Collecting Rent on Your Regina Rental Home

Rent is one of the most important factors in owning an investment property. In some circles, landlords go as far as describing rent as the life force of their investment in real estate. If you think about it that way, their description is not too far off. A landlord will use the rental income in order to determine if the investment is profitable or not. In order words, rent is a crucial factor in being successful in real estate investing.

It’s important to make several vital decisions in terms of how the rent will be handled and collected. This should be determined in the lease to avoid confusing tenants, which could potentially cause deferred payments.

Leenan Property Management has outlined various methods a landlord can use to collect rent from tenants. With a combined experience spanning decades, we manage a wide range of properties in the area, giving us the experience and industry knowledge to advise Regina landlords reading this article!

Before determining the method to use to collect rent, there are several factors a landlord can consider in order to help themselves find the easiest and most convenient way to collect rent from their tenants.

Considerations to Make Before Picking a Method for Rent Collection

Number of Tenants or Rental Units

With more tenants or rental units on your property, you need to choose a convenient rent collection system that reduces confusion and allows for easy receipting. Not having a single system in place can make it hard to keep track of payments.

For those with single-family homes, you have more options at your disposal.

Distance

Consider your distance from your rental property. If you live far away , you might want to use a digital rental payment solution. There are various applications on the market that can be of use to you for this.

In addition, you should consider outsourcing the services to a third party, in this case, a property management company. At some time during the lease term, you might need to deal with a rent issue or a management issue. A property management company will come in handy at such a time.

For any property management issue in the Regina area, the company to call on is Leenan Property Management!

Communication Style

The type of communication you have implemented in your property can also help in deciding the best way to make rent collection from your tenants. If communication between you and your tenants is mainly online, then an online method would work best as compared to a physical form of rent collection and vice versa.

Comfort with Technology

Since technology has become a huge aspect of our society , it’s impossible to ignore it. However, it’s also important to consider your tenants and their ability to use technology before deciding on a certain rent payment method. For example, if most of your tenants are of the older generation, they may find it hard to use the online methods to make payments compared to the younger generation.

Methods of Collecting Rental Payments

There are several options available for Regina landlords to collect rent:

Bank Deposits

This is one of the most popular methods of rent collection used for the last several decades. The landlord provides an account number to their tenants for where they can make payments.

The landlord may also request that the tenant send them the receipt after depositing rent in order to confirm payment. Bank deposits are safe and can be used in properties with people from different age groups as it’s a straightforward option.

This type of rent collection, however, requires the tenant to make the payment physically. It might be seen as too much of a hassle for those with a busy lifestyle.

Direct Deposit

Another method a landlord can use to collect rent is through direct deposits. Direct deposits are similar to a bank deposit but, in this method, a tenant is able to make the payment online. As a landlord, you can make arrangements with your bank to set up an automatic online transfer to your account that tenants can use to make payments. It’s a more convenient method to both the landlord and the tenant.

Rent Collection via Mail

Rent collection via mail is especially common for rental properties with tenants who are of the older generation. You will need to set up a post office address and ask your tenants to mail checks to the said address.

Still, this is a slow method and can encourage late or deferred payments from tenants. The check would be mailed before the required date, but you will receive it several days later. Technically speaking, the rent can’t be considered late.

There are more convenient rental collection methods in this article to choose from.

Collecting Rent in Person

You may also decide to collect rent from your tenants in person. This involves going door to door and requesting for receipts from your tenants or cash/check. However tedious, a landlord can use this opportunity to inspect the building as she or she collects the rent.

The landlord is also able to interact with tenants and they could use the opportunity to register any grievances or complaints tenants may have regarding the property.

This rent collection method is ideal for building good relationships with your tenants.

Online Apps for Rental Collection

There are several online payment applications such as Venmo, Zelle, and PayPal. Tenants can send money via these online applications into the landlord’s account. Using such applications can be ideal, especially if most of your tenants are Millennials or Gen-Z.

Most young people who use these applications are familiar with their requirements. As a landlord, you should still be wary of the policies of these applications as they may not offer buyer/seller protection.

Using a Property Management Company

You can also hire a property management company to carry out the management duties on your behalf. This will include the collection of rent. Most property management companies like us have rent collection software that they use to collect rent from their tenants in the form of an online portal. The software is also used to generate other financial documents such as invoices and receipts.

Bottom Line

Having a management company will help relieve you of many time-consuming tasks so you can enjoy the benefits of owning rental property. For the reliable and convenient collection of rent on your Regina property, call on the experts at Leenan Property Management ! Our professional team will ensure that you have your rent on time and in full every month.