Online Rent Payment by Credit Card

Online rent payment by credit card
There are pros and cons of online rent payment by credit card for tenants.

In today’s mainly paperless world, online rent payment has almost made rent payment by check, cash, and money order extinct. Instead, payment by ACH and credit card have become more popular mainly because they are convenient payment methods. Between the two, we’ll look at the pros and cons of paying by credit card.

Pros

  1. Convenient: You don’t have to go through the trouble of writing and mailing a check. If you can pay rent by credit card, you’ll provide your card information over the phone, online, or in person. The effort is minimal.
  2. Rewarding: Most credit cards today are tied to rewards. Such rewards can appear in the form of cash back or points. Every time you use your credit card whether it be for merchandise or online rent payment, you earn rewards.

Cons

  1. Access: Many landlords do not accept credit card payments mainly due to the high cost that credit card companies charge. So tenants need to find landlords willing to accept credit cards for rent payment. If you can’t find a landlord willing to accept credit cards, then find one who will still accept online rent payment by way of an ACH debit (direct transfer from bank account to bank account). An online rent payment service like ClearNow is beneficial for landlords and tenants who want to do ACH debits.
  2. Fees: Once you find landlords willing to receive rent payment by credit card, be prepared to pay a fee. Most credit cards charge based on a percentage (usually 2% to 3%) of the amount charged making it quite expensive. For example, a $1000 rent payment can realize $20 to $30 in fees.

How to Attract Grads to Your Rental Property

Attract Grads
If you want to attract recent grads, be tech friendly and provide great amenities.

One of the many tasks of landlords is to fill vacancies. If you can fill vacancies quickly, then that is a win for you. Factors such as location, rent amount, and amenities can affect how quickly you can fill your rental property. If you want to attract grads to your rental property, here are some tips to help close the deal.

Be Tech Friendly

Recent grads, also known as graduates or millennials, are very comfortable with technology and as a result, expect it to be an active part of their lives. You can start attracting grads as applicants with online advertising of your rental property. Zillow is one of the most popular places you can advertise. Additionally, online rent payment would be expected to attract grads to your rental property. Long standing services like ClearNow make online rent payment very easy for landlords and tenants. Taking the hassle out and making the payment process easy is attractive. And if you use ClearNow for online rent payment, your millennial tenants can build a credit history by having their payment data furnished to Experian.

Feature Great Amenities to Attract Grads to Your Rental Property

Great amenities can attract all tenants, even graduates. Here are some that are easy to implement:

1. Provide reliable and wide-ranging wifi. Easily accessing the web from every space of your rental property is attractive and reduces frustration.

2. Make your rental property pet friendly. Many millennials have pets; therefore, allowing pets may fill your vacancy faster. A financial benefit for you is the additional rent or fee you require for housing a pet.

3. Create social spaces. Outdoor fire pits and grilling areas are great social spaces for tenants. Having a dedicated place to entertain can be a strong renting point.

There are simple steps you can take to attract grads to your rental property. As a result of understanding their needs, you make filling vacancies that much easier.

Making Online Rent Payment Easy To Setup

Online Rent Payment Should be Easy to Setup
Online Rent Payment saves time! And, it should be easy to setup.

The best tools are easy to setup. Online rent payment saves time for everyone – landlord and tenants alike. At ClearNow, we strive to make online rent payment a piece of cake for landlords and tenants to setup.

Tenant Participation is Key

With ClearNow’s service, we make it easy for you to enroll your tenants in online rent payment. The process is straightforward:

  1. In ClearNow, you simply go to the ‘Add Tenants’ screen and enter a tenant’s name, email address, and property address.
  2. You then click ‘Send Email’ and our system sends clear email instructions for the tenant to enroll.
  3. When the tenant receives the enrollment email, they will enter their information in a secure online form, esign the form, and then upload a picture of their bank documentation (e.g. a picture of their bank statement, check, or direct deposit form). Tenants can do this all on their smartphone. No printer is required!

We Automatically Send Email Reminders So Online Rent Payment is Easy to Setup

We’ve learned over the years that people often need a few reminders to do things. So, with ClearNow, three days and six days after you send enrollment emails to your tenants, if they have not enrolled, our system automatically sends them reminders to enroll. That is one less thing for you to do!

Again, the best online rent payment service is the one that makes it truly easy for landlords and tenants to get setup.

Tools That Make Landlord Lives Easier

Landlording can be a time consuming job. Responsibilities such as screening tenants, signing leases, collecting rent, and maintaining properties take time and effort. Tools that make landlord lives easier become more important because they can save time. Saving time is like saving money. Here is a glance at some tools that every landlord should use.

Online Rent Payment

To really save time and eliminate headaches, landlords should collect rent online. Collecting rent by check, depositing the check, and waiting for funds to clear are time consuming and inconvenient tasks for everyone involved. With so many choices today, landlords can easily find an online rent payment service and be up and running quickly and with little effort. For example, ClearNow has been serving landlords and tenants since 2000 making the entire rent payment and collection process efficient and easy. Tenants benefit from online rent payment, too, as they just need to have funds in their bank account. No other effort required!

Electronic Signatures

When it comes to leases or any document that needs a signature, landlords should use an esignature service. With esignatures, you eliminate the need for printers, paper, and time to meet. Electronic signatures come in especially handy when multiple people need to sign a lease, like in a roommate situation. Each party can sign on their own device at their own convenience. Once signed , everyone gets a copy of the lease. Similar to online rent payment services, there are a lot of esignature services today. eSignToday is an affordable esignature service that charges a flat fee of $0.50 per signature. DocuSign is a service that charges on a monthly fee and caters to those who need frequent signatures.

The list of tools that make landlord lives easier can be lengthy. While we have touched on just a few here, know there are many more available to save landlords time and eliminate headaches.

Ways to Decrease Tenant Turnover

Decrease Tenant Turnover
There are simple things landlords can do to decrease tenant turnover.

Having vacancies with rental property is a cash flow killer for landlords. Finding ways to decrease tenant turnover help minimize revenue loss as well as the time and expense of preparing property for a new tenant. There are simple things landlords can do to keep tenants and thus keep business running.

Find Quality Tenants to Decrease Tenant Turnover

During the tenant application process, tenant screening becomes a critical component to finding quality tenants. Quality tenants will not guarantee but can increase the chances that rent is paid and rent is paid on time. There are various tenant screening services available for landlords to choose from. Taking the time during the application process and screening tenants will help reduce tenant turnover.

Sign Longer Term Lease

If tenants can commit to a longer term lease, then landlords do not have to face frequent turnover. In exchange for a longer term lease, tenants can try to keep the rent at the same amount for a longer period of time. A longer term lease can be a win win for both landlord and tenant.

Maintain Good Relationships

Good relationships make life easier. Having good communication and understanding between landlord and tenant can go a long way. Tenants may be encouraged to renew leases or tell friends about other properties the landlord may have. Word of mouth referrals are one of the most effective marketing strategies.

In addition to good communication, landlords can provide services that make a tenant’s life easier and thus decrease tenant turnover. For example, online rent payment with ClearNow can put the headache of paying rent on time on autopilot. Additionally, in unit washers and dryers are hard to compete with units missing such luxury.

Finding quality tenants, signing a longer term lease, and maintaining good relationships are easy ways to decrease tenant turnover.