Imagine a life defined by the closeness to breathtaking outdoor landscapes and a flourishing community spirit. Gresham, the fourth-largest city in Oregon, is hallmarked by its gracious, hard working people while co-existing with modernity and opportunity through its history and culture.
Gresham is a great place for families and businesses looking to start afresh or expand their current venture because of its convenient location near the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area and Multnomah Falls, as well as Portland’s landmarks and infrastructure including the Portland International Airport. All of these provide a pleasant combination of urban conveniences and natural beauty to Gresham’s residents.
The city of Gresham is also well-known as a place to invest in rental properties, as is evident from all these glowing reviews. Here are some excellent recommendations for Gresham property owners who are seeking timely rent collection on their investment properties.
8 Helpful Strategies to Ensure Timely Rent Payments
Tenants may be in default on their rent payments due to either financial difficulties or simple forgetfulness. You can better assist renters in meeting their rent obligations if you have a thorough understanding of the obstacles they encounter.
Here are a few pointers for Gresham landlords who want to have timely rent collection for their property investments:
Tip #1. Get to Know the Rent Collection Laws in Your Area.
Your ability to collect rent may be significantly affected by local rules in the area where your rental property is situated.
One example is the pioneering state of Oregon's statewide rent control program. Started in 2019, this implies that landlords can't charge more than 7% in annual rent increases for units older than 15 years. This law also states that if the landlord wishes to raise the rent, they are required to provide thirty days' notice.
Meanwhile, landlords are not allowed to raise rent for monthly tenants during the first year of the agreement. Landlords are also required to provide 90 days' written notice before increasing rent once this time has elapsed.
Tip #2. Carefully Evaluate Potential Tenants.
If you want to minimize late payments, the best thing you can do is not rent to folks who are known to be habitually late. The first step is to implement rigorous tenant screening and selection procedures to exclude candidates who are unable or unwilling to pay rent.
As part of this process, you may look into a tenant's renting history and get references from their prior landlords. Beware of obvious red flags such as questionable credits and if their income doesn't cut the 40% rule.
Tip #3. Make Your Lease Agreement Rock Solid.
Because of the serious legal implications of a lease agreement, you ought to lay out exactly who is responsible for paying rent in the document. The regulations regarding late rental payments might be more easily enforced if you provide additional specifics in your rental collection and lease agreements or renewals.
Knowing they could be penalized makes your tenants think twice about paying rent late. Make sure your rules regarding rent are crystal clear from the beginning of the lease. Dates, fines, penalties, and other terms pertaining to rent payments should be clearly stated. Make sure to include these conditions in the lease agreement. Have your renter sign it to demonstrate their understanding of the laws and regulations.
RENTAL COLLECTION IMPORTANT NOTE: According to Oregon’s statewide rent control program, landlords are required by law to provide tenants with at least 72 hours' notice before taking legal action against nonpayment of rent. But they can't send this notification until 8 days have passed after the rent was due.
Tip #4. Set-up an Automated Reminder for Your Tenants.
The responsibility of reminding the tenants to pay rent falls on you, since not all of them will remember. Tenants are more likely to pay rent on time when they get reminders before it's due. Make arrangements to have reminders sent to your renters by email or text message.
You can also have them automated and keep your monthly cash flow consistent by setting up rent collection reminders.
Tip #5. Setup Various Payment Methods for Rent Collection.
The most effective online rent collecting systems allow renters to choose their chosen method of recurring monthly rent payments and provide them with access to receipts without you having to lift a finger. Find the best digital payment platform by comparing different options. Direct bank transfers, PayPal, Venmo, and Zelle are some of the most popular choices.
Apart from online payment methods, you can also opt to have the traditional payment options such as face-to-face rent collections or through drop-off collections. You can even create a method for rent collection by mail, especially for elderly tenants. These options are great contingency plans just in case there’s a problem with the internet connection in the area.
Tip #6. Monitor and Document Your Rent Collections.
Keeping tabs on rent payments can allow you to manage renters better and control your cash flow. Since accepting partial rent payments might halt the eviction process completely, this can also be useful during evictions.
Tip #7. Consistently Evaluate and Enhance Your Rent Payment Procedures.
Make it a point to evaluate your rent collecting procedures on a regular basis, maybe once every six months or two years. In this way, you may find out what's working and what might need some tweaking.
Think about trying out new things if you come across technologies or methods, such as full service property management, that might make collecting rent easier. As a test run before making changes system-wide, you may distribute them to a subset of tenants.
Tip #8. Bring in Experts for Property Management.
Managing various properties for rent could take a great deal of your precious time and effort, especially when it comes to rent collection.
Fortunately, there are property management companies in Gresham, Oregon like Kerr Properties, Inc. that use streamlined methods of rent collection, guaranteeing a steady stream of funds and minimizing delays. Professionally resolving difficulties like late payments is within their expertise, and they are well-versed in handling a variety of payment options.
Make sure to get a hold of these services for a more efficient property management experience in Gresham City.
Never forget that there is no one-size-fits-all rule in rent collection. Have a conversation with your tenant to find out what's going on if they aren't paying rent. Don’t also forget to show compassion and cooperate with them to establish a payment schedule. In addition to the benefits that it would give your rental company, this will also help you foster stronger connections with your tenants.
