If there's one thing San Diego tenants struggle with, it's rent. This year, the average rent for a San Diego apartment went up to $3,175.
As a landlord, this is something you can't influence too much. Once you determine your fair market rent, going under that price doesn't make sense. What you can do, however, is make that rent safer and easier to pay.
Want to know more about how to collect rent from tenants? Here are the four best rent collection methods every San Diego landlord should know about!
Cashier's Check
A cashier's check is a form of physical payment a tenant can get from their bank. It's similar to personal checks, except it can't bounce.
When a tenant gets a cashier's check, the bank will withdraw the funds from their account. The bank will write a check naming you as the recipient. You'll then receive your verified payments directly from the bank.
In general, banks will charge a fee for cashier's checks. This method may also involve going to the bank, which may be inconvenient for tenants. That said, some banks are offering these checks online as well.
Money Order
A money order is another type of physical payment. Tenants can get it from a bank, USPS, convenience store, and so on.
With a money order, the tenant must prepay the face value of the order. To do so, they'll use a guaranteed form of payment, like a credit card. That's why money orders are never returned for insufficient funds.
Money orders also involve charging tenants a small fee. Some issuers, like convenience stores, tend to charge less than banks. If a tenant doesn't have a bank account, money orders can help them avoid late rent issues.
Certified Check
A certified check is any check verified by a financial institution. These checks may have a stamp and signature, but this isn't a hard rule.
When a tenant gets a certified check, the bank confirms they have the necessary funds available. Like cashier's checks, certified checks require physically going to the bank and having a bank account.
Regarding rent payments, a certified check isn't as secure as some other payment methods. For instance, when the tenant gets this check, the bank may not put a hold on the funds to ensure the check will clear.
Online Payments
As the name implies, online rent payments allow tenants to pay rent from anywhere. To do that, tenants must work with a payment provider.
Popular online payment providers include PayPal, Stripe, and Square. All three options enable tenants to pay rent with their app. In PayPal, for example, a tenant only needs your mobile number to send you money.
Though online payments may seem unsafe to some, this is far from true. Payment providers encrypt all transactions to ensure safe money transfers. In most situations, these transactions come with a 3% fee.
Rent Collection and You
As you can see, San Diego landlords have plenty of certified payment methods to choose from. Whatever payment options you opt to support, don't forget to outline them in the lease agreement.
Looking to make the rent collection process a bit easier? Outsource this task to our experts at Harland Property Management! Contact us here to find out why we've been in this business for over 18 years!
