Realtor · Yukon, OK · Member since 2015 · 128 posts · 13 votes
Hello My Oklahoma Investor,
What system have you guys been using to collect rent from tenants? I am putting my Lease together and I am not sure if I give my personal address, create a PO BOX or use an online tool. Any advice will be very much appreciated.
Rental Property Investor · Richmond, VA · Member since 2017 · 295 posts · 229 votes
9y
@John Kunick good to know! I had never thought about accepting rent payments through Venmo but I definitely will now. I forgot that there are no fees with it.
There aren't any fees associated with collecting rent payments through Cozy, and your tenant can make payments for free by directly linking their checking account to Cozy for ACH payments.
Rental Property Investor · Richmond, VA · Member since 2017 · 295 posts · 229 votes
9y
@Nicole S. Thank you so much for reaching out! I didn't realize it was free for the tenants too. I love hearing that. I will definitely look into your company.
Investor / Real Estate Agent · Oklahoma City, OK · Member since 2015 · 324 posts · 157 votes
9y
@Eve Oliver There are a few background/credit check online services I have used in the past, I have 1 open unit that I will be using Cozy's tenant screening service for the first time, so check back in with me in a month and I will tell you how it went.
@Amy H. If the tenant pays with a credit card, they will be charged 2.75% of the transaction, however if they link their bank account it is free. Regardless it is free for the Landlord, which is what I enjoy. The only downfall I have noticed is it does take some time for the rents to process and hit your bank account... you can pay for them to expedite the transaction, I have never done this.
Real Estate Broker · Cleveland, OH · Member since 2017 · 719 posts · 658 votes
9y
I like CashApp but they recently started transfers for couple days is free. Instantly its 1% charge.
I just warned tenants if they want it now, they pay 1% more ...or late fees.
Most of them go to my bank and deposit money. My bank works every day and the branches in popular grocery stores here.
I don't mind driving and collect the checks but only from these with babies - it's hard to get organized sometimes when you have a new born. This way I check out on the property, too.
Most tenants pay with Cash App and it's easy and free, but they have to have a checking account and money there. Not all of them do :)
Investor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2017 · 6 posts · 2 votes
9y
I set up an account at a bank with in 5 miles of my properties. They deposit the money into my acocunt. Fortunately I can use the same bank for all my tenants because there is one close enough to all my properties.
Rental Property Investor · Fairport, NY · Member since 2015 · 16 posts · 5 votes
9y
I recommend Venmo, but it's up to you to require them to use that or offer other options. Some people are hesitant to use technology or are just simple not tech savvy enough to do so. But it's an awesome tool!
If you are small time, picking up rent may work but it's not very scalable nor is it very efficient. It's true that some tools charge transaction fees but there are still some good free ones. Here's some info on what people use from my BP Notes:
TenantCloud “I do all of that with TenantCloud and have closed my paid account with AF. I only have 22 properties (all homes), but it works great. I do applications, listings to zillow and others, website, payments, accounting, maintenance, reports and its all free. I am still waiting for the got ya as they are free, but they claim they will always be free for up to 75 units. At SXSW I saw one of their people and they said they will have the ability to get bids on jobs like cleaning, painting and such soon - I assume this is how they make money. “ Ben Travis
Pros: they are new and offer free operations for landlords and tenants Cons: new company, not mentioned on BP much Cost: “We get paid by service providers - like insurance companies, plumbing companies, screening companies, A/C and heating, moving companies..... oh you get the idea. TenantCloud is free, but if you decided to use any of the service providers products then you can buy in TenantCloud, which only makes life even more convenient.”
Cozy
Alex Reiz said, "We have been using Cozy for our rental properties in regards to rent collection. Initially, their system was great and would not allow a Tenant to make partial payments; it would only allow a Tenant to pay all or none of the Rent, which was great and was one of the reasons we started using their service. However recently they have changed their system which now allows Tenants to make partial payments, which we do not like at all. There is no option on the receiving side in order to only allow only full payments, we find this to be a waiting nightmare if an eviction ever came up. We are especially unhappy with the service now, considering that was one of their highly touted features when they first started offering it.
