Rental Property Investor · Milwaukee, WI · Member since 2013 · 6k+ posts · 4k+ votes
13y
Maybe they can sign up for bill pay through their bank? My tenant does that and they set up the payment for the 1st of the month and their bank deals with it like clockwork. They still send a check but my bank offers remote deposit so I just deposit it from home.
Investor · San Francisco, CA · Member since 2008 · 83 posts · 50 votes
13y
Cole Tarbet, to avoid handling checks and fielding 'lost in the mail' excuses, i've trained my tenants to deposit their checks directly to my account at wells fargo. i know exactly when the check was deposited (time/date stamped with an image) ... and look on the 5th of each month to see if anyone is late. no one pushed back on doing this. i set up a seperate account used only for deposits ... so if it were comprimised, i'd close it and open a different one. haven't hand any issues.
let me know if you use rentomatic and how you like it.
Kevin Young I'd be interested in understanding the training and process you use to train your tenants to make the deposits.
For instance:
- Do you supply deposit slips? ATM cards?
- Do they go to a Wells Fargo location for the deposit?
- What kind of rents are the tenants paying this way?
etc.
Investor · Willow Spring, NC · Member since 2009 · 5k+ posts · 3k+ votes
13y
Unless you have just a few tenants*... hopefully with different rent amounts... you run into issues with crediting deposits with tenant accounts. Example: Which one of the tenants paid $695? I have 11 units at $695. Remedies: You could have an account per person. Or just stay a small landlord.
Also be careful of bad tenants. In NC, if you accept a partial rent payment and are in a summary ejectment (eviction) proceeding, you waive the tenant's breach. I was in court and saw it first hand. It wasn't my case, but the defendant (tenant) put $50 into the landlord's account after the eviction was filed and about a week before the court date. She had the receipt. After the plaintiff (landlord) made her (longwinded) opening statement, the judge asked the defendant if she had anything to say. She said "I paid.***" Showed the bank receipt to the judge... and the case was dismissed. This was not the first time she did this**, and this came out during the proceeding of the case. She owed many thousands... and was living basically for free. Called a professional tenant, make sure you are protected from their actions. Be prepared to shut down your deposit account if things go bad.
We use a different online rent payment system that seems to be working well. I won't name it because I don't want ot be accused of working there;)
Notes: *less than maybe 5 **other times, she placed $100 Money order in their overnight box. No name on it, but they cashed it, and she had the receipt. ***There is a lot more to this... but I have hijacked Cole's thread enough!
Chicago, IL · Member since 2011 · 19 posts · 2 votes
13y
Here, Chase is the prevalent bank and I've trained all my tenants to use their person to person quickpay service. It's free and easy to use and setup. Even if they don't have a Chase account, they can link any other account to it and send me the rent electronically - I get text and email notifications. The money clears same day if it's a Chase account sending to a Chase account and if it's just a linked account, it takes an additional day or two. I've never had a problem with it before.
Developer · Garland, TX · Member since 2008 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes
13y
Originally posted by Alex O.:
Here, Chase is the prevalent bank and I've trained all my tenants to use their person to person quickpay service. It's free and easy to use and setup. Even if they don't have a Chase account, they can link any other account to it and send me the rent electronically - I get text and email notifications. The money clears same day if it's a Chase account sending to a Chase account and if it's just a linked account, it takes an additional day or two. I've never had a problem with it before.
https://www.chase.com/online-banking/quickpay
I just started with one tenant on Chase Quickpay. It was easy and free. Seems like Chase's answer to PayPal.
Investor · San Francisco, CA · Member since 2008 · 83 posts · 50 votes
13y
Bill Robinson I opened up a separate checking account which i only use for rent deposits. I then ordered a few books of deposit slips and handed them to the tennants when they moved in. I gave each person 13 (1 extra in case they mess one up) and explain that its their responsiblity to take their money and deposit slip to the bank...which was the extent of my 'training'. When I renew their lease, I'll give them another stack of deposit slips.
My rent is due on the 1st, with a 5 day grace period. On day 6 I charge $10/day late fee. I explained this policy and I explained how I check and verify that rent is paid on time. If people know you're looking, they get it in on time. Everyone liked the idea, so I didn't really need to 'sell' it to them. I just stated that it was the way I collected Rent.
How do I know who paid when the rents are the same? I know who deposited what amount b/c wells scans an image of the deposit slip and the check. Before i hand out the deposit slips, I wrote the unit number next to my business name so I could sort out who paid, and when. If your bank doesn't provide a scanning service, then this method could be a nightmare ;-)
Chris MartinI, I originally opened a separate account for each tenant. The building in question is 9 units, which meant 9 accounts. In concept, it seemed like a great idea. In practice it was a bit of a nightmare b/c Wells charges a monthly service fee which can be side stepped if you transfer $100 back and forth between the associated savings and checking each month Wells set up the accounts and messed up the auto transfer ... money wasn't transferring and they were debiting monthly fees, etc. In the end, they credited everything back to me b/c they set it up wrong, so I didn't loose out. I closed all but 1 account which I use as my deposit account.
Investor · Carmel, IN · Member since 2014 · 3 posts · 1 vote
12y
When giving deposit slips to tenants, is there any danger in them having both our routing number and checking account number? There are SO many things one can pay with electronic check these days. I have over 50 units and am trying to find a way to impeiment some kind of direct pay system. I appreciate any comments.
