Ask any landlord and they’ll tell you that rent collection is one of the most challenging and time-consuming aspects of property management. Tracking down late payments, sending out reminder notices, and dealing with the occasional tenant who doesn’t pay can make a landlord’s job even more difficult, so, it’s easy to see why so many property managers dread rent day.
Rent collection services can offer you major relief if you’re one of the many landlords finding that rent collection has become almost a full-time job. These services make it easy for tenants to pay rent online and help landlords keep track of payments, late fees, and evictions.
Online rent collection services offer a range of features to help landlords with their rent collection needs, including online payments, tenant screening, and rent history checks. Read on to learn what rent collection services are and delve into the 7 signs you should start using rent collection services for landlords.
What Are Rent Collection Services?
The term rent collection services may lead to think of a company that specializes in collecting late or unpaid rent. That’s certainly one aspect of rent collection services, but there’s much more to it.
Companies that offer rent collection services provide a wide range of rent-related services to landlords, including online rent payments, automatic late fees, and rent debt collection services.
These services make it easy for tenants to pay rent online and offer landlords a host of features to help them manage their rental properties. Many rent collection services also provide screening services, so landlords can run background checks on potential tenants before they move in.
The best online rent collection services offer a wide range of features to landlords and tenants alike. RentSafe, for example, has an intuitive online platform that’s easy to use for both landlords and tenants. The results are real-time, so you always have the most up-to-date information.
A tenant screening toolkit can get you access to detailed reports on each applicant, including criminal and eviction checks, full credit reports, income verification, and pet documentation, among other vital information.
Top 7 Signs You Need Rent Collection Services
Efficient and timely rent collection is vital to the success of any rental property business. It can be challenging to keep track of everything, though, especially if you have multiple properties. Here are 7 signs you need to start using rent collection services:
1. You’re Constantly Chasing Down Late Payments
Let’s face it. One of the most frustrating things about being a landlord is chasing down late payments. It’s time-consuming, nerve-wracking, and can take away from the time you spend on other aspects of your business.
Rent collection services can help if you find yourself constantly chasing down late payments. Online rent collection services allow your tenants to easily pay their rent and you can set up automatic late fees if rent is not remitted on time.
Many collection services also offer rent debt collection services to help you recoup any unpaid rent, allowing you to focus on other aspects of your business and leave the rent collection to the professionals.
2. You Don’t Have Time to Screen Tenants Properly
Tenant screening is a critical component of rental management. Properly vetting tenants before they move in is vital to ensure they’re responsible and will take care of your property.
Screening tenants can be time-consuming, though. You have to run background checks, verify income, and follow all tenant screening laws – and that’s just for starters. Ignoring these important steps could cause you to end up with a bad tenant who doesn’t pay rent on time or who causes damage to your property.
Rent collection services can help take the hassle out of tenant screening. Many of these services offer complete tenant screening services, so you can access detailed reports on each applicant with just a few clicks. This ensures you’re only renting to responsible, qualified tenants.
3. You’re Losing Money on Late Fees
Landlords often have to rely on tenants to remember to pay rent on time if they don’t have a rent collection service working for them. Life happens. Tenants might forget to pay rent or they might not have the money when rent is due. Landlords often lose money as a result.
Late fees help landlords recoup some of the money they lose when tenants don’t pay rent on time. Tracking down late payments and collecting late fees can be a hassle, though, with so many other tasks already competing for your attention.
Rent collection services can help by automatically charging late fees when payments are not received on time. You can also set up automatic rent reminders so your tenants always know when rent is due.
4. You Have Multiple Properties
Managing one rental property can be a full-time job, but managing multiple properties is a whole other beast. Those managing multiple properties need to keep track of rent payments, tenant screening, maintenance requests, among countless other responsibilities. This can quickly become overwhelming and make it difficult to keep track of all there is to do.
You can manage all of your properties in one place with the help of online rent collection services for landlords. RentSafe’s intuitive interface, for instance, lets you add and manage all your properties in a centralized location, so you can quickly and easily keep track of rent payments, maintenance requests, and more. Talk about convenience!
5. You’re Dealing with Troublesome Tenants
Most tenants are responsible and respectful, but there are always a few bad apples. Problematic tenants can cause all sorts of problems, from not paying rent on time to damaging your property or otherwise violating the terms of their lease. Dealing with these tenants can be a real headache and take up too much of your time and energy.
Partnering with a rent collection service can relieve some of the stress of dealing with problematic tenants, including helping to streamline eviction. The rent collection service can automatically charge a late fee if a tenant doesn’t pay rent on time, and if they violate the terms of their lease, you can quickly and easily start the eviction process.
6. You’re Sick of Dealing with Paperwork
Fewer and fewer people are using paper checks anymore, as so many of us have realized what a hassle they are compared to paying online. You must keep track of all the checks, deposit them on time, and ensure they don’t get lost. This is a huge and unnecessary waste of time and energy!
Thankfully, you can say goodbye to paper checks with online rent collection services. Online rent collection allows tenants to pay rent with a credit, debit card, or an Automated Clearing House (ACH) transfer. The best part? The rent is automatically deposited into your account, so you don’t have to worry about losing any rent checks.
7. You Want to Save Time
It takes a great deal of time and effort to manage a rental property, from screening tenants to collecting rent to dealing with maintenance requests. There’s always something that needs to be done, and things like dealing with problematic tenants and those who have defaulted on their rent can push you over the edge.
Rent collection services can help by automating time-consuming tasks, including setting up automatic rent reminders and late fees. You can also use online rent payment and paperless rent collection to save even more time.
Renter statistics show that 83% of tenants say they would pay rent online if their landlord offered it as an option. This, coupled with their ease and convenience, should make the decision to use an online rent collection service the obvious choice.
Contact RentSafe for Professional and Reliable Rent Collection Services
Managing your rental property can be overwhelming, especially when you have so many other things to focus on. Rent collection can be a breeze with the right professionals by your side!
RentSafe offers reliable and professional rent collection services that take the hassle out of rent collection. With online rent payment, automatic rent reminders and late fees, and paperless rent collection, we make it easy for landlords to collect rent and manage their properties. If you’re looking for a rent collection service that can help save you time and money, contact RentSafe today to speak to an expert.
