How tenants pay rent

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John Teachout
Rental Property Investor 路 Concord, GA 路 Member since 2015 路 3k+ posts 路 3k+ votes
6y

We have tenants make deposits into our rental checking account at a local branch of our bank. That way they can pay rent with check, cash, online transfer if they have an account at that bank, etc.

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  • Jeff Morrill
    Boston, MA 路 Member since 2019 路 3 posts 路 1 vote
    6y

    I use Buildium EFT Payments. It's worked out very well. I find it much better than cozy. Of course, it should be better as cozy is free. 

    0Reply
  • Jonathan Anderson
    OP
    Dallas, TX 路 Member since 2018 路 46 posts 路 27 votes
    6y

    @Jeff Morrill okay thank you!

    0Reply
  • Nathan GesnerBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Real Estate Broker 路 Cody, WY 路 Member since 2010 路 28k+ posts 路 41k+ votes
    6y

    Do you have five units or 50 or 500?

    I think ACH is the best option, tied directly to property management software for tracking. You can use software like Cozy.co, Tenantcloud, or one of the many other options available. Use the search bar for "tenant rent payments online" or "property management software" and you'll find more options than you can shake a stick at.

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  • Rob B.
    Chicago, IL 路 Member since 2018 路 546 posts 路 227 votes
    6y

    Hi Jonathan, I'm happy to hear that you're doing your research. There are a lot of great options out there; aside from providing the basics (ie. listing tool to get the property published, scheduling tool to schedule viewings, tenant screening, digital lease creation tool, rent collection tool, and maintenance tracking tool), some services also offer your tenants additional capabilities which makes it an easier sell on your end when getting them to transition over (ie. their ability to report on-time rent payments to the credit bureaus; this can create an added incentive for making sure they pay that rent on time). 

    1Reply
  • Thomas J Ellefson
    Property Manager 路 Madison WI 路 Member since 2019 路 5 posts 路 3 votes
    6y

    Zelle - See if your bank and Tenants bank offered this immediate transfer of funds.  I'm in WI and money is deposited into your bank account immediately.  

    1Reply
  • Jay Bell
    Investor 路 Torrance, CA 路 Member since 2014 路 17 posts 路 5 votes
    6y

    I'm using Cozy. It's free and works fine. The five business day transfer isn't the end of the world, as I only have one unit, but I could see how it may become an issue with more units under management. 

    0Reply
  • Ravinell Wilson
    Member since 2018 路 25 posts 路 6 votes
    6y

    AppFolio has a bar code that tenants can print out and take to CVS pharmacy or other places,  cashier scans bar code and money they pay is deposited into your account. 

    0Reply
  • John Teachout
    Rental Property Investor 路 Concord, GA 路 Member since 2015 路 3k+ posts 路 3k+ votes
    6y

    We have tenants make deposits into our rental checking account at a local branch of our bank. That way they can pay rent with check, cash, online transfer if they have an account at that bank, etc.

    2Reply
  • Ashley Clements
    Property Manager 路 Juneau, AK 路 Member since 2017 路 25 posts 路 12 votes
    6y

    We use Appfolio and love it. Tenants pay through their online portal. They can use a credit/debit card or echeck directly from their bank. Have you ever had a tenant claim they had to pay rent late because they were out of town when rent came due? BS! You can pay from anywhere and at any time. No excesses! Then you don't have to manually enter the rent payments into their ledgers so it saves you time as well. They don't have to remember to go anywhere or get money orders. On time payments have increased for us. NSF issues are possible but you could have the same issue with checks. The convenience of this far outweighs the risks. 

    0Reply
  • Luke Saglimbeni
    Rental Property Investor 路 East Longmeadow, MA 路 Member since 2019 路 154 posts 路 64 votes
    6y

    My tenant direct deposits in into the business checking account.  Maybe they use Zelle?

    0Reply
  • Nicole Heasley Beitenman
    Investor 路 Youngstown, OH 路 Member since 2017 路 2k+ posts 路 2k+ votes
    6y

    I use RentmindMe.

    0Reply
  • Anthony Wick
    Rental Property Investor 路 Ankeny, IA 路 Member since 2017 路 2k+ posts 路 3k+ votes
    6y

    @Jonathan Anderson

    I use PayPal, but thinking of changing. PayPal is both free and faster (after the first payment is verified) than most of those listed here. For almost all forms, you either have to pay for their service or you鈥檒l be waiting 3-6 business days to get your rent. Nobody seems to be listing the fees they are paying.

