[quote=TeCKis300]Knew I could count on you guys. Great nuggets in there! Will definitely pickup that book.

I’m a professional cat herder at work, so managing this doesn’t worry me.

So what’s the general strategy for picking up rents? Do you all prefer paper checks? It’s only like 20 minutes away from home so some face time and regular visual of the place is probably not a bad thing.

I heard some mention of auto-deposits. For those that use it, what are you using? Direct wire, paypal, etc?… you know, in case I get lazy.[/quote]

As far as how to collect the rent check…. The first month check and deposit I always require a bank check and require it to clear before they move in. So I require it at least 1 week before move in date. Subsequent rent, I just tell them to send it to me at a PO Box at least 1.5 weeks prior to the first on the month, and I would hold it until the first of the month. A lot of tenants use bill pay and just have the bank mail me a check to my PO Box.

I offer a 3 day grace period, with a 4-5% penalty for being late. But you should note: technically late fee penalties may/may not be enforceable and some cases that challenge whether they are legal or not. The way I explain it to tenants is, make everyone’s life easier and just don’t be late. However, in the rare occasion that my tenant was late (probably due to the delay in the mail), I never collected a late fee.

If you need a property manager, I can recommend one in South County. He probably does north county too… PM me.