Tony Velez
OP
Hvac · North Haven, CT · Member since 2015 · 298 posts · 79 votes
9y
I send my daughter in college money through paypal using friends and family. Linked through my checking account which doesnt charge a fee
1 Reply
Jeremy Paschedag
Rental Property Investor · Saint Louis, MO · Member since 2016 · 162 posts · 53 votes
9y
About 9 months ago I was wanting an electronic method to collect rents. On BP there were posters saying that with PayPal (and Credit Cards) a tenant can call a couple of months later (like maybe, after they moved out) and say they didn't get services agreed upon and they could get a refund. I am not a fan of taking that kind of chance with my rents.
I went with Cozy. For basic free service, you get your money in 5 business days. No transaction costs. They have an expedited service for a per transaction fee.
Another nice thing with Cozy is you set up the lease duration for each property. You can add fees/penalties to the account and the tenant gets notified. You easily know who each payment is from.
If you go an electronic route, you can offer to help your tenants set-up the account on their side. If they are comfortable with it, you can even set-up an auto-payment. For that matter, you might be able to set up auto-payments from their bank.
5 Reply
Ben H.
Investor · Jacksonville , NC · Member since 2015 · 143 posts · 54 votes
9y
Paypal fees:
https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/paypal-fees
1 Reply
Dustin Hawks
Topeka, KS · Member since 2014 · 51 posts · 29 votes
9y
Steve Bass I also use square cash! It is simple and free. Well it used to be free and automatically deposited into your account. Now you have an option to wait 1 business day to get your money with no fees. The tenant also has to have a debit or credit card and a smartphone. Over 60% of my tenants are 55+ years old and haven't upgraded to a smartphone!
1 Reply
Michael Ardoin
Baytown, TX · Member since 2016 · 10 posts · 9 votes
9y
If they are elderly or just not computer savvy. But are okay with Auto-Draft, you can set that up through erentpayment, and they can set it and forget it.
2 Reply
Chris Eaker
Buy and Hold Investor · Knoxville, TN · Member since 2013 · 450 posts · 270 votes
9y
I use Cozy. All tenants pay through Cozy via bank transfer except one who still mails me a check to my PO box. Cozy send them a notice each month that rent is due. If I need to charge a late fee or pet fee, I can set up a one time payment on Cozy. I like that I don't have to worry with it.
5 Reply
Dave PoeppelmeierBusiness Member
Realtor · Maumee, OH · Member since 2015 · 491 posts · 722 votes
9y
We also started using Cozy, seems pretty easy to use. We get the money fast enough, and I like that the tenants get a notice to pay or they can set up autopay. Free is also good. I might check out that Venmo though, looking at the other posts, it sounds solid as well.
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3 Reply
Vonn Peterson
Investor · Cape Coral, FL · Member since 2016 · 44 posts · 18 votes
9y
@Tony Velez
Handy chart that has all the details on Pay-pal ..Venmo and google wallet...
2 Reply
Allison Sacks
Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2017 · 3 posts · 1 vote
9y
Another vote for Venmo. It's quick and easy. I get an immediate notification when the rent is paid and it's in my operating account within 2-3 days.
1 Reply
Linda S.
Investor · Richmond, VA · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
9y
Cozy.co, it's free for the landlord and offers flexibility to the tenant.
3 Reply
David Zheng
Investor · Saint Louis, MO · Member since 2016 · 970 posts · 1k+ votes
9y
I have 50 student tenants and 80% of them use paypal or venom. both are free and super fast.
transactions don't have fees if you connect them to a bank account
1 Reply
Natalie Schanne
Real Estate Agent · Princeton, NJ · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
9y
Tony Velez - Nice thread you've got going. Venmo deactivated my account after stating that I used it for business purposes and I wasn't able to contest with a real person or get it reactivated. (I didn't lose any $$ though). Before then it worked great for rent. I still use PayPal which is free if and only if they select Friend to Friend and Bank Account transfer. If your tenant pays with her bank account but calls rent a good or service, you'll see the 2.9%+.3 deducted.
2 Reply
Mindy JensenPro Member
BiggerPockets Money Podcast Host · Longmont, CO · Member since 2014 · 7k+ posts · 10k+ votes
9y
The biggest issue with PayPal is that the person who is paying you can dispute the charges and get their money back. Venmo looks like it has a limit of $1,000, but is free and most importantly, the person who does the paying cannot suck the money back out of the account. I used Venmo to accept Girl Scout Cookie payments and it worked great.
