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

[Harshraj Thakor]

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

[KC Pake]

Quote from @Harshraj Thakor:

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

Hi Harshraj!

Here is some information that might be helpful.

Rent Collection/Property Management:
For collecting rent from multiple tenants and managing your property, here are a few popular options:

Cozy.co: This platform is free for landlords and provides rent collection, expense tracking, and even maintenance request functionalities.

Buildium: This is more comprehensive and suitable if you ever decide to scale up and manage multiple properties. It offers online rent collection, expense tracking, tenant screening, and more.

Zillow Rental Manager: Another free option where you can collect rent, screen tenants, and even list your property.

Background Checks and Lease Agreements:

Avail.co: This platform not only allows you to collect rent but also provides comprehensive tenant screening, including credit, criminal, and eviction checks. They also offer customizable lease agreements.

TenantCloud: This is a more holistic property management solution, but it also offers tenant screening and customizable lease agreement functionalities.

Rocket Lawyer: For e-signing lease agreements, this tool is useful. It also provides a library of real estate-related legal documents you might need.

[Daniel McDonald]

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!  

[Steve Vaughan]

Tenants comfortable with tech pay with Venmo. Free, easy, well-known. 

We also just print our 3 pg lease.  Something about tenants actually reading and initiating important parts makes them pay attention I think. 

[Ryan Thomson]

@Harshraj Thakor I use apartments.com formerly COZY. Its been great. 

[Joey Banasihan]

@Harshraj Thakor I use Avail and it has been really good. Because of the customizable leases, tenant screening, and maintenance requests; it provides an all-in one system for all of your needs without having to use multiple softwares. 

[Jake Andronico]

@Harshraj Thakor

I've used 4 different rent collection software tools now, and my absolute favorite is Turbotenant. 

Extremely user friendly and have had multiple tenants compliment the ease of the software. 

I've house hacked 2 properties (SFH's) and rent by the room w/ separate leases. Willing to answer any questions I can for you. Good luck!!

[Yu Liu]

I 3rd apartments.com

[Didier Bizimungu]

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. 

[Avery Heilbron]

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

[Lorien Rollins]

@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

[David Liu]

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. 

[Justin Reagan]

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.

[Eric Young]

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.  

[Steve Bracero]

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

[Carlos Cotera Jurado]

Quote from @David Liu:

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. 

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