Tenant accustomed to current landlord picking up rent payments...

[Chad Hurin]

Hi,

I just wanted to get some typical ways some of you landlords receive rent payments. I'm about to acquire rental properties where the long term tenants are used to the current landlord driving by each property and picking up the tenants cash rent. I, however, don't want to make the drive EVERY month to pick up cash to then drive to bank to despite, etc. The tenants are on the lower income side and seem not to be interested (or maybe unable; not sure) to open bank account to pay by check or transfer. I assume the only other way is for them to get a cashiers check or money order and mail to me? Eh, that seems slow. is the the next common way after cash pickup? Is there any other way you landlords have incentives for your tenants to find an alternative? Thanks BP!

[Account Closed]

When I rent to a tenant part of the screening process means that they be responsible people.  This means paying their rent on time.  This means licking a stamp and depositing the rent payment into a mail box or driving to a post office.  

When I select a tenant for my properties, they must be COLLECTIBLE.  They must pay their bills on time.  And some of our properties were in low income areas.  Our properties were in the City of Detroit and outlining areas, so I dealt with all manners of people and personalities. 

When I rented out a house I told the tenants that they were responsible for getting their rent money into my office on or before the due date.  That I didn't come by and pick it up.  That if they couldn't take the time to pay their rent to me, like everyone else, then they could do the same thing too. It is a part of being responsible.  And if they couldn't do that, then they no longer qualified for this rental unit.  

One thing I learned in this life,  is that you don't enable people.  In order for people to become responsible adults you need to make them accountable for what they do in life.  This means even the simplest things such as putting their rent payments in the mail themselves.

Many of my tenants thanked me for teaching them how to be good business people.  When they paid their rent on time, I reported it to the Credit Bureau.  I had an account with the credit bureau to where they did my credit checks and I reported my tenants payment history to them.

When the tenants were ready to buy a house, according to their payment history, I told them to give my name as a reference.  

Sometimes we feel we are helping people by going out of our own way to help them out.  When in actuality we aren't doing them any favors at all. 

How many times would you take time out of your busy schedule, pay for gas, at the prices they are today, to drive to the rental home and the tenant was not home even though they said they would be, when you called them to tell them you would be right over to collect their rent.  How convenient for them to say something came up, and then you do it all over again.  And pretty soon, there is no more trust between the landlord and tenant?  

Why make being a landlord a hardship on yourself?  Does your mortgage company come by to collect their mortgage payment from you.  Your doctors office.  Who comes to your house to collect their monthly payment from you as part of their service?  Then why do we feel that we need to do it when we are so busy as it is?

Nancy Neville