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Updated over 7 years ago, 08/13/2017

User Stats

495
Posts
389
Votes
Ricardo R.
Pro Member
  • Property Manager
  • Michigan Ctr, MI
389
Votes |
495
Posts

Online Rent Collection without partial payments

Ricardo R.
Pro Member
  • Property Manager
  • Michigan Ctr, MI
Posted

Hi everyone. 

We have been using Cozy for our rental properties in regards to rent collection. Initially, their system was great and would not allow a Tenant to make partial payments; it would only allow a Tenant to pay all or none of the Rent, which was great and was one of the reasons we started using their service. However recently they have changed their system which now allows Tenants to make partial payments, which we do not like at all. There is no option on the receiving side in order to only allow only full payments, we find this to be a waiting nightmare if an eviction ever came up. We are especially unhappy with the service now, considering that was one of their highly touted features when they first started offering it.

Does anyone know of any other online payment service which only allows for full payments or at least allows the Landlord to chose between full and partial payments? 

Alex

  • Ricardo R.
  • 810-844-1104
  • User Stats

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    Max T.
    • Investor
    • Philadelphia, PA
    3,340
    Votes |
    3,930
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    Max T.
    • Investor
    • Philadelphia, PA
    Replied

    If an eviction comes up simply discontinue the tenant's cozy account and require them to pay in full with certified funds.

    User Stats

    495
    Posts
    389
    Votes
    Ricardo R.
    Pro Member
    • Property Manager
    • Michigan Ctr, MI
    389
    Votes |
    495
    Posts
    Ricardo R.
    Pro Member
    • Property Manager
    • Michigan Ctr, MI
    Replied

    @Max T. thank you for your response. Yeah, I don't really want to be playing around with discontinuing their account whenever there is a partial payment pending, only to have to go back and set it back up and then continue to keep an eye on it for partial payments. I am looking for a system that lessens the burden on me the landlord.

  • Ricardo R.
  • 810-844-1104
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    User Stats

    3,930
    Posts
    3,340
    Votes
    Max T.
    • Investor
    • Philadelphia, PA
    3,340
    Votes |
    3,930
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    Max T.
    • Investor
    • Philadelphia, PA
    Replied

    I think of the online payment as a convenience for me but also a privilege for them.

    I start with training - making it very clear that partial payments/late payments are not tolerated. If the privilege is abused it will be taken away.

    If I ever had a tenant that paid partially or late more than once as an accident, I would remove their account from cozy and require all future payments in certified funds. This is also the kind of tenant who's lease I would not renew.

    In my experience when a tenant  pays late or makes a partial payment, I have a phone conversation with them that day. I see when the payments get posted and for how much. Over the phone I give them an opportunity to correct the error that day. Again - we can see when the payments are posted and for how much.

    I would not put myself in a situation where I was cancelling their cozy account and then setting it back up again.

    User Stats

    102
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    88
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    Clay O.
    • Investor
    • Tulsa, OK
    88
    Votes |
    102
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    Clay O.
    • Investor
    • Tulsa, OK
    Replied

    I just set up ERentPayment last week and they give you an option to accept partial payments or not.

    Good luck!!

      https://www.erentpayment.com/  

    User Stats

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    Ricardo R.
    Pro Member
    • Property Manager
    • Michigan Ctr, MI
    389
    Votes |
    495
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    Ricardo R.
    Pro Member
    • Property Manager
    • Michigan Ctr, MI
    Replied

    @Max T. Max, I understand your point and I agree with Tenant training. However, in my opinion to only depend on that for a business model is silly to me. You need to set up systems in place to minimize damage and exposure and having a systems that does not allow partial payments is one of them. For instance, you wouldn't not accept a security deposit and depend on your 'training' of the Tenant to keep them from doing damage to your property (I hope not) - no instead you do both in case to minimize your exposure. 

    Same thing here, I understand about training and agree that it is important, but the question remains. What other systems other than Cozy are out there than give me the option to not accept partial payments? The reason for these systems are to lessen the burden on me, the Landlord, and to make it convenient for the Tenant.... Cozy falls short in the Landlord department. If I have to constantly tinker with a system that is supposed to be providing me a service in order for it be beneficial, I'd rather go with a competitor which takes our needs as Landlords/Property Managers into account while reducing our liability. 

