How to Automate Your Collections
Having been a landlord since the early part of 1994, I feel fairly safe in stating I've tried almost every imaginable way of collecting monthly payments from my residents. I want to run through some of these methods and let you in on the pros and cons of each technique. I'll wrap it up by telling you what I do now.Personal CollectionsScheduling appointments to pick up payments was never even a consideration for me as a standard way of doing business. I'm too lazy and I consider it the resident's responsibility to pay me if they want to stay. The advantage is that you know right away who's paid and who hasn't.
You still don't know if the check will clear with good funds, assuming you weren't paid in cash or certified funds.Of course, I've met with residents to pick up payments on special occasions when the resident was late or trying to avoid late fees. Again, this is a waste of time in my opinion.I now have a designated place for the residents to drop off payments if they want to go this route. Also, for chronic late payers, they lose the privilege of paying any other way than by certified funds at the drop box. Once they've paid consistently and timely for six months, I'll consider reverting back to the standard pay system I'll discuss later.If you do decide to meet your residents to collect, I highly recommend NOT meeting at your personal residence. Do not allow any of your residents to know where you live.
In fact, my opinion is that you should have an unlisted
telephone number for your home line and that you should spend as much time as necessary removing personal information from the various internet directories. Sorry for the tangent here, but I thought it important enough to include.I don't recommend this method as it requires too much effort on your part.The Check's in the MailThis is probably the way everyone starts out. The payment doesn't arrive and the resident claims it's in the mail. If it arrives, is it even good? Who knows? The advantages to this method are that it's very common, and if you have a great tenant, it can be a low hassle way to collect payments.The disadvantages include reliance on the resident's memory to write the check, correctly address the envelope, place the correct postage on it , and actually drop the payment in the mail. Additionally, you then rely on the postal service to deliver the payment to the correct address and in a timely manner.I've even gone as far as providing payment coupons and self-addressed stamped envelopes to residents to remove some of the risk associated with this methodology.
I didn't find this added effort to produce any noticeable difference in the results.I don't recommend this method as it requires too much Involvement from your resident.Resident Makes the DepositI realize many of you will completely balk at this idea, but I've tried it for years now with some success. Prior to having a drop box location, I would give my late payers a bank account number to which they could deposit the monthly payment directly.Naturally, I graduated from that step to providing deposit slips that were pre-printed so the account name and the account number wouldn't be inaccurate. In this case, this added effort did reduce the monthly "I don't have such and such information" telephone calls from the residents. I was never that concerned about a resident attempting to make a withdrawal from my account, although I'm sure that's a possibility. To decrease this risk, you could have a separate bank account for deposits and sweep the funds into another account periodically.Another consideration here is that potentially you could run into a failed eviction for accepting partial payments.
Whether or not a judge would consider a tenant making a small deposit in a last ditch effort to avoid eviction "constructive receipt", I'm not able to answer. So far, (knock on wood), none of the folks I've evicted have tried this angle.However, what will invariably happen is that residents WILL make partial payments. The truck broke down, the child custody legal fees, etc. get prioritized over shelter and what few remaining funds there are end up in your account. Then you're left with the fun job of trying to determine who paid what.Advantages to this method are that you don't have to make a trip to the bank and if you have online banking, you know within a day or so if the deposits are there.
Again, you don't know whether or not they paid in pennies or stolen checks from their neighbor, but you at least see the deposit made.I don't recommend this method as a standard way of collecting, but perhaps consider it for the good payer who's just had a bad month.Print the Checks for Them(Thanks to Earl B. for the following tip)I forget when it was, but probably sometime around eighteen months ago, one of my friendly competitors suggested I try this service. One of his friends was using it with success so I signed up for it. It's inexpensive and allowed me to just sit down and print all the monthly payments at one time. I signed all new residents up on it and bribed some of my existing residents to join.
The service is presented to the residents as an auto draft service and they sign off on a one-page form that authorizes you to debit their account. The program itself is a Windows-based software application that allows you to print these "Demand Drafts".The advantage is that the payments can be set up as a recurring monthly payment and you can print them whenever you want. So, rather than waiting for the mail to arrive, you just sit down at your PC and hit print. The checks roll off your standardized printer. In other words, you don't need any special equipment.
