Rentec Direct - Property Management Software

Anybody who reads my blogs knows I've been very happy with Google Voice ever since it's launch a few years back.  Just see any of these articles:

How Google Voice Can Help Landlords

Followup and Detailed Review of Google Voice

Google Voice Opens the Flood Gates Today

Google has done a TREMENDOUS job with Google Voice and I continue to use it daily for my personal voicemail and call forwarding.  I've found however that more and more recently when calls route through google voice they don't ring my phones or the call gets cut-off prematurely.  This is not a huge deal with my personal calls, it's infrequent enough to be tolerable and the benefits of GV on my personal calls outweigh this drawback; however, since the issue has persisted intermittently for months and Google has no customer service or technical support to contact regarding the issue I've thrown in the towel for business calls.

My goals were to keep the same distributed infrastructure our employees are used to.  Everyone may have one or two phones, a Skype voice account, plus a cell phone, that they want to be contacted at.  Google Voice would forward through these with ease.  I wanted to maintain this functionality, as well as having a permanent record of all voicemails.  After much research, trials, and quality testing - the answer is Grasshopper!

Grasshopper supports all of the features I used with Google Voice.

• Custom call routing to an unlimited number of phones, check.
• Online permanent record of all voicemails, check.
• Visual voicemail - although I haven't yet tried this.  They provide the option of human transcription at a cost too which would probably be more reliable than GV's transcription.

And Grasshopper's virtual phone system adds these great features which I'm already using.

• Multiple inbound phone numbers (GV only supported one)
• Virtual PBX - Yes, this is GREAT.  I can have a real call queue: "Press 1 for sales, 2 for support, etc".  Based on the callers entry the call can be routed to different phones.  Each queue has it's own set of forwarding numbers.  In addition, each employee gets an extension for direct calls.  Couldn't do any of thise with GV.
• Built in eFax support.  I used to pay another efax company to process electronic faxes for us, but this is now included with Grasshopper.
• You can upload recordings, including professionally recorded MP3 files.  GV required you record your own over the phone lines which always ended up being a low quality recording.
• Real customer service.  I've called three times, and every time the phone was picked up in less than 30 seconds with a very helpful and well trained rep on the line.

Thus far I'm very pleased with our choice to switch over from GV to GH.  Grasshopper however does have a cost, where GV is free.  However, since we provide an 800# for all of our customers to call it turns out we're actually saving money and improving our phone system and image simultaneously.  How?  I used to pay an 800 service to forward inbound 800 calls to our GV number.  The cost was 6.9c/minute (I know, we were getting robbed).  With GV they handle the 800 # and the rate we pay is closer to 2.5c/minute.  So yes, we've improved our phone system and dropped our 800# phone bill nearly in half.  Can't squawk at that!

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Nathan is a member of Rentec Direct who provides property management software, tenant ach payment processing, and tenant screening for property managers and landlords.

I wrote about Google Voice a while back and provided a detailed review of google voice right after it was released to the public.  Time really does fly, as I'm shocked to see that was 3 years ago back in 2009.  Since that time, Google Voice has become a valuable part of mine and many of our client's process.

Here's a complication of great reasons landlords and property managers are using google voice:

1. It's free!  This goes without saying, you can't get much good stuff for free these days; however, google voice continues to be an exception.  You get a free phone number, free online storage, free voicemail, free texts (sms), and free transcription.
2. Documentation.  More than ever, tenants are communicating with landlords via text message.  Most phones do not permanently store text messages, and even those that do stand to risk being lost and that documentation goes away forever.  If you use google voice for your tenant communications, those text messages are stored forever.  Read more on how documentation is a property managers best friend.
3. Privacy.  Many landlords do not want their tenants having their home phone or cell phone numbers.  With google voice, you can provide this number and re-direct it to any phone of your choosing, to ring at your choosing.  Don't want to receive calls from 9pm - 6am, no problem.
4. Multiple destinations.  With google voice you can configure roll-over so if you (or your employee) is not available at one number it tries another, which could even be another person.  This is a fully automatic, and free, way to gain the capabilities of an expensive phone system.
5. Did I mention documentation?  Having a permanent record of voicemails and text messages is critical in todays litigious environment.  Save everything, and google voice makes it really easy for voicemail and text messages.

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Nathan is a member of Rentec Direct who provides property management software, tenant ach payment processing, and tenant screening for property managers and landlords nationwide.

