Bank account for investment properties

[Matt Fuquay]

Hello everyone! I just got started in the real estate game. I live in Charlotte, NC. I would like to make an offer on a property and/or house hack soon. I currently have my personal bank account with BB&T. But I believe I read somewhere to open up a separate account for rent payment. Does anyone have any ideas or advice on which bank to use? Maybe there's one that is easier to accept rent payment electronically? Preferably one that has little to no fees. Thanks!  

[Matt R.]

I opened an account for my business at a small local bank that was recommended by some other investors in my area.  It has since gotten bought out by a larger regional bank, but the service is still pretty good.  My personal account is at a different bank.

I collect rent electronically (through Cozy) and it was no problem setting up the deposits.  My understanding is that they are similar to how direct deposits from a job would work, so most banks should be able to handle them.

The one thing that can be a bummer about having two different banks is transferring money.  A lot of banks still pretend it's 1900, so a transfer to another bank involves someone getting on a horse and riding over to the other bank; the horse food costs $30-$50 and the transfer takes a few days to show up.  (It actually costs the bank about $0.25-$0.40 and happens in a few milliseconds, but then they can't earn interest or high-frequency trade on your money for three days.)  Some banks will allow you to transfer money to and from another bank, but you have to use a ridiculously insecure phone app.  A few banks know it's 2020 and have either free or at-cost (<$1) transfers.

Personally, I get paid by writing a paper check on my business account, and depositing that in my personal account; that's the cheapest way for me to do it.

If you do end up with your business and personal accounts at the same bank, and you have debit cards for both of them, make sure the cards LOOK different.  If it's free or cheap to do so, put a picture of a house or a door key or something on your "business" debit card.  This greatly reduces the problem of using the wrong card at the store.  :)  (If you do forget, it's not really a problem, but you have to make some more bookkeeping entries and transfer money back the other way.)