On the first of each month (or whenever) you just head on over to the bank.Again, you don't know if the resident has good funds or not, but at least you're not waiting to make your deposit. One of the disadvantages is that you will have to purchase check stock, but I believe I received 300 checks with my initial purchase.Another advantage to using this software is that you could set up your own bills on this so that each month you just print out your recurring bills or a set of blank checks with your pre-printed information.You can find out more about this software by clicking on the url below. Please ignore the cheesy web site and examine the features and benefits for yourself.http://www.TexasRealEstateClub.com/checkman.htmlI no longer use this method, but can recommend it as It worked well for me.Direct DepositFor the last year I've been using a new service I found. I searched high and low for a reliable, quality direct deposit service that wasn't designed for the huge apartment complexes. Everything I stumbled upon had a fee structure that priced it way out of my league.Again, as before with the CheckMan application, I signed all my new residents up on it (company policy, don't you know?) and bribed some of my existing residents to join as well.
I think it's fantastic.Residents receive an email notifying them of the coming draft and it all runs through the banks Automated Clearing House systems (ACH), so there's absolutely nothing that I have to do.The resident's account gets debited automatically on the designated day and I receive an email the next day that shows me which accounts were drafted successfully, and which failed, if any. Three days after that, the funds are automatically deposited into my account.The residents know it's coming and since it's automatic like other bank drafts, it requires no effort on their part. It also requires no effort on my part. It's the simplest solution that I've found and very affordable to boot. Rather than go into all the features and benefits here, I'll just give you a link so you can read about it at your own convenience.http://www.clearnow.com/public/ClearNowEnrollmentGRQ1.pdfI also got them to agree to offer a trial period.
If you sign up through the link above, they will give you two full months to try the service at absolutely no cost. I know that if you give them a try, you'll be hooked.Sincerely,Tim Randlehttp://TexasRealEstateClub.com(c) Copyright 2002, All Rights Reserved..
Tim Randle is a full-time real estate investor in the Austin, Texas area.For more information, please visit his web site at http://TexasRealEstateClub.com.info@texasrealestateclub.com
Five Checks for Web Pages
There are a few essential checks that you must make beforeuploading your pages.Check the basics - spelling, grammar, terminology. I've seena lot of arguments for and against using only US spelling onweb sites - I think this is a personal choice, but havingmade your decision, be consistent! Terminology - don't usewords or phrases that aren't common around the world. I reada software review recently - sadly, I didn't understand thephrase used to describe the program, so I don't know if thereviewer was recommending it or condemning it!Check your coding. It's easy for little mistakes to creepinto your HTML - especially when your tags are nested, orwhen you copy and paste from another page of your site.There are several free programs available - I use CSE Litefrom http://www.htmlvalidator.com which also has a paidprofessional version.Check your links. Again, it's easy to make a slight mistakein typing a URL, or getting confused between relative andabsolute references, leading to the well...
Five Checks for Web Pages
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Online Auctions: 10 Secrets You Should Know Before Bidding
Yes! You know many online auction sites.
'Course you may have participated in some of the biddings.
The next time you decide to bid for a product or a service, do remember these vital online auctions secrets and tips.
1:Important to know the value of the product you plan to bid. Product is new? Check the price
retailers are charging for it. It helps in two ways, you'll know the original cost and helps you to pay way less than the retail value, if it is old or re-conditioned.
2:To ensure that you get a good product, get the complete information and picture of the product
from merchant, if the details are incomplete on the site.
3:Decide your maximum paying limit and stick to it lest you may end up caught in the 'bid war' and end up paying more than the actual cost.
4:It is always good to check a few auction sites for you may find the same product at a much lesser price in some...
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?Why Business Owners Need Security?