What is it that seasoned landlords and property management services know about tenant screening that every property owner should?  This guide will show you how to successfully screen a tenant quickly and accurately and to form an informed decision on which prospective tenants to approve and which to decline, like the pros do.

There are two important traits a seasoned landlord looks for in a prospective tenant.  The ability to pay rent on time and the ability to care for the property.  Absent either of these traits and a tenant can cost a landlord thousands of dollars in damage and lost rent.  Follow these steps for the best chances of inheriting a tenant which complies with both of these important traits.

CREDIT: Credit reports are available to both professional property managers as well as private landlords and costs roughly $10 with the score included.  The credit report gives insight into how well the tenant pays their obligations.

• Credit Scores.  Different credit reporting agencies report scores differently, so basing a decision on a score is not always going to provide the same results across all major credit agencies.  When a FICO score is returned, scores can range from 300 – 850 with 850 being impeccable credit.   If the tenant recently lost their home to short sale or foreclosure, their score might be even lower almost entirely based upon the loss of their home and should be factored in accordingly.
• When a score is included and is near or above 650, generally  you can count on the tenant as a good payer.  It’s still a good idea to review the content of the report to make sure there are no current obligations past due.  The most important gauge as to if a tenant will pay their rent is if they are paying their current obligations such as credit cards.  If current obligations are past due, this is a great indication that the tenant is financially strapped and may not be able to afford rent either.
• Late mortgage payments.  Most property managers provide a special exception when a prospective tenant’s credit history shows late mortgage payments, or a mortgage default.  With the current economic climate and housing market there are a lot of previous homeowners either voluntarily or involuntarily losing their homes back to the bank.  Because these previous homeowners tend to be very positive and responsible renters, and provided other obligations are current, most landlords I have interviewed do not reject prospective tenants based on poor credit from the loss of a home.
• Medical bills.  Another component of a poor credit score can be related to medical bills.  An uninsured person with even a short hospital stay can attain tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical bills in short order.  It’s fairly impractical for most people to pay these bills at the time of visit and as such they can often be turned into collection.   In interviewing numerous landlords, medical bills are often disregarded or lesser regarded when considering a prospective tenant’s credit worthiness.  It is however important to take into consideration the tenant will have a portion of their income going to these bills, likely from garnishment.  This reduces their income to afford rent and could impact your income to rent formula.

CRIMINAL: There are a number of criminal reports available to landlords and property managers.  One of the most popular and easy to obtain is a nationwide criminal history which cost about $9.  This report aggregates criminal data from states nationwide to provide a concise view of the criminal behavior of an applicant nationwide.  Unlike credit data, criminal data is not indexed by social security number.  Instead, criminal data is typically indexed by name and date of birth.  Even still, some jurisdictions have only logged criminal data by name only which makes determining criminal behavior a little more tricky than with credit.  Here are some tips to get the most from your criminal background reports.

• Be certain the name and date of birth (DOB) are correct when ordering your criminal report.  An applicant could accidentally or purposefully mistype their DOB on your application form which could cause a criminal report to appear clean, when it may not be.  The best way to guarantee this information is obtained correctly is to request a copy of a photo id with the application that includes dob.
• Verify address history.  Each criminal record returned will typically list the county or city of the offense.  Many screening vendors will cross-match these entries with an address history report for the applicant, to narrow the results to a manageable list; however, if your vendor provides you a complete list, it can be quite long.  To verify if a criminal record matches your applicant you can order an address history or SSN verification report that includes address history.  If a past address matches a city where the criminal offense took place, it’s a good bet the offense matches the applicant.
• When in doubt, order a more detailed report.  If the national or state-wide report you’ve run is inconclusive, you can order a county report on the applicant which in most cases will be more up to date than a broad report and may include more details to help identify the issue in better detail.

EVICTION: Perhaps the single most important factor when renting to a new tenant is if they have previously been forcefully evicted.  Eviction reports cost a landlord about $10.  There are three primary ways a tenant moves out of their rental.  1) They paid their rent on time and choose to move out voluntarily.  These tenants should not have any eviction history on record.  2) They were required to move out by their landlord (often referred to as “eviction”) for non-payment or other reasons, and did so as requested of the landlord.  This type of “eviction” will not show up on an eviction report because it is a voluntary eviction.  3) They were asked to move out by their landlord, and refused to do so leading the landlord to file for a court ordered eviction and forced removal of the tenant from the property.  This class of tenant will show eviction history on an eviction report.

