You Never Have to Pick Up the Rent Again! – By Jeff Taylor

One thing that landlords usually all end up saying at some point is that they will never again pick up rents from their residents. For some it takes a little longer than others before they realize who is training who. If you are looking for alternative methods to picking up rent, check out how various landlords collect their rent, some of the reasons why many landlords nationwide are now using the BANK as their rent collector or alternative methods to getting rent payments other than picking it up.

1. I have a Deposit Only bank account. The bank teller does our work. I can check instantly online when rent was deposited. Love it.
2. I send an invoice each month and ask the residents to deposit the requested amounts directly into an account. I tell residents that right up front.
3. I like direct bank deposits because residents can all deposit money in my bank account, no matter how they get paid. Make it THEIR problem to get the rent in the account on time. No more lies about the money getting lost in the mail, the bank time- stamps every deposit.
4. My tenants drop off a check to a locked mailbox attached to the front door of one of my apartment units.  I stop by and pick up the checks at my convenience.
5. I like the fact that my bank scans the deposit slips in nightly. Tenants know that to receive credit for their bank deposits, they must write their name and address on the deposit slip or they must have the teller do it. I can see it online. The date, time of deposit, tenant’s name, address, and amount are written on it. I have a note on my account that I only accept money orders, cashier’s checks, or cash.
6.  My tenants pay online. The money is pulled from their bank account and goes straight into mine. If they do not have a bank account, they can mail a money order, which must be received by the due date. Or, as one of my tenants does, gives a friend the rent money and the friend pays online because the tenant does not have a bank account. I am also working on getting set up to accept credit/debit card payments with the processing fees passed on to the tenants.
7. I have one free bank account for each property. I can check any deposits online. Easy to close accounts if I need to evict. No excuses not to pay rent.
8. I have two banks. One is right across the street from my apartment complex, hence there is no excuse. The other is used for my SFH and fourplex. That helps me track who’s paid and not. Also – my bank scans the deposit slips and I write the person’s name and unit on the deposit slip that I send with the monthly invoice. Rent is due by the end of business on the 1st – whatever day that falls on. If the first is on a day the bank is closed the rent is due BEFORE the bank closes.
9. As part of my screening process, I request that the tenant either have or be able to open an account at my bank. (If you can’t open an account, then you have bad credit or bounced checks and I don’t want your tenancy.) This makes it EASY for the tenant to deposit their paycheck and transfer it into my account. At 6 pm on Friday, or 2 pm on Saturday if the deposit is not made it is LATE. Period. End of story.
10. I use the bank deposit opportunity as a positive thing. Tell them at move in how EASY it will be to make their rent payment. They don’t have to mess with checks or money orders, or tracking me down to pay in cash. The bank is close enough so that all residents have to do is walk to the bank! Everyone likes it. And then the few who get into trouble and don’t pay on time find they walked themselves into a “trap,” and there is no way to make excuses.
11. I use an online payment service for my student tenants on another side of the town. Some of them love it, no bounced check fee to me either. It’s only $1 per checking/saving rent payment plus a small monthly fee (can accept credit card too).
12. We use Autodraft from the resident’s checking account into ours on the agreed upon date with this service (directrentdeposits.com) the resident does not have to get anything or go anywhere. The money is drafted out of their account every two weeks around their PayDay – before they have a chance to spend it.

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