Thread: Paying Rent with Credit Cards

I've never seen a landlord allow rent payments to be made with a credit card, but I could imagine some advantages:

- More likely to get paid by those who don't manage money well;
- Can automate the process to ensure you get paid on the 1st;
- Can charge a premium to cover the CC processing fee and also make a profit.

I imagine the big downside is handling disputes with the CC companies should the tenant choose to dispute the charge for some reason.

Are there any other reasons why accepting credit cards as a landlord would be a bad idea?

Are there any landlords who allow credit card payments?

Thanks for any info...

Today I found this and reminded this thread:
http://www.rentomatic.com/landlord

Hope it helps, cheers

I know of one land lord in New Orleans that does this. Personally, I would love the option to pay my rent with Amex and keep racking up points...

i have had friends that have used this to collect with credit card and like it alot for the items you mentioned above not much to worry about ect...
site below, its great if you have a 100 units no worries to collect but if you have less than 30 it's a tuff sell to pay b/c it's 14 to sign up an 2 dollars per unit.
so good money maker for the guy that just collects don't have to worry about tenents.
anyway here is the site.
http://www.clearnow.com/

I love the idea of charging rent on credit cards. If I were to get back into SFH, I would do this in a heartbeat. You increase you odds of getting paid to nearly 100%.

This is a great idea. You get rent paid more consistently, and the tenant can help build their credit if it is a problem (for many, it is).

Could be a good strategy for dealing with high risk renters... Or a good fail-safe if someone misses their rent, you could require them to keep a valid CC on file with you.

Cheers,

- Hakrjak

depending on the state you live in, you may be able to incorporate in the lease so that you can pass the credit card fees/charges onto the tenant.

KyJoe is right.

If there is a dispute, you are now putting yourself at risk of the CC company deciding whether or not you get to keep your rent. I hated dealing with charge backs when I owned a retail front.

Also, you can discount for cash, but can't upcharge for credit. It is against the vendor agreement for you to charge additional fees if someone uses credit cards.

As long as you get their authorization to charge in writing as part of the lease perhaps, I don't think you'd have a problem with defending against chargebacks.

- Hakrjak