Collecting Rent From Inherited Tenants

[Cody Davis]

Hello everyone!

I recently closed on my first duplex that I will be house hacking. The duplex came with long term tenants (9 years) as well as the year lease they resigned shortly before I bought the house. During the first conversation, I asked how they have been paying rent. The tenants said that they usually leave a check in the mailbox. I will get back to that later. The main thing that caught my attention is when the tenant said they usually leave the check in the mailbox within the first two weeks of the month... Their reasoning was that they get paid bi-weekly. It says in the lease agreement that rent is due first of the month.

So, my first question is this: how should I approach this situation? I want the rent on the first of the month, which is when my mortgage payment is due.

Second question: how should I approach changing the way rent is collected? I would prefer to have the money deposited directly into my account. I am also interested in using an online source like Rent Redi or Cozy.

Thanks in advance for any ideas!