As a property owner, receiving rent payments on time is significant for maintaining a successful rental home. Nevertheless, before receiving those payments, you must think of the many rent collection methods available and select the one that best suits your management style and tenant’s requirements.
With quite a lot of options, picking the proper rent collection method can be challenging. Consequently, it’s important to understand the available methods and examine their pros and cons to make an informed decision. This will warrant you receiving rent payments on the dot without any trouble.
Variables to Consider
If you’re trying to find out the best way to collect rent, there are various things you should take into account. For example, how many tenants do you need to get from each month? Do you feel at ease using technology tools to manage rent payments? Assessing these factors, you can speedily narrow your options and sort out the exact fit.
When managing a property, you must take into consideration the frequency and manner of your interactions with your tenants. While frequently engaging in positive communication can be helpful, only appearing to collect rent each month can give off the wrong idea. It is important to strike a balance between being engaged and giving your tenants the space they need.
Convenient and Well-Documented
Before you choose how to collect rent, ask yourself two things – is it simple, and can you keep track of every transaction? Today, renters want tech that makes their lives better.
Did you know that, according to a recent study, 83% of consumers prefer online bill payment? It’s no surprise, as online payments are useful, quick, and easy to deal with. But, keeping track of all rental payments and other transactions is similarly important. Finding a payment method that bestows both convenience and accurate record-keeping is significant to managing your rental property correctly.
Payment Methods
There are two main categories of payment methods: traditional and electronic. Traditional payment methods include cash, personal checks, cashier’s checks, and money orders, which have been put to use in property management for some time. Nonetheless, electronic payment methods have become more and more popular and diverse recently. Nowadays, property owners can prefer some electronic payment options like ACH transfers and Square. Similarly, payment apps like PayPal, Zelle, and Venmo have made sending and receiving money electronically simpler.
Accepting cash or personal checks for payments can take time and effort. Cash payments don’t really come with proper documentation, while personal checks can take a while to clear the bank. In light of this, it’s oftentimes better to go for money orders or cashier’s checks. They are commonly more credible and trouble-free. When your tenant is paying a security deposit, it’s aptly reasonable to use a money order or cashier’s check.
Electronic payment methods offer a great advantage over traditional payment methods, as they endow a detailed record of each transaction. This characteristic makes documentation automatic, getting rid of the need for manual documentation of each payment. This not only saves time but likewise helps keep track of your expenses and maintain financial records for further reference.
Automate and Communicate
In regards to collecting rent, selecting a suitable payment method is significant. By selecting a more automated rent payment method, you can streamline the whole process and make it easier for yourself. Thus, you can concentrate on other important aspects of managing your property without worrying about rent collection.
It’s significant to offer tenants a lot of payment options to stop restricting them to a single method that may rest on a technology they are not comfortable using. We advise giving two or three payment methods and telling the options to your tenant to secure ease of payment and proper documentation. A combination approach can be a reasonable compromise as long as each procedure meets your requirements for documentation and convenience.
Look into the benefits of hiring a property management company. Real Property Management Homebase imparts tenants with easy online rent payment options. If you’re ready to turn the daily work of managing a rental property over to the professionals, contact us online or call us at 850-806-2263.
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