    Thank you for your input, but the question remains... What other online payment systems are out there that only allow for full payment and not partial payments? 

  • Ricardo R.
  • 810-844-1104
  • User Stats

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    Max T.
    • Investor
    • Philadelphia, PA
    3,340
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    Max T.
    • Investor
    • Philadelphia, PA
    Replied

    I don't believe there are any that do what you want.

    It has something to do with the nature of the ACH transaction.... Good luck with your search!

    User Stats

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    389
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    Ricardo R.
    Pro Member
    • Property Manager
    • Michigan Ctr, MI
    389
    Votes |
    495
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    Ricardo R.
    Pro Member
    • Property Manager
    • Michigan Ctr, MI
    Replied

    @Clay O. Thanks Clay, I'll check them out. 

  • Ricardo R.
  • 810-844-1104
  • User Stats

    308
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    151
    Votes
    Sarnen Steinbarth
    • Commercial Real Estate Broker
    • Fort Collins, CO
    151
    Votes |
    308
    Posts
    Sarnen Steinbarth
    • Commercial Real Estate Broker
    • Fort Collins, CO
    Replied

    @Ricardo R.

    Not sure what price range / budget you are thinking.

    Propertyware will allow you to restrict by full or partial. Costs are a few hundred per month.

    Yardi and Real Page also have options for this (cost up to a couple thousand per month).

    User Stats

    481
    Posts
    170
    Votes
    Jeff Gates
    • Investor
    • Cathedral City, CA
    170
    Votes |
    481
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    Jeff Gates
    • Investor
    • Cathedral City, CA
    Replied

    The ACH system does not prohibit partial payments, or encourage them. That is software vendor feature.

    User Stats

    1,054
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    949
    Votes
    Ray Lai
    • Investor / Vendor
    • San Diego, CA
    949
    Votes |
    1,054
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    Ray Lai
    • Investor / Vendor
    • San Diego, CA
    Replied

    Thank you @Clay O. for the ERentPayment suggestion. Considering you've only used it for a week, could you and @Ricardo R. comment on its effectiveness in a few months? I've collected detailed notes on different types of software that real estate investors use to help people with suggestions for threads like this. My information on payment systems is lacking because people used to recommend Cozy a lot and Alex just highlighted a huge problem with the partial payment shenanigans! 

    Have an upvote, both of you :)

    User Stats

    102
    Posts
    88
    Votes
    Clay O.
    • Investor
    • Tulsa, OK
    88
    Votes |
    102
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    Clay O.
    • Investor
    • Tulsa, OK
    Replied

    @Ray Lai Will do!!

    User Stats

    4
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    3
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    Amy Emmerson
    • Real Estate Investor
    • La Mesa, CA
    3
    Votes |
    4
    Posts
    Amy Emmerson
    • Real Estate Investor
    • La Mesa, CA
    Replied

    Hi @Ricardo R., have you tried Rentigo? I've been using them for a while and am very happy with their rent collection & tenants' communication features. My tenants use the app to pay rent and send me messages/open maintenance requests, and I use both the app and the web-dashboard for further management tools. www.rentigo.com  

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    User Stats

    198
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    89
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    Shea Spinelli
    Pro Member
    • Rental Property Investor
    • Tyler, TX
    89
    Votes |
    198
    Posts
    Shea Spinelli
    Pro Member
    • Rental Property Investor
    • Tyler, TX
    Replied

    @Amy Emmerson Rentigo's site says it takes 5-6 busi days to receive funding.  Has this been your experience?

  • Shea Spinelli
  • User Stats

    227
    Posts
    131
    Votes
    Susan H.
    • Investor/Landlord
    • NWA, AR
    131
    Votes |
    227
    Posts
    Susan H.
    • Investor/Landlord
    • NWA, AR
    Replied
    Originally posted by @Ray Lai:

    Thank you @Clay O. for the ERentPayment suggestion. Considering you've only used it for a week, could you and @Ricardo R. comment on its effectiveness in a few months? I've collected detailed notes on different types of software that real estate investors use to help people with suggestions for threads like this. My information on payment systems is lacking because people used to recommend Cozy a lot and Alex just highlighted a huge problem with the partial payment shenanigans! 

