My husband and I are relatively new to being landlords. I am trying to find the most efficient way to send out a notice for Rent and collect it as well. Currently, I send out a formal text message 2 days prior to the rent being due and then my husband will pick it up personally. I am starting to think sending out a text message may not be the best, so I wanted to see how ya'll are going about this. Should we send out an invoice to the tenants with a due date and have an option for them to mail it, just want to get different takes on this.
All tenants know when rent is due, they do not need to be reminded and should not be reminded. You are not their parents. Additionally it is a tenants responsibility for tenants to insure their landlord receives their rent on time. It is not a landlords responsibility to "pick up" a tenants rent. You should never do that and you need to instruct your husband to stop the practice immediately.
Stop babying your tenants and start to develop professional business practices.
You can have them pay on line, send money orders or provide you with post dated checks. Never ever chase tenants for rent and be prepared to issue pay or quit notices the day after rent is due when not paid in full by midnight on the1st.
All tenants know when rent is due, they do not need to be reminded and should not be reminded. You are not their parents. Additionally it is a tenants responsibility for tenants to insure their landlord receives their rent on time. It is not a landlords responsibility to "pick up" a tenants rent. You should never do that and you need to instruct your husband to stop the practice immediately.
Stop babying your tenants and start to develop professional business practices.
You can have them pay on line, send money orders or provide you with post dated checks. Never ever chase tenants for rent and be prepared to issue pay or quit notices the day after rent is due when not paid in full by midnight on the1st.
Rental Property Investor · Levittown, PA · Member since 2016 · 109 posts · 97 votes
7y
@Kalyn Williams
we give our tenants the option of using an app called “Venmo”
It works very well for us.
There is a paper trail of payments for when you need it. You can also send rent reminders thru the app.
I prefer to keep records of all communications with our tenants, so usually don’t text rent reminders. We send rent reminders and requests all on the app and it can be documented. We also send emails so we have proof of two separate forms of communication.
I don't chase any rent. I have better things to do and have too many tenants for that.
I don't send out reminders. I send out late notices and file evictions. You need to train tenants to do what is expected or there will be consequences.
Most of my tenants deposit directly into my bank. I know some large banks don't allow this anymore.
I have some that use ACH and some that use Zelle. Zelle is supported by the major banks and is likely already built into your banking app.
Rental Property Investor · Norfolk, VA · Member since 2017 · 142 posts · 76 votes
7y
@Kalyn Williams Our tenants deposit straight into our bank account. I’m looking for alternatives as we’ll go from renting out 1 unit to 2 units here shortly once we move out of our duplex. It easy for us to manage with 1 Unit but not in the long run. My tenants have never been late with rent but if I haven’t received the rent early enough in the day, I send out a late fee reminder text. And I changed my late fee from $50 to $75. I haven’t had any issues. Good luck.
Real Estate Investor · Burlington, VT · Member since 2010 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
7y
@Kalyn Williams Also straight deposit to a checking account, like Maya mentioned above. They can swing by the branch, mail it, electronic transfer. I also accept Venmo, Payal, and Zelle. Cash is the only thing not accepted, because there's no history (no image on my statement saying who it's from).
I also use the same bank for deposits as the mortgage, for the relationship. That way when applying for another mortgage, they have the rental income history right in front of them!
Thanks everyone for the Information! We will have to start implementing some of these methods for next month. We are very new to this, so I am glad this exists!
Rental Property Investor · Durham, NC · Member since 2016 · 7k+ posts · 7k+ votes
7y
@Kalyn Williams. I collect my rent in small coins (preferably pennies) and if they don’t have the rent I also accept livestock. Do you know how much a goat is worth these days??
@Kalyn Williams. I collect my rent in small coins (preferably pennies) and if they don’t have the rent I also accept livestock. Do you know how much a goat is worth these days??
Caleb, A goat is worth 87$ . Unless it has soft coat and a pretty mouth then it’s priceless . Atleast that’s what guys say who are from Cary , North Carolina
@Kalyn Williams. I collect my rent in small coins (preferably pennies) and if they don’t have the rent I also accept livestock. Do you know how much a goat is worth these days??
Caleb, A goat is worth 87$ . Unless it has soft coat and a pretty mouth then it’s priceless . Atleast that’s what guys say who are from Cary , North Carolina
That means it’s gonna take like 10 goats just to pay the rent.
@Kalyn Williams - I use an app called Tellus (tellusapp.com). It sends automatic rent-is-due reminders to tenants several days before the due date. My tenants like being able to pay from their phones, and I like having rent go straight to my bank account.
Rental Property Investor · Cleveland, MN · Member since 2017 · 518 posts · 354 votes
7y
I use QuickBooks for my accounting. I send an invoice to everyone 1 week before the 1st. They have the choice of just clicking on the QuickBooks link and paying online, putting a check in the "rent" slot at the building, or depositing it right into my bank account. I can have it set up to automatically send the invoices every month so I don't have to actually do it.
Flipper/Rehabber · Yardley, PA · Member since 2015 · 451 posts · 307 votes
7y
@Kalyn Williams - I use cozy for all my tenants. Automatic ACH drafts, free to use and easy to run basic reports when it’s time to do taxes. Also builds the tenants credit over time which all my tenants like. I have for new tenants only not setup in cozy yet, accepted certified checks or payment via Venmo. I like Venmo as there’s an electronic trail
San Antonio, TX · Member since 2009 · 3k+ posts · 1k+ votes
7y
@Kalyn Williams I handle it just like apartment communities. Tenants sign a lease and know when rent is due. Sending out formal notices can be time consuming and administrative. Regarding collecting rent, they mail it in or they can do it electronically through their bank. Hope that helps!
Investor · Advance, NC · Member since 2016 · 79 posts · 61 votes
7y
@Kalyn Williams I would definitely recommend Cozy in your situation. I've used it for a few years now and it's been great. Initially, I do take some time to educate tenants on how it works, help with setup if I need to but then you're good to go. Like others have mentioned I would not recommend the conditioning you're doing on tenants now. You want to set the expectations and the expectation is that you make it easy for them to pay rent and you expect it paid on time every time.
Also, don't mind @Caleb Heimsoth too much. ;P From what little I know about him in the forums, he's actually a pretty decent guy...
@Kalyn Williams I would definitely recommend Cozy in your situation. I've used it for a few years now and it's been great. Initially, I do take some time to educate tenants on how it works, help with setup if I need to but then you're good to go. Like others have mentioned I would not recommend the conditioning you're doing on tenants now. You want to set the expectations and the expectation is that you make it easy for them to pay rent and you expect it paid on time every time.
Also, don't mind @Caleb Heimsoth too much. ;P From what little I know about him in the forums, he's actually a pretty decent guy...
Good luck!
I just have to dial back the sarcasm occasionally! Ha
Investor · Member since 2017 · 239 posts · 149 votes
7y
@Kalyn Williams I also use Tellusapp.com for rent collection. I used to worry about having to send notifications to tenants and even thought of creating google calendar invitations, but the Tellus app sends the app notifications for me so I don’t have to remind them anymore.
It’s also free to use, and let’s me block partial payments and enforce late fees (although I tend to waive them...). My tenants are on time a LOT more ever since I switched over. The app also takes into account bank holidays.