The reason this eviction report is so vital when screening your next prospective tenant is because if a tenant has a tendency to be required to move out by their landlord and fails to do so without the court and sheriff forcefully removing them from the property, you as a landlord could stand to lose a lot of income catering to this type of tenant.  A court ordered eviction can take at best many weeks, and at worst many months.  All this time you cannot move in a new tenant, and are not collecting rent on the previous tenant amounting to a huge loss.

PERSONAL: The final critical step in screening a tenant is to verify the information they have submitted and interview the prospective tenant.  Much of the information provided on your application can be corroborated via the reports above and the remainder by calling the employers, past landlords, and other references.  If the information on the application does not add up or there is any evidence that the tenant provided invalid information on your application, that is an instant sign of trouble and an instant reason to decline the application.

Meeting and performing background screening on all adults that will reside in the household is an important step often forgotten.  It is normal and allowed in most states to charge a reasonable application fee which will cover your costs to run the combination of all reports above.  One final item which more landlords have said provided them an indication of how well a tenant will care for a property than anything else; look inside their car.  The interior of their vehicle is an excellent indication as to the inside of their house.

SUMMING IT UP: The reports listed above tend to be the most popular and in use by most landlords; however, there are many more reports available to landlords also.  Regardless the reports ordered, be sure to comply with all federal and state laws as well as FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act) guidelines.  If in doubt, most areas have local associations of landlords which are happy to help instruct in the legal aspect of screening prospective tenants.  The information above is opinions from many landlords nationwide; however, may not be effective in your particular market.  Define your own criteria and seek local legal assistance if necessary.

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Nathan is a member and user of Rentec Direct property management software.  Visit the Rentec Blog for this article and other property management resources.

It might seem really basic to order criminal reports on prospective tenants, but there certainly is more to it than meets the eye.  One of the most common problems landlords run into when running background criminal is how criminal reports are indexed.  Unlike credit where every person has a unique identifier, their SSN, criminal reports are typically indexed only by name and birth date.

Our goal is to get the most accurate data to make a decision on the potential tenant.  The first step in ensuring this with any tenant screening organization is to provide a correctly spelled name, and exact birth date.  The best way I’ve found to get this is require a copy of the applicant’s state issued ID along with their application.  This way you can verify the spelling of the name and birth date which can sometimes be misspelled (either unintentionally or intentionally) on the rental application.

Once you submit for the background report on your subject there is a good chance, especially with common names, that you may get numerous entries back which may be un-related to your applicant.  This is especially true if your applicant has a common name.  Your report should be showing you the match criteria for each record.  For instance, it might say “name match only”, or “name and dob”, or “partial name match”.  Name and DOB matches are the most accurate because it means both the name and date of birth of the applicant match the record.  This type of entry is most likely a solid match.  If it states either name only or partial name it is possible this match corresponds to a different person.  I’m asked a lot how to determine if the records belong to their applicant.  There are a few ways:

We offer what’s called a SSN Verification report (example below).  It’s really inexpensive and provides a complete address history for the applicant based upon any credit application, loans, and utility billing.  It is one of the most accurate ways to determine the actual physical history of an applicant.  Other tenant screening organizations might have a similarly named report with the same data.  You can use this report to cross reference the locations of any records on the criminal report.  If the criminal report shows a hit by name only in Chicago, IL and the SSN Verification report shows that your applicant lived in Chicago, IL during the same dates, it is highly likely that the criminal report is for your applicant.

If your screening vendor doesn’t have such a report you can always ask your applicant.  Keeping it vague generally produces the best results.  A question like “So where did you live in the 90’s?” will prompt a more accurate response (especially if somebody is trying to hide their past) than “Did you commit any felonies in Chicago, IL in 1995?”

Finally, you can also order a county level criminal report either direct from the county courthouse of the offense, or from your screening vendor.  Ordering the report directly from the county will produce the most up to date results with the most information available for you to make a decision on the particular offense and if it matches your applicant.

We help landlords and property managers read thousands of credit and criminal reports.  If you have a questions about how to read them, we can help right here.  Don’t publish any personal or private information publicly though when requesting help on either credit or criminal reports, nor should any information which could identify an individual ever be posted publicly when requesting help.