    Have an upvote, both of you :)

     I've been using erentpayment for more than a year now and am very pleased. I set up the account to not allow partial payments and have had no problems at all. Their customer service staff is efficient and promptly responds to my queries. 

    I use erentpayment as well for my applications, which I customized by property. I don't charge a fee for the application, and applicants say it's been easy to use. I particularly like that I can rearrange sections, add information blocks, and add instructions about the entire process.

    I selected the option to pay the $3 monthly processing fee myself. Tenants seem to appreciate it when I tell them I pay that fee for them, and it's frankly a minimal expense for me. 

    I hope this is helpful to you!

    User Stats

    102
    Posts
    88
    Votes
    Clay O.
    • Investor
    • Tulsa, OK
    88
    Votes |
    102
    Posts
    Clay O.
    • Investor
    • Tulsa, OK
    Replied

    @Ray Lai - So far very happy with ERentPayment. It takes about 4 days for the $'s to hit my account but it's very smooth. 

    User Stats

    1,054
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    949
    Votes
    Ray Lai
    • Investor / Vendor
    • San Diego, CA
    949
    Votes |
    1,054
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    Ray Lai
    • Investor / Vendor
    • San Diego, CA
    Replied

    @clay owens

    Nice, thanks for sharing, added to my notes. 

    Unfortunately I can't share my notes publicly anymore because people don't see the quotes. Still, have an upvote!

    User Stats

    1,057
    Posts
    594
    Votes
    Kimberly H.
    • Residential Real Estate Broker
    • Chicago Suburbs, IL
    594
    Votes |
    1,057
    Posts
    Kimberly H.
    • Residential Real Estate Broker
    • Chicago Suburbs, IL
    Replied

    Erentpayment.com, been using a year now, happy with

    User Stats

    6,201
    Posts
    4,342
    Votes
    Dawn Anastasi
    Pro Member
    • Rental Property Investor
    • Milwaukee, WI
    4,342
    Votes |
    6,201
    Posts
    Dawn Anastasi
    Pro Member
    • Rental Property Investor
    • Milwaukee, WI
    Replied

    Have you submitted a suggestion to Cozy to make it an option whether or not to accept partial payments?  In my state, I can take a partial payment and still evict if I needed to, but I understand that laws are different in each state. Software developers need to know from their user base what is needed in the software.

    User Stats

    25
    Posts
    1
    Votes
    Nancy Lucia
    • Investor
    • Orange County, CA
    1
    Votes |
    25
    Posts
    Nancy Lucia
    • Investor
    • Orange County, CA
    Replied

    Hello everyone, I am posting here to stay tuned on this thread and topic.  I am looking for a solution to have my tenants pay rent online.  I have been using Chase quick pay but I have found it to have limitations.  I am going to check out Erentpayment.com.  That one sounds like a good option.
    Thank you!

    User Stats

    48
    Posts
    28
    Votes
    Kevin Powell
    • Minneapolis, MN
    28
    Votes |
    48
    Posts
    Kevin Powell
    • Minneapolis, MN
    Replied

    How does this work for units with multiple tenants? Do you require that one tenant makes one payment? From a convenience point of view I think tenants might balk at that.

    I know that with Buildium released a feature that stops tenants and staff ability to accept payment if you set the lease to eviction pending. https://www.buildium.com/blog/feature-update-evict...

    Buildium is more than just online rent collection obviously but from an automation standpoint it helps me automate rent collection, application fees/application process, tracking, tenant communication etc. I think I pay something like $800 a year for the service and like $.50 per online payment. I believe they are deposited within 2 days from payment receipt. 

    Automation should be considered from a tenant point of view as well. Automating application means a lower application fee for tenants. Automatic rent payments, signing leases online, electronic communication, etc. Tenants want to save time as well and these systems help both parties.