Article

Rental Property Trend: No More Paper Checks!

Rents are the lifeblood of the rental housing industry. Without rent, you cannot pay your mortgage and bills. One of the keys to success is collecting rent in an efficient and timely manner.

Unfortunately, collecting rent by paper check is easier said than done. When rent is due, you wait and hope rent checks will arrive on time. You are dependent on your tenants to remember to write checks and deliver them to you. As the checks trickle in, you create deposit slips and make trips to the bank. Later, you usually have to identify who has not paid, contact them, and remind them to pay you. And unfortunately, every once in a while, you deposit a check that bounces.

Fortunately new methods of collecting rent have emerged that make the whole process faster and easier for you. One simple and inexpensive method is 'direct rent deposits'.

Direct Rent Deposits
Direct rent deposits are automatic, electronic rent payments. Each month, rent is automatically transferred from tenant bank accounts and directly deposited to your property's checking account - an electronic process that eliminates paper checks. Direct rent deposits occur through the Automated Clearing House (ACH) payment network - the same bank payment network used to transmit payroll for millions of employees through direct deposit.

Direct rent deposits require a one-time setup on the part of the tenant. Because payments occur automatically, once setup, the tenant is relieved of the chore of remembering to pay rent and the hassle of writing and delivering a check.

Important Benefits
There are significant time and money saving advantages of using direct rent deposits over paper checks:

• A Paperless System - Eliminate paper checks and deposit slips and thus the possibility of check fraud and misplaced checks! There are no checks to write or misplace!
• No Mail Delays - Now, rent cannot be lost in the mail or delayed because of the mail!
• No Trips to the Bank - Save time! Rents are directly deposited to your property's checking account. If you are out of town, funds still get deposited into your property's checking account!
• Faster NSF Notification - You will know within days if your tenant had insufficient funds rather than within weeks or months with paper checks!
  

Article Provided By:

Justin Yung
ClearNow, Inc.
ClearNow, Inc. of Durham, North Carolina is a pioneer in easy-to-use Web-based ACH solutions for landlords and property managers. For more information, contact ClearNow, Inc. at 919-680-4500 or visit their Website at www.ClearNow.com.