Does anyone know of any other online payment service which only allows for full payments or at least allows the Landlord to chose between full and partial payments?"
ERentPayment
Clay Owens said: I just set up ERentPayment last week and they give you an option to accept partial payments or not. “I am playing around with tenant cloud. I like erentpayment and the fees are cheap.” Jim Adrian
Rentecdirect
Drew Bonnor said, “rentecdirect.com. This software is so affordable and has features like: automatic payments from your tenants bank account, tenant screening, publishing vacancies to sites such as realtor, zillow, Craigslist, etc., and keeps individual spreadsheets for each of your properties. Give it a look!”
Guy Varble said, “I use a property management software called R E N T E C D I R E C T and I just click the "syndicate" button and my property gets blasted out everywhere. Since I've been uning this for the past couple of years I have never put up a sign or ad or anything. It costs about $15.00 a month and is what I use to manage all aspects of my rentals.”
Unitdash – “Unitdash is a free to use property management platform for landlords and property managers. We pride ourselves on our users being able to sign up and hit the ground running. There is no required setup or setup fees. We have all of the features you expect and many nice to haves like custom online rental applications, in-app text messaging, integrated postal mail services and more.
Our online tenant portal allows your tenants to pay rent online and submit maintenance requests for free.” According to Anthony Ascuitto the developer
Cons: it’s new and not established.
Their claim: “We make money on online payments, background checks, and other integrated services by charging a small markup. We are not a beta product, we are just able to deliver a similar solution at a much cheaper price!”
Investor · Baltimore, MD · Member since 2017 · 26 posts · 21 votes
9y
It’s a joyous time in a landlord’s life when, like first buds of Spring, rent begins to appear. However, rent collection protocol – just how to collect that sweet, sweet nectar! - is often overlooked by new investors. Direct deposit? Credit card? Door knocking? Mail? Which is the best manner of collection?
The best manner of collecting rent is one that: 1) saves you time, 2) saves you money, and 3) lowers your personal and financial risk. Understand, however, that sometimes saving time and money means paying a little more (like credit card fees) or taking a little longer to keep great tenants. Without tenants, even the most prestigious real estate portfolio will eventually collapse. So, if you run your real estate portfolio with your tenants in mind (as the best portfolio managers do), then your rent collection method should flexible enough both to suit them and to check the time, money and risk boxes for you. For example, some tenants prefer us to charge their credit card every month for their convenience, credit card points, etc. Some tenants prefer to stop by our rental office or drop their rent in the mail. Others like to pay in cash (and of course, we like them in particular.) Some of our tenants such as our students and commercial tenants may get a personal visit from time to time so we can check on the building.
A byproduct of developing a tailored rent collection system is that you as the property manager have the opportunity to get to know each tenant, and developing relationships is one of the keys to long term tenancies. In our own portfolio, as their housing needs change, some of our tenants have moved two and three times in and out of our properties just to stay within the umbrella of our management. That said, in the relationship you build with your tenants, you must maintain a degree of professional distance. Excepting our commercial tenants, most of our residential lessees are not aware that my wife and I are owners. On the rare occasion, I visit a property, the tenants know me as Mr. Charles, a maintenance man. My wife, Lorraine, is the Property Manager. This situation allows us some insulation from personal and financial risk and gives us negotiating advantages from time to time. And the fact is that while we are effective “the owners”, the actual owners are our LLCs.
At this point, there are a dozen more tips that come to mind about late payments, interest, additional rent items, tenant selection, insurance, management methods, preventative and corrective repair protocols, etc.
Rental Property Investor · Oklahoma City, OK · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 412 votes
9y
@Eve Oliver , We use erentpayment and have been very pleased although you do wait a few days for the funds to go through the ACH process. About half of our tenants still write checks or buy money orders but going forward we are requiring electronic payment. We used to have Pay Near Me for folks that aren't tech savvy but Oklahoma 7-11s don't participate in it and we didn't have enough other store fronts that do to make it work out for us. I'd love to have a similar service for the folks that are going out and buying money orders, it would be easier for everyone. Finally, we've used a local tenant screening firm for all these years but are now looking to go on-line so appreciate the comments about eRent.