It's written into the lease that tenants must deposit their rents into that particular account (either by online bank transfer or by walking in a check/cash); I do not collect rents directly, nor would I if anyone asked.

How much you choose to pay out to yourself as the owner is a separate transaction—not part of cash flow calculation.So when they say:Cash flow = $6045"Actual cash flow" = $2845 (after removing deposits again)…that sounds like either poor formatting or someone trying to get creative with terms that shouldn't be flexible.If you're open to it, I’d ask the PM for a line-item ledger or owner statement that shows actual rent collected, deposits received, expenses paid, and funds disbursed.

Another vote for Baselane - it's a great platform and nice that it has banking, bookkeeping, and rent collection all in one place

I send mine to collections.

How can you best collect without hiring a lawyer  As mentioned you can domesticate it but I believe you are still going to need an attorney if you are going to attempt to collect on it. 

View report**Practice deal I ran as part of BP's 7 Deals Challenge.** I typically jot down quick numbers like this on a property within my buybox.

View report**Practice deal I ran as part of BP's 7 Deals Challenge.** Last one!

This is an extremely unusual practice, never seen this in 15 years of my investing career.

Much of the reduction from $54 to $44 was slowing down the collection of this reserve fund.  

Here's where it gets practical: Negotiate!