What's the best software/way to collect rent for house hacking?

Question

Hi, I live in Charlotte, NC and I am brand new to house hacking and real estate I have 4 rooms in my house to collect rent from and I am looking for the best software/way to collect rent/manage the property. I need a software/tool that can help me collect rent from 4 different tenants in the same property. Also, it would be great if I could get some suggestions on what website/tool to use to do background checks and e-sign lease agreements.

And if you have any suggestions/advice for someone who's just getting into house hacking please feel free to put them down. I would love to gather as much knowledge as possible. Thank You

David Liu · Answer

Hey Harshraj,

I use Zillow Rental Manager, you can setup automatic rent collection and the rental income is easy to track. You can also charge for utilities by requesting a one time payment on Zillow.

It's not bad for a 1st house hack. You'll also want a system like stessa.com(comes free with BP membership). Stessa can help you track automatically all income, expenses by integrating with your bank account, credit cards used for the househack. You can then press one button to export all tax documents at the end of the year.

Make sure you create a separate bank account for your rent collection. Don't mix it with your personal bank account.

Didier Bizimungu · Answer

I use Apartments.com as well. I break up each tenat as Unit 1, Unit 2 etc.

For electronically signed leases, I use Zillow Rentals (free) and Tenant Cloud for listing/background checks.

Besides using the built-in free listing to Zillow, Realtor.com, I also post the listing on Facebook Marketplace.

All of these tools are free to the landlord as of now (Tenant Cloud is changing in November so I'll have to find another free alternative).

Let me know if you have any other questions on the background mechanics.

Daniel McDonald · Answer

HI @Harshraj Thakor, I am a 2x house hacker just north of Boston. Great strategy, it has truly been a game-changer for me! Congrats on taking this huge leap. I have always used apartments.com (Which used to be cozy) to collect rent and I have had no complaints! It's free which is nice and does what I need it to. Rentredi is also a popular one (paid service) but I can't give my personal experience on that. You can create "tenants" in apartments.com and charge them whatever you want so no issue there on renting by the room. I just get an email every month, don't even think about it. As for e- signing dotloop is what i use in my agency business and it's very easy. However, you pay for it. If you're already living there I suggest saving your money and just having them sign it in person. You can upload it to apartments.com after for everyone to have access too. Why spend where you don't need to. Just my two cents!

Lorien Rollins · Answer

@Harshraj Thakor I too am in the Charlotte area, welcome! If you're looking for an all inclusive software I would recommend RentRedi, you have access to this via BP if you're a pro member. I use PayRent for my LTR in Denver, NC. I am a seasoned multi-family property manager and have experience with many platforms. Apartments is a great platform, Rent Cafe is also user friendly - you can esign docs there.

Feel free to reach out if you have any quetsions!

Artfully,

Lorien

Avery Heilbron · Answer

Hi Harshraj! definitely apartments.com. Free for you and does what you need

Carlos Cotera Jurado · Answer

should this be a sole prop business checking account? or just a secondary personal account?

Steve Bracero · Answer

Agree, apartments.com is very user friendly and tenants have had no issues with payment

Eric Young · Answer

I've used Avail.co for the last 5 years.  It's been great.  It does background checks, creates the lease agreement that can be digitally signed, it accept rent payments.  Everything is automated.

Justin Reagan · Answer

Apartments.com is great for your situation! I don't use it for background checks, but it's a great free website for your other property management needs.

What's the best software/way to collect rent for house hacking?

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