No Nonsense Landlord had some sage advice about collecting rent. He said something like "My tenants want to pay me - I want to get paid. I make it as easy as possible for them to pay me. I've got online accounts set up, I have a drop box in one building (he has six 4-plexes in one community). Basically I make it as easy for them to pay me as I possibly can."
I don't mind having to go to the bank to cash a check, but my bank has an online deposit app.
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3 Reply
Lucas Mills
Physical Therapist Assistant · Springfield, MO · Member since 2017 · 131 posts · 28 votes
9y
Originally posted by @Matt Mayotte:

facebook allows free payments through messanger if you connect it to a bank account. I setup a fb landlord account and only use it for this specific purpose.
This is an interesting idea. How though do you track payments each month and make sure that you didn't miss one? If you only have a couple of properties then it's probably much less of an issue, but I would think that once you start getting 10+ tenants this may become somewhat of a chore to make sure everyone has sent you money on fb vs some kind of automatic tracking system which I assume other software has (such as venmo?)
0 Reply
Krista Riggs
Real Estate Investor · Orlando, FL · Member since 2014 · 8 posts · 3 votes
9y
I won't take vemno or "free" PayPal because they are not allowed for business transactions last time I checked and I have read the payer can get a refund anytime they call and request it (which is why there are a lot of PayPal and venmo scams on craigslist). Those services are really meant for friends and family to share funds and that is the only way I use them.
1 Reply
Joe SplitrockPro Member
Moderator
Rental Property Investor · Sioux Falls, SD · Member since 2015 · 9k+ posts · 18k+ votes
9y
@Tony Velez I will add a vote for Cozy. I have been using it for a year and it works well. There is no cost to setup and the money goes into your account within a few days. You can setup a tenant, so it shows rent due each month. The landlord can log non-electronic payments and you can add late fees. The tenant can setup recurring payments, so it is sent automatically or they can do one-time payments each month. It works very similar to other online bill payment services that tenants already use for utilities. Tenant can see their rent payment history and current owed balance at any time. Other similar services are eRentpayment, which has a monthly charge but payments clear faster. I would recommend one of these two services since they are specific for rent collection.
2 Reply
Account Closed
Lender · Cape Canaveral, FL · Member since 2017 · 11 posts · 6 votes
9y
I once had a Landlord who requested rent in Square Cash, all it needs is your debit card info and rent will be transferred without a fee (Unless they are using a credit card, in which case the fee is about the same as PayPal's 3%) I believe there is a limit of around $2,500 though
1 Reply
Lucas Mills
Physical Therapist Assistant · Springfield, MO · Member since 2017 · 131 posts · 28 votes
9y
Does bigger pockets recommend any payment method in particular?
0 Reply
Jonathan Johnson
Rental Property Investor · Charleston, WV · Member since 2013 · 262 posts · 109 votes
9y
For those using Venmo, @David Lilley, @Sara Abernethy, @Syed Lateef, @Todd Nurnberger I'm considering this option as well.
Is there a way to see a years worth of rental income for taxes and accounting?
How do you know which payments are from which units?
Can tenants pay a partial rent? That wouldn't be preferred.
@Charlie Price I like the cents = apt number strategy. Very helpful.
0 Reply
Eric Worral
Investor · Buffalo, NY · Member since 2016 · 74 posts · 29 votes
9y
I use venmo.. just make sure you privatize your account so you're not publicizing your rents.
1 Reply
Tore Thornæs
TRONDHEIM, Sør-Trøndelag · Member since 2017 · 6 posts · 3 votes
9y
Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin could be used to collect rents.
Might not help when the tenants are old tho..
0 Reply
Arnie Guida
Residential Landlord · Greenfield, WI · Member since 2013 · 299 posts · 126 votes
9y
I've been using PayPal to collect rents for years, there are no fees if the PayPal account is linked to s bank account. Do it.
1 Reply
Rita Granderson
Investor · Stockton, CA · Member since 2015 · 3 posts · 0 votes
9y
Great Value Everyone! I really needed this information.
0 Reply
Tony Velez
OP
Hvac · North Haven, CT · Member since 2015 · 298 posts · 79 votes
9y
We are going to try Venmo
0 Reply
Ben H.
Investor · Jacksonville , NC · Member since 2015 · 143 posts · 54 votes
9y
Chargebacks are a concern for PayPal. I believe PayPal users can contest a charge up to 180 days after purchase. And PayPal has a rep for always siding with the company consumer.
1 Reply

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