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Nathan is a member of Rentec Direct who provides property management software, ach payment processing, and tenant screening for property managers and landlords nationwide.

I subscribe to Google Alerts to alert me when something within my field pops up on the internet.  One such alert I received this morning was labeled "10 Myths about Web Based Property Management Software".   Obviously as I work with a web based property management software company this peaked my interest and I read the article.  It got me thinking, there is a lot of dis-information on the web.  This article I came across in particular wasn't entire inaccurate and it was just designed to plug their non-web based software; however, property management software aside, I would like to debunk some myths about Web Based Software in general.

First, my qualifications to write such an article.  I've been directly involved leading software development for both desktop applications as well as web applications since 1995.  Prior to that I regularly used the internet before most people had even heard of the internet, and before there was any such thing as web browser or HTML.  Anyone remember gopher or nntp?  I've got in-depth knowledge of both software development and the internet as a whole as I have been working with both every single day for nearly 17 years.

Myth #1 - Having data online (in the cloud) may be less secure and more prone to loss or being compromised than having it on a local application running on a workstation.

Myth #1 Debunked -  There's two components to this, and both are very inaccurate.   First, the security of the data not being lost.  It's a known fact that most people do not regularly backup their machines.  Even those that do rarely check to ensure the backups have worked.  Did you know that most backup programs do not backup open files (ie. an application left open does not get its data backed up).  It's also a known fact that the typical workstation (in an office or at home) fails on average every 4 years.  More people lose valuable data due to computer hardware failure than anything else and this is especially common among software that stores the data on the local computer. 

The second level of security is from hackers attempting to steal or destroy data.  It is more and more common for workstations to be compromised with viruses or malware.  Once a system is infected with a virus or malware, the hacker who wrote this software has full access to the data on the computer even if the data on the computer is password protected.  Password protection offers little to no security for locally stored data because once infected the virus or malware can simply read your password the next time it's typed in and they instantly gain access.

In contrast, reliable online software use state of the art servers and clusters to store the data.  Servers run a completely different operating system and as such most are completely impervious to standard viruses which are what cause workstation machines the most trouble.  Statistically a server is thousands of times less likely to contract a virus even if mis-managed, and well managed servers do not ever have a risk of getting a virus.  Servers also employ much more powerful and redundant equipment than workstations and the same 4 year failure rate does not apply.  Most servers run raid arrays for their data which means even in the event of a hardware failure there are backups which instantly take-over.  Other methods of security are redundant power supplies, frequent on-site and off-site backups, and 24x7 monitoring to ensure the utmost reliability.

As Myth Busters would say, this myth is BUSTED.

Myth #2 - Online based software run slower than a locally installed application.

Myth #2 Debunked - This myth states that because the software is web based the data has to travel thousands of miles back and forth before it can be displayed.  This one is not only mis-informed, but pretty silly to bring up in the first place.  Data on the internet travels at the speed of light, this is a known fact.  Most cloud based applications are located with 1000 cable miles of the subscriber.  So even accounting for network overhead and possible congestion, most web applications transfer the data between the server and the client (customer's monitor) in less than 50 milliseconds (yes, that's 5/100ths of a second).

The only way this myth could be true is if the user were stationed perhaps on..  Saturn.   Myth BUSTED.

Myth #3 - Web based software costs more.

Myth #3 Debunked - This certainly is going to vary from company to company; however, in general this myth could more often be proven false than true.  To provide specifics I'll talk about my industry.  I'll use a landlord who manages 125 properties as a mid-range example.  To utilize our property management software as a landlord with 125  properties the landlord would pay $44/month.  The software manufactures who make PC installed applications claim their software is a one-time cost and therefore the $44/mo will eventually exceed that one time cost.   To illustrate this better, I picked a competitor who provides PC based software that does the same thing as ours, and to keep it interesting I just used the same company who published the article that prompted me to write this piece.  To service the same 125 properties with their most comparable feature set, their application costs apx $750.  So if we ignore all other factors and only use their claim about a one-time purchase cost being the only cost, they would be right because in a little over 17 months the web based application would indeed start costing more.

