Re: How do you all accept rent? - Landlord Forum thread 351379

Re: How do you all accept rent? by Stephen (WA) on March 27, 2017 @22:36

I am a small operation - a duplex and a triplex adjacent to each other and then across town another duplex (total 7 units). I don't live at either location. I don't have the size of operation that it sounds like Katiekate has (although I have dreams).

You need a due date in your written agreement (so it is clear when rent is due) and you need to enforce it. My agreement says rent due on the 1st and specifies a penalty for rent received after the 5th. I give that leeway because so many tenants I have had get paid at the end of the month and need to deposit their check and then mail my payment. Because a few tenants seemed to mis-understand and think rent was due on the 5th so when it arrived on the 6th it was only a day late, I have provided them with a written table that shows the dates, whether the rent is late, whether there is a penalty, and how much that penalty is. So for the 1st it shows that rent is not late, for the 2nd through the 5th it shows that rent is late but there is no penalty, then for each date starting with the 6th it show that rent is late, that there is a penalty, and what the penalty is (it increases each day). Each of us learns differently and my table seems to communicate to those who didn't grasp the straight written word.

How do I collect? Two options:
First, I offer electronic through my bank - Chase bank calls it Chase QuickPay. I like this because I don't have to handle checks AND the tenant does not have my banking information (it is tied to my business email address).
Second, traditional checks or money orders mailed to my P.O. Box. The majority of the tenants use this method.
I don't normally try to hook up with the tenants to collect monthly payments from them. But on occasion, when a check hasn't hit the P.O. Box when I check it on the 5th I telephone the tenant and have a couple times met up with them to get the payment. It is more important to actually get the rent than to collect late fees. If I ever had a tenant who seemed to want to make this a monthly event I probably wouldn't be available to pick up the rent and would expect the late fee. The purpose of the late fee is to change their future behavior. So far, calling them of the 5th and chewing on them has been enough for all but a couple.

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