Kyla Nievera, Negosentro.com| Depending on the way tenants pay rent, the process can either be extremely easy or endlessly complicated. Collecting rent from your tenants every month might the highlight of the day, but without a streamline rent collection procedure, it can quickly turn into a bureaucratic mess. Not to mention that specific forms of payment tend to be rather difficult to actually document and, as such, can cause a great deal of trouble if tenant and landlord end up going to court to sort out their issues. That said, let’s go over some of the alternative methods you can use for paying rent.
Cashier’s Checks
Cashier’s checks are fairly similar to money orders, however, they are usually used for somewhat larger fees and can be issued only be the bank you have an account with. Funds are withdrawn from your account by the bank, which serves as a guarantor for the amount of money that specific check is for. Since the bank is the one guaranteeing for that amount, landlords don’t have to worry about tenants withdrawing funds before they have to chance to cash in the check.
Certified Checks
Certified Checks are certified by the bank. They state that the tenant has the necessary resources available on their personal bank account at the time that check was written. It’s a fairly common method used for paying rent, however, it isn’t as secure and safe as using a cashier’s check. The reason behind this is that nothing can guarantee that the funds will remain on the bank account until you try to deposit it.
Money Orders
Money orders are in a way, comparable to gift cards. You can get one at the bank, post office or a local convenience store. They are extremely easy to use, as all you have to do is to transfer the funds and you’ll be presented with the order. If you want to get a money order for, let’s say $500, you have to go into the post office and give them the cash. The office will then give you a money order for $500, which you can give to the landlord. Although they are very easy to use, they do require you to cover a small fee.
Online Payments
When it comes to online payments, the best options are those that don’t require landlords to provide any personal and banking information. They are ideal for tenants as well, as most online payment methods are generally very easy to use, can be done both via desktop, laptop or a smartphone. The funds are usually transferred within a couple of days and unlike other methods mentioned above, paying online truly requires little to no effort.
There’s a number of different websites you can use for rental payment, including ERentPayment, RentMerchant, and RentMatic. Another excellent alternative is PayPal and although it’s not as easy to use as other methods, the company does provide its users with detailed instructions they can use to avoid paying a fee or getting the payment delayed.
Direct debit
Paying your rent using direct debit rent payments has become quite popular lately. They reduce the bureaucracy often associated with cash, checks and standing orders. Direct debit also allows landlords to increase rent if necessary, without being burdened with setting up new accounts and canceling orders. All landlords need is a bank or a building society account in order to use direct debit and tenants don’t have to worry about missing a deadline as long as they have the appropriate resources available on their account.
Avoid using cash and credit cards to collect or pay rent. Cash is too insecure as a payment method since there’s no paper trail following it. Credit cards, on the other hand, can be monitored, however, they do charge a transaction fee every time they’re used. No matter which option you choose, be careful and keep a record of every transaction you’ve had with your landlord in case anything goes wrong and you end up facing them in court.