However, they omit some very important facts.  PC based software doesn't get unlimited free and regular updates like web based software does.  This means, next year or the following year when the PC installed application releases a major update that is required for the industry; you guessed it, there's another $750 or an upgrade fee as some may offer.  Regular backups of the data have to also be considered which means a local backup solution or an online backup solution.  Either way, figure about $120/yr in either hardware or subscription.  Now the big missing piece.  Any serious business needs serious management of the computer(s) and data to ensure security and reliability are maintained.  This is either done by an in house network administrator ($45,000/yr +), or an outsourced service who maintains the PC(s) and data which can run as little as $100/mo.  Yes, this last step could be skipped at the risk of losing your data or having it stolen, either of which could instantly ruin a business, so I certainly recommend against that.

Now that we have all the facts, we'll take the most conservative prices in the price range for the PC based application and compare the real facts:

Web Based Total Cost of Ownership for Three Years:  $1,584
PC Based Total Cost of Ownership for Three Years: $5,460
This one is BUSTED!

Now just like picking a mechanic, or a software vendor, it's important to pick a trusted company.  I speak from experience from companies I've been involved in, and the above busted myths are all true when dealing with a solid, reputable, and experienced company.  This doesn't mean all companies have those traits, and just like a PC based application maker can make a really poor application, so can web based.  Be sure to look for independent reviews, 3rd party endorsement, certification, or accreditation before picking a company which will shape the face of your business or lifestyle.

Those are the top three myths which I see the most confusion about in the industry.  As is apparent the PC based application vendors are just doing their job, trying to sell their product, and like so many sales organizations they minimize or stretch the facts to sell their product.  Unfortunately this isn't uncommon in sales organizations; however, now you know the facts!

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The author is a founder and user of Rentec Direct.  Rentec Direct provides property management software that includes ach for landlords and tenant screening.

Craigslist is an EXCELLENT tool for listing rentals, in fact, it's so excellent I've heard more propery managers say they get more leads from craigslist than from any other source.  Managing my own rentals, I can say the very same thing.  Craigslist is an excellent medium to get the word out about your vacancy.

The solution I want to address today is not to redress how great craigslist is for listings, but I want to show you how to make your listing STAND OUT from the rest.

• Pictures.  The default craigslist layout is text only, formatted in old style times new roman font.  As a buyer, seeing any ad in the default text layout that craigslist provides turns me off instantly.  Craigslist provides the option of adding pictures; however, they show at the very bottom of the ad, which can often be off the page for people using smaller monitors, laptops, or mobile devices.  They trick is to format your listing in HTML, and include a good image at the top of the page and more within the content to generate interest with the renter immediately.
  
• Format.  Again, I'm going to pick on craigslist stock formatting.  It's just text, and no better than a classified ad in the newspaper.  Most listers are unaware they can make their ad better, and therefore that is why most listings on craigslist look so bla.  Craigslist supports HTML within their listings, click here for more info.  The challenge is that most HTML editors these days use CSS and other methods that are not supported by craigslist.  There are services out there such as postlets or vflyer, or your property management software should have support to create a good craigslist ad using your previously entered property information.
• Details.  Picture yourself as a renter when placing your ad.  Are you going to be more likely to inquire about a property which has a good paragraph or two of details about the property and location, along with good pictures, OR the listing which says little more than the address and price?  Of course the ads with more details get the attention.  You have virtually unlimited space to include all the pertinent info.  Be sure to include the following:
  
  • Pictures of the following:  Front of house, living room, kitchen, master bedroom.  If they are in good condition, also include the back yard, extra bedrooms, garage.
  • A description should include details about the home, neighborhood, schools, and local activities.  If you accept pets, what kind.
  • Include all the features and appliances included in the property.
  • The lease terms should clearly explain what is required.  For instance, 12 month minimum.
  • Be sure to include contact information for somebody who will answer the phone.  More often than not a renter is going through a list of possible homes, and if the contact person doesn't pick up, they move on to the next listing and often never come back.
• Next Steps.  Some users prefer to call or visit; however, times are turning towards online interactivity.  It's a great idea to give the prospective tenant a method to apply online, or at a minimum take the next steps in setting an appointment with a click rather than a phone call.

While the points in this article are designed for property managers, the same concepts all hold true for property for sale listings as well, so these tips are equally valuable for agents who are not also property managers.

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The author is a founding member of Rentec Direct, a property managers, and a business owner.  Rentec Direct provides property management software which includes ach for landlords, tenant screening, and a marketing module to assist with creating fabulous craigslist ads (totally free).

