my tenants to drop off the rent in person and just have the person behind the counter put it in my box. I get an email when I get a package or mail in my box, I think it's pretty convient. I never tell my tenants where I live.
Greentown, IN · Member since 2012 · 140 posts · 18 votes
12y
We use a PO Box. We have a few tenants who know where we live, but only because they have family/friends who knew us already. Two of them bring their rent to our home, not a preference for us but the saving of a stamp for them must be worth it to them. We have talked of putting a lock box on the outside of our home for them so that we don't have to be home or don't have to bother us to drop of their rent.
Investor · Louisville, KY · Member since 2011 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
12y
PO Box is the way to go. Cheap and well worth the convenience. Just get one that is as close to your personal residence as possible. I usually combine checking my PO Box with other trips to properties or other random errands. Definitely don't want tenants knowing where you live, plus if you ever move or leave town for vacation, you can always pay somebody else to pick up your rent and deposit it for you.
@Patrick L...My concern is not so much tenants knowing where I live because in my town all that information is available in the public records. I just feel like I should have a separate business address when dealing with my investment properties.
@Michael Siekerka....Great point in regards to going on vacation. My primary address is available via public records though I'm sure not all tenants will check them.
Investor · Louisville, KY · Member since 2011 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
12y
There is a lot of information readily available in public records, but the average person has no interest or knowledge of how to look it up. Another big benefit of having a PO Box is that I never have to share my real address with anybody for anything (no contractors, marketers, sales people, the company I work for, etc). I only get mail 1x a month unless I order something off of Amazon and send it to my residence.
I purchased a distressed rental with bad tenants in it, all I gave them was my company name, first name and PO Box - none of them ever knew or could easily find where I live from that info.
Greeting fellow Pennsylvanian. Never give any tenant your home address. And even with 2 tenants a PO box is justified. You should use that address for all bills as well as all rents.
And if you're concerned about your home being in your name put it in some other name, like LLC, trust, dba, fictitious name, corp, or some other individual name.
Rental Property Investor · Seattle, WA · Member since 2013 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
12y
Our lives are pretty transparent. We have the properties in our names and addresses, list our personal residences in the rental agreements, have tenants frequently bring rent to our front door, and are often spotted by tenants and friends in our smaller town.
We got robbed shortly after starting our low income rental business, and I did wonder if there was a link at the time, but they found the thief living in a self storage unit, so he was even below our standards. LOL!
Stupid, maybe. Less hassle and cost, hopefully we won't regret it. We have never been out of town long enough for tenants to notice we are gone, since my day job prevents me from taking vacation the first two weeks of the month anyway.
@Patrick L...My concern is not so much tenants knowing where I live because in my town all that information is available in the public records. I just feel like I should have a separate business address when dealing with my investment properties.
You said it - it's public record, so it can be discovered even if you try to hide it. The PO box or UPS Store mailbox will cost you some extra money. If you have nothing to hide, just get it at your house, so you don't have to drive to get the rent :) And you end up with more cash flow by eliminating that expense.
We got robbed shortly after starting our low income rental business, and I did wonder if there was a link at the time, but they found the thief living in a self storage unit, so he was even below our standards.
Not to get off topic, but this is a new trend. Bums (homeless people) are renting self storage places for under $100 per month to sleep in. They then get a membership at Planet Fitness for $10 per month. That gives them a place to shower and dump out. It's cheap living for those who don't have their act together.
Buffalo, NY · Member since 2013 · 36 posts · 6 votes
12y
We use a P.O. Box. All bills and rents are sent there. It costs about $60 a year and is near my day job. I have a partner so this works extremely well incase one of us is out of town, the other can easily access.
What does the UPS/FedEx box cost? I like the idea of having access to it after 5pm since most of their stores are open late and on weekends too.
The UPS Store will give you a 24/7 access key to enter the building; there will only be access to the self-serve items. Price depends on size of box, and for how long you sign up. Could be less than $200/year, but it could be well above that too for a larger box. And each one is a franchisee, so the prices vary from one to the next - so call more than one to get prices.