What is a good payment platform?

Question

I am a new landlord, I have one investment property and I'm already getting sick of making a bunch of different payments on different days each month for the mortgage, utilities, and all the other monthly expenses for my home and my investment property. Most expenses are on autopay, but I would rather just have them all paid at the same time each month. Is there a platform that will let me consolidate my expenses and pay them once a month?

John Siver · Answer

I think either way works well, and the erentpayment system will send out emails to both you and the tenant if they are late on rent, and you can have it send out a reminder message before hand if the tenant has been late before. The auto-reminder message is nice because that is less work you have to do as the Landlord. I also think you can argue that if the tenant refuses to do an auto draft then they may be less financially stable, and may not expect to have enough money for it to go through each month, idk Jeff makes a good point though so I think its up to you, but I would lean slightly towards wanting an auto pay account. Because then I dont have to go collect checks each month. But some people prefer to pay via checks and if they are good renters then why not let them pay that way. Basically I also prefer autodrafting but I dont think it makes a big difference either way.

Kelly N. · Answer

I have my mortgages set up as automatic monthly payments online through my bank.  I am able to have my utility companies autdraft money out of my account for those payments, but prefer not to since the amount changes monthly- I like to keep tabs on those expenses.  As soon as I get the bills, I set them up to be paid by the proper day.

For rent payments, I used to use Intuit Payment Network and loved it ($.50/transaction!), but since they took that away I switched over to Quickbooks Payments and I don't like it as much.  With IPN, I could have it bill the tenant automatically, now I have to generate the invoices (I have them set in QB to generate monthly, but I still have to log on to actually send the invoices).  I was already using Quickbooks so it was a natural choice, my next choice would be Chase Quick Pay which has no fee.

Jeff Gates · Answer

If a tenant initiates a rent payment each month they are conscious of their bank balance. If the tenant  agrees to a automatic plan, most tenants will forget some time and you will have non sufficient funds issues.  What is convenient for you might generate more problems.

Nick Brubaker · Answer

Hi @Dan Hatch Thank you for your contribution to this thread and recommending erentpayment.com.  I have just registered with them and agree there customer service is great.

I like how they provide and option for automatic recurring rent payments.  I'm wondering if I should required tenants to authorize automatic monthly rent payments or leave it as optional.  What do you do?  What kind of resistance have you had from tenants with requiring or encouraging automatic monthly withdrawals of rent?

John Siver · Answer

Thanks for the information guys! After shopping around a little, I do like erentpayment.com and it seems to be one of the best priced platforms too. Thanks!

John Siver · Answer

Oh and in regards to the transaction fee, I agree that with erentpayment.com the $3 fee per transaction is acceptable, however, if you don't want to pay that $3, then there is an option where you can make the tenant pay that.

Nick Brubaker · Answer

Thank you @John Siver and @Kelly N.  I think I will try to require autopayment and see what kind of response I get.  I agree that I'm not sure I would be crazy about a tenant that would not be open to the idea.

For those not aware, starting next month Chase Quick Pay will only be available to those who have checking accounts with Chase or one of the clearxchange banks.  That's the reason I am having to find a different solution.  I have had lengthy conversations by phone and chat with the people at erentpayment.com in the past two days.  The customer service is good.  I think this plus the recurring automatic payment option will make the $3 transaction fee worthwhile.

Nick Brubaker · Answer

@Jeff Gates thanks!  Yeah, this is something I'm wondering.  The system does provide the option of a reminder message a couple days beforehand though, which could mitigate NSF issues.

Linval T. · Answer

@John Siver

Below, is the BP link to online rent payment providers.

https://www.biggerpockets.com/rei/pay-rent-online-...

Disclosure: I use erentpayment.com

Dan Hatch · Answer

I use erentpayment.com to set up automatic rent collection via email. The tenants can set up auto ACH or click on the link in the automatically generated email that sends out the first of the month and pay via smartphone or computer. They also allow you to automatically add late fees

What is a good payment platform?

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