Publishing Guidelines: You are welcome to publish this article in its entirety, electronically, or in print, free of charge, as long as you include my full signature file. Please send a courtesy link or email where you publish to secuone@aol.com Thank you."Why Business Owners Need Security"?2004 Gary L. CunninghamC&M Consulting Services All Rights Reserved WorldwideThe main reason is to stop any potential lawsuits from happening! But do you know how many individuals I have talked to about this very thing? Many! Do you know what the majority have told me? They have locks and cameras, so they don't need anymore security than that!This is a mess waiting to happen, the reason is as follows. This attitude is the reason things happen in business establishments that prompt major lawsuits from those that get hurt in some way while on the premises or by someone on the premises.The reasons are as follows:Hiring/Retention NegligenceSecurity NegligencePremises LiabilityFail to ProtectFail to Provide...
?Why Business Owners Need Security?
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Playing Ace-King in Texas Holdem
Everyone who plays Texas Holdem knows that Ace-King is one of the very best starting hands. But, it is just that, a starting hand. It's only 2 cards of a 7 card equation. In nearly every situation, you want to come out firing with A-K as your hole cards. (The exception would be when faced with a big raise from an early position bettor.) When the flop comes, you need to reassess your hand and think things through before you just assume your overcards are best.Like many other situations in Texas Holdem, knowing your opponents will help you gauge your situation when you hold A-K and see a flop like 9-8-2.
Since you bet preflop and were called, you assume your opponent is also holding good cards and the flop may have missed them as badly as it missed you. Your assumption will often times be correct, but they could be holding a pocket pair and be leading in the hand, or worse yet have pocket 9s, 8s, or 2s. Also, don't forget that many poor players wouldn't know good cards if they tripped...
Playing Ace-King in Texas Holdem
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How to trade currency.
We all know when you go on a trip to another country; you need to take some travelers checks and some cash in the currency of that country. This can be advantageous because one country's currency is usually worth more or less than the other. So your 100 USD could be worth 130 Canadian dollars, giving you more purchase power.Currencies of countries rise and fall in valued over time, similar to the stock market. The reasons are usually economic and political. You may think though that similar to the stock market there is a lot of money that can be made by trading currencies from various nations.
You would be right.The first step in How to trade currencies profitable would be to find your broker. You can trade currencies at a bank but you will usually find their prices to be high and their responses to be slow. If you are serious about currency trading you really need to find a good broker. Shop around; there are many large and small firs that deal exclusively with foreign exchange....
How to trade currency.
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KUA's Good Neighbor Energy Fund Raises $33K in 2004
Kissimmee Utility Authority (KUA) announced today it has raised more than $33,000 in 2004 for its Good Neighbor Energy Fund, which provides assistance to families who need help paying their energy bills.The Good Neighbor Energy Fund is maintained through voluntary contributions from customers and employees of KUA, helping people in crisis throughout Osceola County. In 2004, KUA and its customers raised $33,200 including a $16,600 dollar-for-dollar matching contribution from the utility.Since 1991, KUA and its customers have raised over $425,000 and helped more than 2,500 families in financial crisis pay their electric bills. KUA works with local help agencies Community Action and Osceola County Council on Aging to distribute 100 percent of the money donated to the fund."Winter means lower temperatures and higher heating bills, but it doesn't have to mean greater financial hardship," said Mike Geraghty, KUA's vice president of customer service and marketing. "This fund helps stretch a...
KUA's Good Neighbor Energy Fund Raises $33K in 2004
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Loan Car Title For Cash
One can easily avail loan car titles for getting quick cash. Car loan companies provide car title loans using your car's title as collateral. These loans offer you with a big advantage allowing you to get the car for drive even during the car title loan period. People who need quick capital and who wish to avoid the hassles of dealing with a bank can go for car title loans.
To be eligible for this loan, primarily the applicant needs to have a clear title to his car. This makes any existing loan on your car needs to be paid off before you can avail this loan.
In general, the duration of a car title loan is 30 days. One can either pay off or extend it at the end of the loan term. For extending the loan, the existing interest has to be paid. The loans can also be paid off at any point of the loan term.
Car loan companies go easy on their customers' credit histories, since these loans are secured by the value of the car. Most companies do not make credit...
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