PAYMENT of RENT WITH VENMO, PAYPAL or ZELLE

screening tenants

Are you a landlord that takes unnecessary risks?

Clawbacks on the rent paid

If a tenant uses a consumer-friendly method to deposit rent, the consumer-friendly vendor typically takes the side of the customer (i.e. the tenant) in disputes. Therefore, the money can be retracted if the tenant disputes the rent. This typically happens after they move out, especially if they don't agree with your security deposit refund. A reasonable tenant suddenly becomes unreasonable.

Venmo

The biggest issue with rent payments by Venmo? The app's website specifically recommends that you don't, meaning they won't cover you if anything goes wrong. Their User Agreement says that to use Venmo for business payments, you have to apply to receive a special authorization on your account.

Paypal

There is the option to pay for "goods and services," for a fee of about 3% that provides PayPal's purchase protection. Unfortunately, the first thing on the list of items not covered by PayPal's purchase protection is real estate. If you transact rent through PayPal and there's a problem, filing a dispute with PayPal will not be much help and you could end up losing your money.

Zelle

Zelle may be a better option than PayPal and Venmo (since it goes direct to your bank account), but anyone can pay you and you don't want to accept partial payments from tenants. In addition, banks that are not partnered with Zelle have limits on the amount of money that can be sent, which means you will be accepting partial payments from some tenants.

Conclusion

Transacting a rent payment electronically through a payment app may seem simple and easy, but the risks associated aren't worth the perceived convenience. In most cases mentioned above, to protect your transaction, you have to pay extra.

Property Management