All Forum Posts by: Brian Pleshek

I've been a landlord for most of 20 years. But I've been a small fry. The most my wife and I have owned was 5 SFHs at once. In the past, payments were accepted by personal check or cash. These properties were in B- neighborhoods or better so safety was never an issue. The rare personal check that bounced was made good shortly. Most of those properties have been divested and I currently have one rented and another ready to market. I have allowed my current tenant to deposit money into a bank account set up just for the property. I get a text from the bank when the deposit is made and it's been hands off for about 3 years. I do understand that I may be playing with fire here with the tenant claiming I "accepted" funds just because they put it in there. Maybe this is a bad idea and I've just been lucky. Thoughts?

I want to start running this more as a business and less as a hobby now so I want to do it right. So I'd like everyone's opinions on how to accept funds.

Cash - I've heard the stories about safety, but if this is a good neighborhood, is there a problem accepting cash?

Personal Check - This seems to be becoming more and more of a risk as time goes by. But it used to be the standard. Thoughts?

Money Order - This seems to be secure money. But it also seems to me to be inconvenient for my customers. I only have required these in the past for tenants that have personal check issues.

Cashier's check - This seems to be secure money. But it also seems to me to be inconvenient for my customers. I only have required these in the past for tenants that have personal check issues.

Credit Card/Bank Card - I worry about the possibility of a tenant marking this as a fraudulent charge at some point. I might have to worry about PCI compliance issues(IE responsibility for stolen CC numbers, etc).

Online Payment Service - These seem convenient, but I worry about the same issue I would have if I were to accept a credit card. Obviously, they'd have to be PCI compliant.

PayPal - Paypal seems to be buyer centric and seems like it might be a bad deal for me. Thoughts?

Phone - Some payments can be made via your cell phone now a days. This seems weird to me, but maybe. Might be integrated with an online payment service.

Did I miss any ?

Thanks,

Brian

Interesting @David Short

I have my own business cards for my I.t. Business that are independent from my employer. 

i want to have cards for my fledgling real estate empire. Should i put investor on my business cards or is there something better? 

@Andrea Collatz,

I want to require that my tenant has at least a 640 credit score in addition to a full report so that if something is off, I can check the details.  If that service doesn't provide that, then I'll have to find one that gives a score.  A credit score isn't discriminatory.  You either have it or you don't.  A criminal can avoid the criminal background check by being good enough not to be caught.  You have to behave in a somewhat civilized manner to have a decent credit score.

I may have to look elsewhere unless there is more on this to discuss.

Brian

Thank you @Michael Seeker.  @Andrea Collatz don't I also get a full credit report and score along with the ResidentScore?

Brian

I've always had them pay it, I was just wondering about the lien situation.

Brian

Thank you @Rickie Mincy.   I just signed up for the January one.  Maybe I'll see you or @Tom Lipps or @Mike Sturgill there.

Tom,

I use Rentometer, Craigslist and Zillow myself.

I also allow pets.  I call it a non-refundable fee, rather than a deposit.  Just be aware that if you're deducting for pet damage, that you collected that amount up front before attacking the security deposit when assessing against it.  A $25 per pet per month in rent is also collected.  I specifically list breeds that I don't want(though a weight limit will fix most of that).  Check your community as certain breeds may be illegal so be sure to include that.  Also, get a picture of the pet to include with the application so you have it in the file.

Fortunately, Ohio is Landlord friendly.  Just make sure you abide by the Fair Housing Rules.

There are some things that I require tenants to do/pay for.  Light bulbs, furnace filters, etc.  Also, yard needs mowed/snow shoveled by them.  If not done, they can be charged for a service to do the lawn(not snow).

Good luck,

Brian

For me it was no carpets and instead a good laminate flooring.  Carpets tend to have to be replaced after every tenant.  You can try to clean them, but for me(I do SFHs), a perspective tenant wants new carpets and ask that it be replaced prior to move in.  I don't think I have yet to have a tenant not want new carpets.  And nearly always, it was warranted.  A good flooring that will last 10+ years will cost a little more up front than carpet(for me it was about 25% more or so) but will pay for itself by not replacing after each tenant.  Most of my tenants have tended to last 12-18 months.  The exception is my current at about 3 years or so.

Brian

I have a tenant on semi-monthly.  They did start paying ahead as well, so it does work.  I have it in my lease that there are two late payment timeframes instead of one(5th and 20th).  If it makes it easier for the tenant to manage their money, it makes it more likely that I get paid.  Plus, it lets me know, perhaps 15 days earlier if there is an issue and I can get the 3-day notice out faster, if necessary.

Brian

Thanks @Deanna McCormick.  It's a shame that people have to ruin a good thing.  

Brian