Tips On How To Collect Rent On Time Every Month
by Sky
Posted on Tuesday February 16, 2021 at 04:11PM in General
Tips On How To Collect Rent On Time Every Month
When managing a rental property, the task that is most time consuming is collecting late rental payments. Here are some tips on how to manage tenants who pay late and get your rent collected on time.
1. Choose responsible tenants
It is important to set criteria when selecting your potential tenants, but that criteria must be the same for all tenants. A person’s credit score is usually a good place to start to determine if your tenant is responsible with their money.
Credit score: As part of selecting a tenant, you should get an updated consumer credit report (provided by Schedule My Rent). This credit report should include past debts and eviction judgments. From this report, you will be able to see if they have been irresponsible renters in the past.
References: Another document that can help you decide if a potential tenant is responsible is their references. Their past rental experiences can indicate what they might be like as a tenant. You are always able to call their previous landlord and ask if they would rent to that tenant again (although they aren’t required to tell you anything).
Income: If the tenant doesn’t have a steady income, they might not be the best candidate for paying rent on time or at all. Their regular income should be at least three times greater than the rent due for them to be a relatively safe candidate. If they have a history of paying rent on time with past landlords then even better!
2. Collect rent online, automatically
Collecting rent online is a reliable way to help your tenants pay their rent on time. With Schedule My Rent, you can set up reminders for tenants when the due date for rent is approaching, AutoPay to automatically transfer their rent to your account, and late fees that can be automatically added to a tenant’s rent.
When collecting a tenant’s rent online, it is important to use a site designed for rent collection like Schedule My Rent instead of other sites like Venmo, Zelle, and PayPal. Schedule My Rent has a unique landlord dashboard that allows the landlord to view all their properties at once (or select specific ones) and know at a glance who has and hasn’t paid their rent.
Schedule My Rent also gives tenants the unique opportunity to pay in cash. With MoneyGram, tenants can go into a Walmart, CVS, or other MoneyGram location and pay their rent. The landlord will be notified of the amount that was paid, leaving a receipt for the payment. MoneyGram is much more reliable and simple for landlords and tenants than meeting to pay with cash or mailing a check.
3. Communicate with your tenants
Communication about rent with your tenants is essential. Your tenants should know what amount they need to pay every month, where they can pay, what forms of payment you accept, when they need to get their rent in, and any consequences for late rent payments.
If your tenant pays their rent late, ask them: When do you expect to make your rent payment? What amount will you pay? What source of income will you use for your rent payment? What method of payment will you use?
If your tenant has trouble answering these questions or starts to get defensive, it might be time to consider beginning the eviction process. In these situations it is always important to act professional, so don’t cut off your tenant’s utilities or threaten them in any way. These actions won’t be tolerated by a judge in an eviction hearing.
If you have a reliable renter who doesn’t pay on time once, you can consider letting it slide. But in general it is important to set firm expectations for your tenants and let them know what you expect.
4. Appreciate your responsible tenants
As a landlord, it can be easy to get caught up in preventing late payments and other unwanted situations. It is important to appreciate the tenants who consistently pay on time, take good care of your unit, and abide by your rules. Let them know you appreciate them!