    I also allow paper check mailed to me as well. Some people still prefer that, and with mobile banking it鈥檚 very easy to deposit from smart phone.

    0Reply
  • Jonathan Anderson
    OP
    Dallas, TX 路 Member since 2018 路 46 posts 路 27 votes
    6y

    @Nathan G. Okay! Thank you

    0Reply
  • Jonathan Anderson
    OP
    Dallas, TX 路 Member since 2018 路 46 posts 路 27 votes
    6y

    @Thomas J Ellefson sounds good thank you

    0Reply
  • Jonathan Anderson
    OP
    Dallas, TX 路 Member since 2018 路 46 posts 路 27 votes
    6y

    @Jay Bell okay thank you I will roughly have10 units by May so I will need something that doesn鈥檛 require me to wait

    0Reply
  • Jonathan Anderson
    OP
    Dallas, TX 路 Member since 2018 路 46 posts 路 27 votes
    6y

    @Rachel Foster okay that you! Will you get the payments immediately or do you have to wait a certain amount of business days?

    0Reply
  • Jonathan Anderson
    OP
    Dallas, TX 路 Member since 2018 路 46 posts 路 27 votes
    6y

    @Ashley Clements okay thank you! Now do you have to wait a certain amount of business days before the payments go into your account?

    0Reply
  • Ashley Clements
    Property Manager 路 Juneau, AK 路 Member since 2017 路 25 posts 路 12 votes
    6y

    @Jonathan Anderson I am not the broker so I don't have access to the bank accounts but from what I understand it'll show right away as pending but it does take up to a week to finish processing. This is why I mentioned the NSF fees can occasionally be an issue. If the tenant doesn't pay attention to their account and it dips below the payment amount before it is finished processing then the entire payment gets kicked back. Usually it is caught on Appfolio's end and you don't actually get an NSF from your bank. However, you are starting the payment process over again. If this happens I ask them to bring in a money order, cashier's check or cash. This is an inconvenience to them and they usually make sure it is right next time. 

    0Reply
  • Matthew Ferguson
    Rental Property Investor 路 Billerica, MA 路 Member since 2019 路 9 posts 路 4 votes
    6y

    @Jonathan Anderson

    I use paypal. If you select to transfer funds as "friends and family" it's free and transfers in the next business day.

    0Reply
  • Jaime Moore
    Real Estate Broker 路 Rushville, IN 路 Member since 2015 路 7 posts 路 1 vote
    6y

    @Jonathan Anderson I use rentecdirect property Mgt software. Through ACH it automatically applies to the tenants ledger and they can set up automatic payments. Deposit is 1-2 business days typically.

    0Reply
  • Kwame Darko
    Rental Property Investor 路 Member since 2019 路 69 posts 路 38 votes
    6y

    I use cozy. It鈥檚 easy to use and it has other functions such as maintenance requests etc. 

    0Reply
  • Ola Dantis
    Multifamily Syndicator 路 Houston, TX 路 Member since 2016 路 1k+ posts 路 2k+ votes
    6y

    A lot of our tenants love Venmo... Damn Millenials!!! 馃ぃ馃ぃ馃ぃ

    0Reply
  • Anthony Iemmello
    Rental Property Investor 路 NY 路 Member since 2019 路 13 posts 路 0 votes
    6y

    @Jonathan Anderson

    Currently have 4 units and I just use Venmo, once I get more units I foresee using cozy. And once I surpass those services with more units, will most likely use buildium, but for $50 month, I am not yet at a point where I need that. So it all depends on how many units you are currently managing.

    0Reply
  • Jay Bell
    Investor 路 Torrance, CA 路 Member since 2014 路 17 posts 路 5 votes
    6y
    Originally posted by @Jonathan Anderson:

    @Jay Bell okay thank you I will roughly have10 units by May so I will need something that doesn鈥檛 require me to wait

    There is a paid feature to get the money in 3 business days (I believe it's $3/unit), and maybe that's more in line with the other options, but I haven't done the research to confirm. I do like the auto late fee, maintenance requests, and expense tracking features though. With 10 units, I'd definitely utilize one of the online systems at our disposal! 

    0Reply
  • Rachael Agruso
    CT 路 Member since 2016 路 50 posts 路 37 votes
    6y

    @Jonathan Anderson

    I have my tenants pay me via Venmo. It鈥檚 simple and free. If tenants don鈥檛 have the app, it鈥檚 easy to download set up. 

    0Reply
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