Rent Collection Process - Texas

[Thomas Garza]

I finished listening to episode 343 (Using Checklists and Systems to Get More Done in Less Time with Pilot/Investor Steve Rozenberg) earlier this morning, and I am now motivated to improve my business processes. We only own two rental properties and thus far we have put very little focus on the property management aspect of being a landlord, instead generally opting to be reactive instead of proactive. 

Below I have included my first draft of our new rent collection process. I used the upcoming month to model it and I will work on making it more generic in the future. I hope to automate many of these steps in the future, but for now all of this will be completed manually. If you have any feedback on things I should add or remove from this process, please feel free to let me know. I would love any feedback you are willing to provide. 

• September 30, 2019 at 8:00 AM
  • Send a reminder to the tenant that the rent is due tomorrow.
• October 2, 2019 at 8:00 AM
  • If the rent has been paid, send a thank you message and stop this process
    
• October 3, 2019 at 8:00 AM
  • If the rent has been paid, send a thank you message and stop this process
  • If the rent has not been paid, send a reminder to the tenant
• October 4, 2019 at 8:00 AM
  • If the rent has been paid, send a thank you message and stop this process
  • If the rent has not been paid
    • Add a $35 late fee to the rent
    • Send a 3-day notice to vacate
    • Send a reminder to the tenant informing them of their new balance
• October 5, 2019 – October 7, 2019 at 8:00 AM
  • If total due has been paid, send a thank you message and stop this process
  • If the rent has not been paid
    • Add a $10 late fee to the rent
    • Send a reminder to the tenant informing them of their new balance
• October 8, 2019 at 8:00 AM
  • If total due has been paid, send a thank you message and stop this process
  • If the total due has not been paid
    • Add a $10 late fee to the rent
    • File an eviction
    • Add a fee for court costs to the rent
• October 9, 2019 – Eviction Court Hearing, at 8:00 AM
  • If total due has been paid, send a thank you message and stop this process
  • If the total due has not been paid
    • Add a $10 late fee to the rent
    • Send a reminder to the tenant informing them of their new balance

[Nathan Gesner]

Thomas, I use professional software that is too expensive for you. I recommend you look at Cozy.co or TenantCloud because they can do just about everything for you and are free or extremely cheap. You can market properties online, process applications, set up tenants, communicate with tenants, track maintenance, receive online payments, run owner reports, and much more.