I was reading a property management advertisement the other day from a property management company trying to earn my business and on their information sheet they say "less than 1% of our leases end up in court".  1%?!!?!?  So as many as 1 in 100 leases end up in court.  They were bragging about this, so perhaps other property managers are 2 in 100 or more?  That tells me that of all the industries I participate in, the property management (landlord) industry by far and away spends more hours in a courtroom than any other that I'm aware of.

Nobody wants to end up in court, it's a drain on valuable resources; time, money, energy.  Then there's always the worst that can happen and the tenant has a better case and walks away with the prize.  Granted, some property managers run bad business and it is good that tenants have a recourse through the court system; however, in many cases property managers are doing their best and are just winding up defending a frivilous claim because the tenant felt they should really live in your house free for a year, plus emotional damage of course for the eviction letter trauma you caused.

This leads me to my next point.  Documentation is EVERYTHING.  Whether your initiating a proceeding and your sitting on the right side of the courtroom or a past or current tenant did and your on the left the best protection you can enter with is full and complete documentation of the event.  Some may argue having an attorney at your side is the best protection; however, while attorneys do know the system well, I would certainly say having documentation is your first defense, and an attorney (if one can be afforded) will present that documentation.  However, without the documentation the attorney won't have much ammo to defend the case.

You never know what might end up in court, so it's best to document everything.  Here's some tips I've learned through the years.

• Ask for it in writing.  Unless you can legally and are recording every call and voicemail, a phone call is as good as nothing.  Get it in writing whether it's a complaint from a tenant, an invoice, an issue with a neighbor, whatever it is, get it in writing, scan it, and save it electronically where it can be easily accessible if needed.
• Save all your receipts.  Great tip not only for documenting repairs, etc, but this also provides solid proof of expenses in the event of a tax audit.  I scan my receipts and upload them with the expense transactions to my property management software.
• Take pictures.  A picture is better than almost anything.  If one person says it was this way, and another person says it was a different way, it's simply word vs word and a court cannot make a decision.  However, if one or another brings a picture to backup what they are stating their position all of a sudden is much stronger and can also dis-credit the others thereby not only proving this point but strengthening the whole case.
• Take video.  If you have a lot of area to cover, it may take a hundred pictures to cover everything.  On the other hand, video handles this situation nicely.  If you want to record the condition of a property for instance, walking through with a video is a great way to document the condition of a large area.  Ideally use the highest quality video setting on your device so if need-be the video can be paused and details of that area can be seen.  Also pan slowly as to be sure not to blur your video.  Taking a video to document the condition of a property before a tenant moves in is a very good idea. 
• Save your documentation, pictures, and videos electronically in a safe place.  Paper can be messy, especially if you have file cabinets (or chronologically filed piles as the case may be) which means it can take a very long time to find what your looking for.  Scan and save your documentation electronically where it can easily be accessible if the need arises.

There's a bit of a misconception about how hard it is to electronically store documents.  Nowdays it's very easy.  Drop by your local office supply, Costco, Staples, or almost any electronics store and pickup a multi-function printer that includes a sheet feed scanner.  They can be purchased for as little as $150.  There's also scanners designed strictly for the purpose of scanning documentation which work very well, do two sided scanning, rarely jam, and cost a bit more.  Any of these options work.  Also, most scanners include software to automatically save to PDF, which is a universal format that can be opened on any computer.

Now saving it somewhere safe.  If you maintain your own IT infostructure, be absolutely sure you are backing everything up.  Hard drives die *all the time* and people can lose all their valuable data when this happens.  Backup your data ideally offsite to a secure storage medium or online backup service.  Another very convenient method is if you use a property management software that allows attachments and a file library, simply upload your documentation here for safe keeping and easy access, which is what I have found the most convenient.

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The author is a founding member of Rentec Direct.  Rentec Direct provides property management software which includes ach for landlords, tenant screening, and online documentation and file storage.  While the above article may speak of products we offer or use screenshots from a product we offer, we encourage landlords to do their research and make up their own minds when selecting a new product.  That said, we of course welcome ActiveRain members with open arms.