When giving deposit slips to tenants, is there any danger in them having both our routing number and checking account number? There are SO many things one can pay with electronic check these days. I have over 50 units and am trying to find a way to impeiment some kind of direct pay system. I appreciate any comments.
Thanks!
You are correct that someone can do quite abit of damage having your routing and account number. I would see if your bank offers deposit only atm cards or if they can make deposits using some sort of other information (your member number, or some other identifier). I also require online payments to avoid having to give them account information.
When giving deposit slips to tenants, is there any danger in them having both our routing number and checking account number? There are SO many things one can pay with electronic check these days. I have over 50 units and am trying to find a way to impeiment some kind of direct pay system. I appreciate any comments.
Thanks!
Let's see now. You have a tenant who has paid you via a personal check; you take it to bank and deposit that check. To deposit it, you endorse the rear of the check, and include your account number there. Tenant gets the check back (or an image of it) when they get their checking statement. So tenant now has the account and routing information, without your having supplied a deposit ticket.
Now, giving them the deposit ticket more directly exposes that information, but it's not like that information was never exposed previously.
When giving deposit slips to tenants, is there any danger in them having both our routing number and checking account number? There are SO many things one can pay with electronic check these days. I have over 50 units and am trying to find a way to impeiment some kind of direct pay system. I appreciate any comments.
Thanks!
You are correct that someone can do quite abit of damage having your routing and account number. I would see if your bank offers deposit only atm cards or if they can make deposits using some sort of other information (your member number, or some other identifier). I also require online payments to avoid having to give them account information.
In this scenario, we provide a bank deposit card. Specifically, we provide a Wells Fargo Business Deposit Card for each tenant that "needs" one. Generally these are tenants we 'inherited' from prior PMs. But they also can include tenants who are 'unbanked' or 'minimally banked' or just prefer to pay via this method. We have at least two tenants who like paying via a WF ATM, although they certainly could pay by other means. Tenant's most common favorable remark (paraphrased): Ease of Use. Biggest Complaint (heard it today): 'I forgot the PIN'. This (WF BDC) is a great product. Not a complaint, but keep in mind that after $10,000 in cash deposits per month, they will start charging a minimal fee. The fee is insignificant compared to the benefits of the product.
Investor · Smyrna, GA · Member since 2014 · 96 posts · 72 votes
12y
Cole, I wish I saw this post before going with Williampaid. You are right on the money! I have rarely seen a less intuitive website. It's like quicksand, smooth on the surface but deadly once you're in it! It is confusing, there are no simple steps, it's difficult to find transactions( you'll get a "no transaction found" if you don't do exactly what their ambiguous instructions say, if you can even find them, which makes accounting a headache) and adding bank information to a property is a nightmare; in short, it's a tear your hair out experience. I should have known when I tried to send email invites to my tenants and I needed to create a text file. Really? It's like their programmer quit in 1985 and they haven't found out yet.
in short, it's a tear your hair out experience. I should have known when I tried to send email invites to my tenants and I needed to create a text file. Really? It's like their programmer quit in 1985 and they haven't found out yet.
Investor · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2014 · 389 posts · 250 votes
11y
@Aaron Montague - How long have you used Dwolla? Do you have to have a business account to use it?
I'd like to use Intuit's Payment Network, but I don't have an EIN as I'm not setting up my LLC until next year (I've only had one unit til now). Apparently I have to be an official registered "business" to accept payments through IPN. Bummer.
@Alex O. and @Michael Seeker - do you have Chase checking accounts? What are the fees like? I've used credit unions exclusively for the past 20 years, so am out of the "commercial bank" loop.
SparkRent looks perfect, but I can't find much to reassure me that it's reliable or trustworthy. Sites like RentShare -- do they have any landlord control or inititation? Or do you just say, hey tenants, use this and figure it out??
Investor · Middletown, NJ · Member since 2008 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
11y
I've been using www.erentpayment.com for years. Customer service is top notch, and if you need help with the set up, you'll get a quick response by email or phone. So will your tenants. It's $3 per transaction, which I pay, but it's worth it when I have a question or issue. Totally reliable and trustworthy. Lots of features. Not the cheapest, but from what I'm reading, the best.
Investor · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2014 · 389 posts · 250 votes
11y
@Aly W. - thanks! Right now I only have one unit, so it's pretty easy to test it out without too much at stake. I might try one service with tenants in the new unit (closing soon) and another with the current folks (they are pretty cool so far -- knock wood, I've had great tenants the past 3 years, after my share of nightmared. crossing fingers this couple stays cool). 25¢ (Dwolla) compared to $3 is tempting, but excellent service might well be worth it.
Rental Property Investor · East Wenatchee, WA · Member since 2014 · 10k+ posts · 16k+ votes
11y
Thanks for all the platform ideas. I tried WilliamPaid a few years ago and a tech-savvy guy that tried it said it was a nightmare and extra fees were charged to him. Also it took over a week to show up in my account. I use the bank deposit slip route in a small town I have 17 units in and that works great. With my others, I will try a couple ideas listed here and give feedback.
I have been using it about 2 years. I started using it as an alternative to Paypal.
I like the Dwolla customer service. I've never needed to talk to them directly, but the single payment dispute I had was dealt with almost immediately. I wouldn't rate it as "excellent" but it would only be a step below "excellent" in my book. I do not see any way to call the company.
All you need to use Dwolla is a bank account on either end. It has automatic reminders, auto withdraw capabilities, etc.