All Forum Posts by: Stephen White

Rob K a very common misunderstanding is that you need a money judgment before you can begin the collection process or even affect someones credit. I had many clients (when I owned a client based collection agency) that would place the account without a judgment in cases where there wasn't an eviction or past due rent, but simply damages to the unit. The rule with placing an account with collection agencies is the account must be past due, usually at least 30 days, but no prerequisites such as judgment filing.

Hey Western New Yorkers.. I just got an email that the next WNY-REI meeting is May 22 and the speakers are Bill Ham & Nick Sidoti to talk about how to buy Apartment Houses.

Bill Ham has been working with National Speaker, David Lindahl on buying Apartment buildings. Nick Sidoti, also a National Speaker, will talk about how this works in Western New York.

Holiday Inn, 4600 Genesse St, Cheektowaga, NY Doors Open at 7:00

Hope to see you there!

Lokesh W. the background check is an must obviously, but keep in mind that every bad situation or bad tenant has to have a starting point. And you don't want to provide the perfect opportunity for that! I'm by the books and agree with Mike Franco that its just business.

There are ancillary reseller programs out there for landlords. From what I've seen its kind of like an affiliate program where you recommend certain services like WIFI and cable and make a commission on them. Of course, if you're trying to add value by sharing you won't be interested in making money. But for some multi family units this can be pretty lucrative for the landlord.

Paul Zofsak the collection agency route is not a bad idea. Go for an agency that specializes in tenant debt and has contingency based fees. FYI the rental industry is statistically one of the lowest recovery rates in the collection business. So with that being said, I agree with Troy Fisher and Rob Roy that you should not become attached to the idea you'll ever get paid. But at least putting this on his credit might make you sleep a little better

I agree with Jon P. and furthermore, the information you learned from the real estate agent is totally kosher. Technically it falls under the guidelines of a background check because it gives insight into the tenants character. If they agreed to a background check, then they agreed to let you investigate their character.

Asher Anthes my business is all virtual terminal so I think I'm paying higher either way. But I see your point about the fees adding up on the rental payments. PayLease charges $10/month for the account and then charges you fees on top of that so I'd say that option is out for sure.

But listen to this idea! You could have them sign an automatic draft agreement and print the checks yourself. One signature allows you to print and deposit checks with a "no signature required" stamp. If you use Quickbooks or Quicken this will be an easy and nearly free solution. If not, there are a ton of options out there. In a previous business I used Check Writer, a $20 software from Best Buy or Office Depot. We printed 100s of checks per week and authorized every transaction via phone. But in some cases used printed forms that you could easily create and get tenants to sign, giving you authorization to print and deposit rent checks.

This way you can print the checks yourself every month and deposit them with no fees. Your only cost is $20 for the software and $20 for a box of 500 checks. It might even be a 1000 checks but I can't remember. Either way, this would be very inexpensive and super convenient for you.

Asher Anthes well to be honest PayPal is probably my all-time favorite merchant service provider because they're so clear about their fees.. but you're asking a lot of your tenants if they don't already have an account. The simplest solution (that I've seen) designed specifically for collecting rent electronically is Pay Lease.

True Steve Babiak

And I've seen high-end deadbeats, not just the typical low-income/undesirable neighborhood ones that steal the copper plumbing. Screening criteria is so important because you can't always assume that the deadbeats are easy to spot.

"What is he protecting himself from, you being able to collect?" a Ned Carey original!!