I know I'm not the only one out there that has a nagging feeling in their head when the beginning of the month rolls around.  I pro-rate my tenants so they are all due on the first, and typically give a 3 day grace.  There's the select few tenants that pay on the 1st.  That breed of tenants has mostly vanished.  The remainder tend to push that grace limit to it's maximum and come in on the 3rd or 4th of the month.  The whole time I'm worried if they will be in at all.  If the 5th rolls around and nobody is around, just the thought of notices and eviction sets me on fire because I know it's going to be a painful process no matter what and at the very least will strain the landlord-tenant relationship.

The scenarios may be:

1. The tenant just forgot to bring it by, or was out of town.
2. The check got lost in the mail (I've heard this more times than I think is really possible).
   
3. This just happened to me this month, once the mail reached my office it ended up in a different co-workers box, so while the rent arrived on the 4th, I didn't get it until the 7th.
4. Maybe the tenant really is looking to move.

In most cases it's just an accident that the rent didn't make it on time.  Most tenants want to stay and they just aren't prioritizing their bills well.  Even so if you've begun the eviction or notification process for non-payment it's creating a strain on your landlord/tenant relationship and it's costing you time and money.

There's a lot of companies out there that have similar practices to landlords in collecting a recurring fee for services.  The power company, the gas company, cable and satellite companies, and most municipal utilities such as garbage, water, and sewer.  What have all these companies discovered?  Yes, automated bank drafts (ACH) save them money, collection efforts, and often get them their funds faster!  Why haven't landlords jumped on this ship yet?  The answer:  some landlords have, most haven't however, but why is that?  My research tells me that the municipalities and big utility companies all have the means to go through the extensive process of getting it setup and automated with their banks whereas landlords do not.

I'm here to tell you that Landlords now do now have the means!  It's MUCH EASIER than setting up a bank account or merchant account, and the only prerequisites are a) You must own or manage property for rental purposes, and b) You must have a bank account.  If your a landlord reading this I'm absolutely certain you qualify.  The setup process is so simple now that any landlord could be accepting ACH tomorrow.

What does it cost?  I've seen processors charge from $0.50 (plus add'l monthly fee's and percents) up to $5.00 per transaction.  Rentec Direct charges a flat $2.00, and no percentage or monthly charges.

HUGE BENEFITS!  Aside from being able to sleep better knowing that the rent payments are going to happen automatically, one enormous benefit of doing automated ACH is longer term tenants.  Studies have shown that services that are paid automatically are less likely to be cancelled.  This is one of the very reasons the utility companies push ACH.  For a landlord this means less turnover.  How would you feel if your vacancy rate went from 30 days/year down to 10 days/year?  It's possible.  Another big benefit is your payment always gets priority.  Set the deduction day the day following the tenant's paycheck and generally banks process electronic payments (ACH) before paper checks.  You get your money before anyone else.

Sounds great, where do I signup?  I would suggest you do your research and pick a reputable company you can feel comfortable with handling your funds.  Go to Google and just type in tenant ach and see what you get.  There's a number of companies, including ours, that provide tenant ach services.

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The author is a founding member of Rentec Direct.  Rentec Direct provides property management software which includes ach for landlords and tenant screening.  While the above article may speak of products we offer or use screenshots from a product we offer, we encourage landlords to do their research and make up their own minds when selecting a new product.  That said, we of course welcome ActiveRain members with open arms.   

Here at Rentec Direct we’re always testing out the capabilities of web browsers.  Our application makes use of some of the latest web technologies so it is important that browsers perform to make sure users’ experience is not just good, but great!

For a very long time the best combination of performance and security has come from Firefox.  Firefox is an open source application which has the most community support behind it for a web browser.  Because of the ample community support, and excellent programmers, Firefox leads the way still in performance and security.

Google Chrome just yesterday released version 5 of their new browser.  We’ve been using and testing with Chrome since version 3 and it has come a long way.  Chrome takes the cake in performance, even over Firefox.  Google Chrome 5 can rightfully claim the title as the fastest browser in the world, at least for now.  In our testing, Chrome 5 is noticeably faster all around the web.  It has native Flash support to give you the full web without installing any plugins and works very well with all websites we’ve tested it with, including Rentec’s BackOffice which makes use of many new web technologies.  Of note, with Chrome version 5, they now support plugins including some one of our “must have” favorites: Xmarks.

Other popular browsers include Microsoft’s Internet Explorer (IE) and Apple’s Safari browsers.  Neither has the performance and security that Firefox and Chrome have, therefore we recommend using one of the above.

