 Payment of rent is the most important action identified by the lease. To it is tied a lot of emotion that increases with intensity as the rent date approaches and after it passes, if no payment is received. With late rent the tenant faces fees and the property manager faces pensive owners wondering about their monthly residual check. Making rent easy to pay and easy to collect is paramount. Let’s review the many ways available to the Property Manager, and tenant.
Check in the Mail The traditional approach. Check or money order sent through the US Mail gets it to the Property Manager in 1-3 days. The Property Manager must then wait 1-3 days for the check to clear after depositing into the bank. To avoid a late fee the tenant must mail early . Please don’t send cash this way! Pay in Person Often socially awkward. The Property Manager can not appreciate the effort that the tenant expended to earn the rent, nor the things they had to sacrifice. The tenant can’t appreciate the amount of owner‘s debt the rent pays, the expenses carried to offer the property as a rental, nor how on-time payment is fundamental is maintaining good credit. Both think the other can afford more/sooner or doesn’t need the money. Counter Deposit at the Property Manager’s Bank This is very popular with tenants who may not have a checking account. I give them or text them a bank deposit slip. They go to any local branch and make a counter deposit, then text me a picture of the deposit receipt. This is popular because payment can be delayed until the due date. On my end it gives me a good record of the transaction but requires a little extra file manipulation /storage. EFT from the Tenant ‘s Bank The Property Manager must have a bank service that integrates Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) with the property management software. This allows the tenant to log into their lease account through a tenant portal, and transfer funds from their bank to the Property Manager’s bank. In particular the younger or more tech-savvy tenants love this approach because it can be done on the due date and from a phone or and device. Once logged-in the tenant can see both charges and past payments and, I don’t need to send them a statement. Bank Automatic Bill-pay Many people withy salaries directly deposited into their checking account pay all their bills this way. I set up monthly automatic payments for many bills. They all get paid (something) even if I forget to edit the amount due. Paying rent this way is a "set and forget" action. On-line Credit Card Payment The last resort! The Property Manager must have a bank service that integrates with the Property Management software. Like Pay Pal, a hefty service fee is charged by the bank. In order for the Property Manager to keep from paying the bank fee the tenant is charged that fee at the time of transaction. Fees usually run under 3% but that’s better than the 5% charged if late. Even though late rent payment is entirely the tenant's responsibility and within their control, tenants bludgeoned by late fees quickly come to the notion that the property manager is at fault, and they will be moving at the end of the lease. Offering multiple methods of payment, empowers the tenant. It makes it easy for them to satisfy an onerous monthly task and is the best way to remove excuses for late rent. 77th Meridian, LLC is full service residential property management company. We serve Anne Arundel and surrounding counties, and parts of Baltimore City for a monthly fee of 7.7%. Why pay the 10% others charge? We save you TIME and WORRY. . . .
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