General Archives - Page 5 of 12

How to Attract Grads to Your Rental Property

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.

Tools That Make Landlord Lives Easier

Tools Make Life Easier — Tools that make landlord lives easier become more important because they can save time.

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

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.

How to Comply with the California Rent Reporting Law (SB 1157)

In the fall of 2020, California Senate Bill 1157 (“the California Rent Reporting Law”) became law. Starting July 1, 2021, landlords who own subsidized multifamily housing units must offer their tenants the option to report their rent payments to a major credit bureau. Fortunately, ClearNow allows landlords to comply with this law and offer their tenants the benefit of reporting their rent payment.

Does The California Rent Reporting Law Apply To Me?

If any of the following applies to you, then this law does NOT apply to you:

You do not own rental units in the state of California.
You own 15 or fewer rental units.
Your tenants do not receive subsidies at the local, state, or federal level for their housing expense. In other words, you are not operating an “assisted housing development” as defined by Section 65863.10 of the Government code.

How Can ClearNow help Me?

If you need to comply with the California Rent Reporting Law, ClearNow can help you. ClearNow online rent payment has an incredible built in feature: Tenants who pay through ClearNow can elect to have their rent payment reported to the Experian credit bureau.

Better yet, signing up for ClearNow is easy. Simply go to www.ClearNow.com and set up your property’s account. Then, you can let your tenants know that if they wish to report their rent payment to a major credit bureau they will need to pay rent to you through ClearNow online rent payment. Best of all, ClearNow is very affordable. The first tenant who pays through ClearNow costs $14.95/mo and each additional tenant is just $2/mo.

New government laws can be terrifying to business owners. However, with regards to the California Rent Reporting Law (SB 1157), ClearNow offers an easy-to-implement and affordable solution that is a win-win for both you and your tenants.

How to do ACH Rent Payments

The ACH network is the most widely used, bank-based electronic funds transfer network in the United States. Millions of employees receive their salaries through ‘direct deposit’ via the ACH payment network. The ACH network does not charge a percentage of each transaction amount like credit cards. Instead, the ACH network charges a small fixed fee for each payment made. The ACH network is safe, reliable, and inexpensive. These attributes make ACH rent payments a great payment method for landlords and their tenants.

ACH Rent Payment is Safe

Using the ACH payment network, property managers schedule rent payment so that funds move automatically from a tenant’s checking account to the property’s checking account. Federal Regulation E (the Electronic Funds Transfer Act of 1978) safeguards consumers against the inappropriate movement of funds from their account.

Easy To Use Web-Based Rent Payments

Traditionally, using the ACH payment network meant learning ACH software and transferring files back and forth to an ACH processor (a bank or a company specializing in ACH processing). Fortunately, Web-based solutions make ACH rent payments easier to setup than ever before. ClearNow is one of the oldest (since 2000) and most well-reviewed (perfect BBB rating) ACH rent payment service.

Methods to Pay Rent Online

Pay rent online credit card — Two online rent payment methods for tenants include credit card and ACH.

Finding a way to complete chores in the fastest and most painful manner is a win. When it comes to the chore of paying rent, tenants who can pay rent online achieve speed and ease. The two most popular methods of online rent payment are credit card and ACH.

Pay Rent Online by Credit Card

Paying for goods and services by credit card is very popular in certain markets, such as dining and consumer goods. In these markets, credit card payment in person or online is highly accessible. In the real estate rental market, however, credit cards are not popular. Many landlords do not accept credit card payments mainly due to the high cost that credit card companies charge. Fees are typically based on a percentage (usually 2% to 3%) of the amount charged making it quite expensive. For example, a $500 rent payment can cost the landlord $10 to $15 in fees. Even though the fees are high, there are services that enable tenants to pay rent online by credit card. Tenants who can pay rent by credit card will benefit from rewards they can earn with their card company as well as cover them if they are short on cash when rent is due.

Pay Rent Online by ACH

The Automated Clearing House (ACH) Network enables the electronic transfer of funds between bank accounts. One of the most popular uses of an ACH payment is with direct deposit for payroll. Most employers will pay employees as a direct deposit to the employees’ bank accounts using the ACH Network. Rent payment by ACH is much more popular than credit cards partly due to the reasonable cost. There are many online rent payment services that enable tenants to pay rent online by ACH. These services will differ on factors such as cost and features. For example, ClearNow does not charge tenants to pay rent online (landlords pay the fee) and will furnish rent payment data to the Experian credit bureau for those tenants wanting to build a credit history.

Tenants who want to make their lives easier should look into paying rent online. There are online rent payment services that offer credit card and ACH as payment options.

Rent Check Lost in Mail?

Were you waiting for a rent check in the mail from your tenant? You contact your tenant and they say that the rent check was sent. You are facing the dreaded ‘Rent Check Lost in the Mail’ issue. Never fear, we are here to walk you through what to do next.

How Long Has the Rent Check Been Lost in the Mail?