If you are looking to speed up your web experience, try out the new Chrome, or if you are currently using IE try them both and see which fits your style best.  You will find your internet experience will improve significantly when you release that old slow browser.

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This author is a founding member of Rentec Direct.  Rentec Direct offers ach for landlords, tenant screening, and of course property management software to simplify and organize your property management accounting.  While the above article may speak of products we offer or use screenshots from a product we offer, we encourage landlords to do their research and make up their own minds when selecting a new product.  That said, we of course welcome new customers with open arms.

I've been a landlord for many years now and when I think back on the biggest challenges I'd have to pick two things.  Placing tenants and collecting rent.  The best advise I can give about placing tenants is be absolutely sure to screen them carefully.  Oh, and look at the inside of their car as an indication of how well they treat things.  Today however I'm going to talk more about collecting rent.

I know I'm not the only one out there that has a nagging feeling in their head when the beginning of the month rolls around.  I pro-rate my tenants so they are all due on the first, and typically give a 3 day grace.  There's the select few tenants that pay on the 1st.  That breed of tenants has mostly vanished.  The remainder tend to push that grace limit to it's maximum and come in on the 3rd or 4th of the month.  The whole time I'm worried if they will be in at all.  If the 5th rolls around and nobody is around, just the thought of notices and eviction sets me on fire because I know it's going to be a painful process no matter what.

The scenarios may be:

1. The tenant just forgot to bring it by, or was out of town.
2. The check got stuck in the mail.
3. Just happened to me this month, once the mail reached my office it ended up in a different co-workers box, so while the rent arrived on the 4th, I didn't get it until the 7th.
4. Maybe the tenant really is looking to lose their residence.

In most cases it's just an accident that the rent didn't make it on time.  Most tenants want to stay and they just aren't prioritizing their bills well.  Even so if you've begun the eviction or notification process for non-payment it's creating a strain on your landlord/tenant relationship and it's costing you time and money.

Enter ACH for landlords.  Also commonly known as electronic check, e-check, automated draft, and a few other creative names.  ACH is the system banks use to transfer money.  When you place a check in Bank A that is drawn on Bank B, Bank A submits the amounts via the ACH system to get the funds from Bank B to your account at Bank A.  Your cable, satellite, credit card, and utility companies all use ACH to offer automatic debit from your checking or savings account.  This functionality is now available to property managers and landlords.  It means you can now electronically initiate the rent payment on behalf of the tenant on an agreeable day of the month or schedule one time payments.

Once initiated, your ACH provider securely transmits the funds from your tenants checking or savings account to your own operating bank account.  The tenant doesn't have to remember to write a check, or deliver it.  You don't have to cash it.  The way it works in our software is a recurring transaction gets debited from the tenants checking account (say on the 1st), and a few days later it is in your checking account.  Simple as that.  You find out about NSFs faster as well because on average of 24 hours after submission you find out if the account is NSF.  That is 3 to 10 days faster than with paper checks.  A report shows you what transactions have completed, which have failed, and which are scheduled to occur.  It takes all the guesswork and paperwork out of processing rent.

More benefits:

• Your renter doesn't have to remember to drop off rent.  It happens automatically.
• Because it's automatic, your rent payment is prioritized over all other tenant discretionary spending.  All of a sudden rent is priority #1, as it should have been in the first place.
• Quicker funds delivery.  ACH is electronic and involves no trips to the bank or checks to manually process by you and the teller.  This amounts to funds being in your account quicker.
• When coupled with a good property management software the transactions are automatically recorded into your bank and tenant ledgers thereby eliminating manual work as well as potential mistakes.
• Overall processing costs are dramatically reduced.

It's easier than you think to use.  There's no comlicated merchant services you have to setup, or credit apps.  It's also inexpensive.  Our company charges $2.00 per ACH transaction with no monthly fees and no percentages for our landlords and property managers.  Costs elsewhere vary from as high as $5.00 per transaction to as low as $0.50 per transaction (with additional monthly fees or percentages).  Regardless where you get the service, and even at the higher priced sources, the cost and time savings to switch from a paper check system to automated check are enormous.


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This author is a founder of Rentec Direct.  Rentec Direct offers ach for landlords, tenant screening, and of course property management software to simplify and organize your property management accounting.  While the above article may speak of products we offer or use screenshots from a product we offer, we encourage landlords to do their research and make up their own minds when selecting a new product.  That said, we of course welcome new customers with open arms.