Top 5 Online Rent Payment Options
Leverage the internet and modern software to make rent collection easy.
Are you a landlord in search of the best ways to collect online rental payments?
If so, you’ve come to the right place!
Landlords often face a few common problems.
Rent collection is at the top of the list.
Why?
Well, there’s the issue of chasing down late rent payment. Not to mention the inconvenience of having to visit your tenants once every month.
Sometimes, it’s hard to find free time if you lead a busy life. Other times, tenants just don’t pay on time.
As a landlord, you can probably relate to these issues. However, there is a way out of them!
Over the past decade, the majority of landlords have been switching to an online rent payment service.
Why? Aside from bringing in ease and convenience, these services help to streamline the rent collection process.
Basically, collecting rent online comes with tons of benefits including:
- The ease in scheduling recurring payments.
- Real-time rent payment updates and reports.
- More security and convenience for both you and your tenant(s).
- More payment options.
- A reduction in late payment due to timed reminders.
- Streamlining the rent collection process.
So, if you’ve been having trouble collecting your rent, online rent payments are your solution. So, what are your options? Here’s a list of five of the best online rent payment
1. Cozy
If you are looking for a feature-packed online rent payment system, Cozy is your best bet. Cozy is a robust platform that offers you impressive rental management tools.
And the best part is that it’s completely free to landlords.
Among the many features that Cozy offers are an array of secure and effective payment options.
You can customize online rent payments to suit your preferences which makes it convenient for both you and your tenant(s).
Also, Cozy allows you to set an automatic late payment fee.
Other features include payment notification, utility bill payments, up-to-date financial reports, rent payment tracking, landlord expense tracking, and so much more.
The only setback to using this service is that it takes five days to process bank account payments and two days for credit cards.
However, as a landlord, you can pay a $2.99 per unit per month fee to reduce these lengthy processing times.
2. PayYourRent
Unlike most online rent payment options, PayYourRent offers you same-day payment processing. Meaning you get you money the same day the tenant pays it.
That’s not even the best part. As a landlord with more than 50 rental units, you don’t have to pay a cent for this service – it’s free.
How it works is that PayYourRent charges landlords $9.95 per month if they have less than 5 units); $19.95 per month if they have more than 5 but less than 50unit; and $0 for landlords with more than 50 rental units.
Although, there’s a $2.75 fee on credit card payments that can be paid by you (the landlord) or your tenants.
What features does PayYourRent offer you?
Well, just like other online rent payment services, you get better and more payment options, automatic late payment fees, notifications, utility bill payments, rental application form download, tenant background checks ($25 – $40 fee), and so on.
Fast payment processing is their key selling point.
The main setback of using this service is that they charge high ACH transfer fees. Additionally, they also don’t have a feature to credit tenants. Which means, any referral credit rewards can only be implemented outside the platform.
3. Avail
Avail is the best online rent payment service for you, if you have a small rental portfolio. Generally, this service charges between $0 and $50 per month depending on the number of rental units.
Some of its benefits include rent payment reminders to tenants, zero bank payment fees for landlords, fast payment processing, automatic receipts, payment tracking, automatic late fee availability, and good customer support, just to mention a few.
Some disadvantages to mention are that Avail is pricier than most online rent payment options. Plus, their charges on additional units can seem a bit high.
4. TenantCloud
TenantCloud is unique because it works for landlords who prefer tenant(s) pay rent with PayPal or Stripe. Also, if you happen to own less than 75 rental units, you get a free subscription to the service.
Landlords with bigger portfolios pay a subscription fee between $9 and $35 per month. However, they do get free ACH payment benefits.
You should also note that in using PayPal, you’ll be responsible for the transfer fees (2.9% + $0.30). On the other hand, Stripe bills the tenant – the same amount as PayPal – instead of you.
TenantCloud is ideal because it allows tenants to pay using platforms they are more accustomed to. That way rent collection becomes easy and convenient for you and your tenants. This service also allows a wide variety of payment options including credit cards, debit cards, and bank transfers.
Also, since TenantCloud has PayPal and Stripe payment options, rent collection and processing is instant. The only downside to using this service is that free accounts are charged for ACH transferswhich can pose a problem to some of your renters.
5. SparkRental
Last on the list, SparkRental also offers a few unique benefits. For one, this service doesn’t charge fees for ACH transfers. Also, it makes rent collection from employed tenants easy thanks to the RentDeduct feature.
Basically, this feature allows the service to make rent payment deductions straight from the renter’s paycheck.
In terms of pricing, SparkRental is completely free for landlords. You don’t have to worry about sign up and subscription fees. Their RentDeduct feature not only simplifies rent collection but also mitigates the chances of tenants defaulting or evictions due to their failure to pay rent.
But this platform also has a setback. It is not as feature-packed as other online rent payment options like Cozy. SparkRental is primarily focused on rent collection; especially for people who have a bad tenant history or credit rating but are currently employed.
Which one do you prefer and why?
There are other popular ways to pay rent online, these are just five of the best ones.
All you need to do is to consider each option with an emphasis on their fees, features, benefits, and demerits.
That way it will be easy for you to find one that’s convenient, reliable, and pocket-friendly.
Aaron DiCaprio is a real estate investor, attorney and CEO of Rent Rescue (www.rentrescue.com). Rent Rescue provides rent default insurance that reimburses landlords their lost rent and legal expenses.
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