Statistics show that 100.9 million people live in rentals throughout the United States.
This means that several landlords and property managers are in charge of collecting rent from their tenants each month.
How can you help make this process successful for both you and your tenants? Where are you facing the most trouble with this process right now? Are there any new strategies that you can try?
Keep reading to learn more about how to master the art of rent collection.
Make Rent Collection Simple
The goal of the rent collection process is to make it as simple as possible. Putting yourself in the shoes of your tenants and walking through the process of paying rent can help you see where improvements can be made.
Accepting mobile payments when collecting rent is a newer concept that many people are wanting to use. There are many apps, such as PayPal or Venmo that make it easy for money to be transferred immediately.
Another option is for them to be able to pay online easily without having to visit the leasing office during specific days or hours.
Choose Great Tenants
This is the goal of every property manager. Great tenants mean little to no issues, on-time rent payments, and reliable behavior.
Unfortunately, this is not the case for every property manager. It is hard to determine from an application or short conversation whether someone will pay rent on time and be a great long-term tenant for you.
Part of the search for great tenants may require some outside help. We specialize in real estate services to the Central Coast of California and can help you find the right people to rent your properties.
Communicate Expectations
What are your penalties for late payments? How can your tenants contact you if they are having trouble paying rent? What are your expectations for each tenant?
For most properties, tenants will sign a lease. In this lease, there are typically legal terms that they are agreeing to that include paying for the rent on the property for the duration of their time there.
After the lease is signed, it is important to continue the communication about your expectations to your tenants. Having written documentation of all of this information is also important if there are disagreements about rent payments later on.
One way to do this can be to put out a newsletter each month and include information about the rules and penalties when it comes to rent payments. Having a conversation with anyone that has a late payment can also help prevent it from becoming a repeat issue in the future.
Get Paid Today
Now that you have read more about how to master the art of rent collection, you can get paid by your tenants today. If you have any questions or would like to work with us, please contact us at your earliest convenience.
Check out our blog on our website for more helpful property management articles like this one.