Landlords initiate around 3.7 million evictions each year. The trouble is that evictions cost money and take time because they require your local court.
As a result, landlords typically try to avoid evictions by improving their rent collection efforts. Therefore, your business will be more profitable if you collect all the rent money your tenants owe.
The downside is figuring out how to collect the rent. After all, some tenants might not pay on time.
If this is the dilemma you're facing as a landlord, you might want to learn some tips to help you improve your rent collection strategy. Here is a guide to help you with this.
Enforce a Late Payment Fee Structure
As a landlord, you must create a rent collection process for your tenants to follow and use. If you experience missing rent or late rent from your tenants, you should consider making a late payment fee structure.
For example, if a tenant's rent is due on the 1st of the month, you might charge a $25 late fee if they don't pay it by the 5th. Enforcing a late fee with late payments might encourage your tenants to pay on time next month.
Create a Tenant Portal
Next, you might want to review the methods you offer your tenants to pay rent each month. What options do you offer? For example, if you don't currently offer a tenant portal, you might want to create one.
Collecting rent is a cinch with a portal. Your tenants can create an account on the portal, and they can store their payment information on it.
They can log into the portal each month when their rent is due to pay it. In addition, some portals allow tenants to set up electronic payments for their rent, which ensures that you receive it on time every month.
However, a portal is also helpful in other ways. For example, your tenants can use the portal to make repair requests or notify you of a problem. As a result, offering a portal is beneficial for you and your tenants.
Hire a Property Management Firm for Rent Collection
The tips in this article can help you improve your rent collection efforts, but the best option for this problem is to hire a property management firm.
A property management firm can take over this duty, and others, which will instantly offer an improvement. Property managers use the most effective techniques to increase rent collection, and their methods work well.
Learn More About Property Management Services
Are you struggling with rent collection with your rental property business? You might see an improvement if you enforce a late payment fee and offer a tenant portal, but the best option is to hire a company to handle it for you.
If you own properties in the Sumter, S.C. area, you can contact us for more information. We offer property management services and can help you improve your business's success and profitability.
