I write a blog and run this website, so it’s obvious that I’m a fan of technology. But a part of me (a big part of me, actually)
is still pretty conservative. I think I was one of the last guys still carrying around
leather a Filofax with all my handwritten notes and phone numbers – something that I’ve just recently given up.
Here’s another thing I like doing: getting my rent checks in the mail. I liked opening those envelopes on the first of the month with a sharp letter opener, endorsing them with my self-inking bank stamp, fanning them like a fat hand of cards, and then depositing them in my bank account. It was my little monthly ritual that helped me to affirm that my real estate strategies were paying off.
But, this is a pretty inefficient way of doing things, so I’ve finally stopped. And I don’t think I’m the only addicted-to-paper guy out there, so here’s a tip for some of you who are still doing what I used to do.
Use online banking to make your life easy.
Set up a business checking account. This is a step that the majority of readers will already have taken. Sign up for online access.
Set up a second account earmarked especially for deposits, and link it to your first account. Most major banks will allow you to do this; from personal experience I know you can do it with Citibank, Bank of America, and Washington Mutual.
Print a book of deposit slips for each unit that you own. Bank of America allows you to customize the slips, which lets you put the property address on each slip.
When you sign a lease with your tenant give him or her an appropriate number of slips along with their copy of the lease (12 slips for a 1 year lease). Instruct the tenant to deposit directly to the bank. This can be done either by going to the counter, going through the drive-through, or mailing to your branch attn: DEPOSIT.
On the first of the month go online and check your deposits. As they arrive transfer them from your deposit account to your main account.
This method has some notable benefits
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Safe. It all works because the tenant never has your primary bank account number. The tenant only has the deposit account number, and you’ll keep this account at a zero balance by transferring the deposits to your primary account as they come in.
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Easier recordkeeping. This method creates an effective electronic paper trail. You can view/print/save the scanned pdf’s of the deposit tickets and checks online from the conveninece of your desk.
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Convenient for the tenant. Bank of America is big here in Houston w/ over 350 branches. Choose a branch that gives your tenants lots of options. Plus – they’ll walk away each time with a deposit confirmation, which gives a bit more peace of mind than dropping a stamped envelope in the mail.