First, learn when the rent check was mailed. Unfortunately, the US Postal Service is not always prompt. Mail sometimes does take longer than usual to get to you. If the rent check is within a few days of when you normally would receive it, you might want to wait.

Cancel and Resend

When too much time has passed, the safest thing to do is to cancel the missing check. Have the tenant contact their bank and cancel the check. Be aware that banks often charge a small fee to do this.

Next, have the tenant resend a new check to you.

Consider Online Rent Payment

Why not remove the stress and time spent dealing with lost or delayed rent checks? With online rent payment services like ClearNow, once your tenants are setup, rent payment is made automatically. Whether you’re out of town, or the post office is unreliable, rent appears in your bank account – no more rent check lost in the mail.

Online Rent Payment and Roommates

Landlords and tenants want a fast and easy way to collect and pay rent. Online rent payment is the answer for both parties. In roommate situations, landlords may require a single payment or permit each roommate to pay their pre-determined portion. Paying rent electronically makes roommate situations super easy.

One Roommate Pays for All

Some landlords require full payment of rent from a single person in a roommate situation. By collecting rent from one person, the landlord increases her chances of getting paid in full. She also saves time on hunting down the remaining rent payment from various roommates. Online rent collection is still the easiest method for collecting and paying rent even if just from one tenant. ClearNow and many other online rent payment services cater to landlords with roommate situations.

Each Roommate Pays Individually

Landlords who permit each roommate to pay their pre-determined portion of rent from their own bank account eliminates the “middle person”. That “middle person” is not only the roommate who makes the rent payment in full from her own bank account but also the roommate who has to make sure each roommate has paid her. When each roommate pays individually, they just need to make sure they have enough funds to make their payment successful every month. Each online rent payment service has different features on how they handle roommates and payments.

Whether you have each roommate pay individually or a designated roommate pays for everyone, collecting and paying rent online makes the entire process fast and easy!

The Convenience of Online Rent Payment

Online rent payment (also known as online rent collection) is a method that uses technology to pay and receive rent electronically. There is no paper involved with online rent payment, whether it be in the form of cash, check, or money order. Instead, rent is paid and collected by paperless methods like credit cards or by electronic withdrawals from and deposits to a bank account. With today’s modern technology, landlords and tenants benefit from the convenience of online rent payment, which saves time and improves communication.

Saves Time

For landlords, online rent payment eliminates any trip to the bank to deposit rent as rent is directly deposited to the landlord’s bank account. Online rent payment can also streamline the bookkeeping process. Depending on how landlords track rental income and expenses, some online rent payment services, like ClearNow, have landlord accounting built in such that rent payments are automatically recorded in the books saving the landlord even more time.

For tenants, online rent payment eliminates the need to write a check and mail it or visit the leasing office to drop off rent. Additionally, tenants do not need to schedule payment, as some online rent payment services will automatically debit tenant bank accounts on a recurring basis for the lease term.

Improves Communication

Most online rent payment services provide a range of communication beneficial for landlords and tenants. Examples include rent reminders for tenants to prepare for upcoming withdrawals, emails for landlords of failed tenant payments, and payment histories for both. Such communication and transparency enhances the landlord/tenant relationship and off loads this task making online rent payment convenient.

According to Yahoo, the overall trend of online payments is increasing in popularity. In the past, setting up online rent collection was challenging. Today, there are a number of online rent payment services to support landlords and tenants creating convenience for both parties.

Getting Tenants to Pay Rent Online

Landlords love getting paid rent automatically. Online rent payment is a no brainer; it saves you time and encourages tenants to pay rent on time. But, what can landlords do to get tenants to pay rent online?

In ClearNow’s experience, tenants are most open to signing up for online rent payment when they sign or renew a lease.

In some cases, you will need to convince your tenants to sign up for online rent payment. Fortunately, tenants who pay rent online can look forward to many benefits:

Paying Rent Online Is Secure

We all tend to be a little hesitant to making change. For tenants who are used to paying rent via check, an automatic debit to their bank account can be scary.

Thankfully, online rent payment services tend to be even more secure than paying by check. With ClearNow, for example, the landlord never sees your bank account number (in the check world, this number is on every check).

Moreover, with a service like ClearNow, a tenant can contact an independent third party and stop payments if there is ever a dispute.

Online Rent Payment is Convenient

We’ve all learned from online shopping with Amazon that saving time is super nice. For tenants, never having to write or drop off a check saves time and effort!

Even compared to something like PayPal, with ClearNow online rent payment, tenants receive an email notice each month eight days ahead of time that rent will be debited – there is nothing to log into and schedule.

Pay Rent Online To Build Credit History

Most tenants do not realize that they can build credit history by paying rent online! ClearNow has offered this feature since 2011 -at no charge to the tenant. A good credit history is so important in the modern world. For example, it can lead to lower loan costs and a healthier employment background profile.

Tenants Benefit from Paying Rent Online

Next time you are preparing a new lease or lease extension, let your tenants know that you would like them to pay rent online. With a service like ClearNow, tenants can enjoy the safety, convenience, and credit building of online rent payment.