The first of the month is like Christmas for Landlords.
In the technology age they have a plethora of options to take automated payments instead of having to go to the residence of their renters. Automated payments reduce the likelihood of late rent by taking control of the payment schedule. Take the guess work out of when the money will arrive in your account. We’ve evaluated 3 popular services to take control of your rent collections, being PayPal, RAMSrent, and eRentPayment. To evaluate these three services there are five areas that need to be looked at which are, setup fee, monthly fee, transaction fee, whether they accept credit cards, and of course whether they do automated payments.
PayPal: The Leader In Digital Money
PayPal is a by far the most popular way to take payments for most types of online transactions.
Items of comparison:
- No setup fee required
- The transaction fee is the same as all their other transactions
- 2.9% of the transaction amount plus $0.30
- Credit cards accepted
- Recurring payments offered (with a $19.99/month add on service)
It is an instantaneous and secure way for landlords to receive their payments. It has been in existence since 1998 which means it is well established and trusted but newer options are gunning for the top spots with landlords and property managers.
RAMSrent: The New Kid On The Block
RAMSrent differentiates itself as the complete end to end option for landlords that have dual roles as the landlord and property manager. With RAMSrent landlords are able to list their available units as well as accept instant online applications either on a personalized web portal proved by RAMSrent or can be integrated seamlessly with their existing website. They are notified instantly via email when a resident applies and are able to run instant credit and background checks on applicants.
Items of comparison:
- Setup fee of $199
- $19.99/month
- $5/month transaction fee
- Credit card payments accepted
- PayPal payment options offered
This may seem a bit pricy but with all the features available through this service it is well worth it. With that being said there is a much less costly option.
eRentPayment: Is free always better?
The least costly and final option is eRentPayment.
Items of comparison:
- No setup or monthly fee required
- Just $3.00 per transaction
- Debit ACH accepted only (with routing and account number)
- Automated payments accepted
They enable landlords to avoid the inconvenience of depositing paper checks. They can give their renters the option of doing one time payments and recurring payments with monthly, bi-monthly, weekly, and bi-weekly payment options. Only taking debit ach can be inconvenient for renters who have prepaid credit cards instead of bank accounts. Also, the $3.00 per transaction fee can add up if a landlord has a large volume of occupied properties. In spite of this they are still in the running with the two competitors mentioned earlier.
The Choice is Yours
In conclusion, there are many options out there for landlords to choose from. The idea is to pick an option that works best with your budget and your needs. PayPal, RAMSrent, and eRentPayments all have their pros and cons depending on how you look at them and what type of landlord you are. With all things considered we chose PayPal because of its ubiquitous presence specifically, the ability to accept ACH transactions as well as credit cards made it the only option available to our fixed income tenants with secured debit cards. It is accepted all over the world. Plus, it has the ability to grow with the landlord if they continue to take on properties and renters without the extra hit to your budget. The choice is yours but our recommendation is PayPal.