[achampio21]

We are getting ready to have a rental property and I was curious if we are allowed or if it is a good idea to put a box on the front of house (like old mail boxes used to be) for the tenant to leave their rent (in form of money order) in for us to pick up? We live in Indiana and have been told that it's not a good idea to let tenants know where you live in case you have to kick them out.

Thanks!!

[ScottGem]

Get a PO Box and have the tenants mail their rental payments to that PO box. You could use a box as you describe, but I would go with the PO box instead.

[progunr]

Unless you don't own your home, and have your phone number unlisted, it is not very difficult for anyone that wants to find out where you live to do so.

What would the difference be if you had them mail you the payment to your address?

Many counties now have on line assessor web sites that will not only give the names and address of taxpayers, but even gives the layout of your home for anyone to see.

If you are concerned, and are difficult to locate by any of the normal searches, you could always rent a P. O. Box and have your rental payments sent there.

[achampio21]

We considered that, but they are pretty expensive out here. And we are very thrifty. I just thought if we could save a couple hundred dollars, keep our address a secret, and have an excuse to go by the house every month and do a visual inspection, that we could kill three birds with one stone, you know?

But I guess you are right. If they REALLY want to find us and they are determined to give us some kind of "payback" then they could find us.

Thank you for your suggestions and insight! I appreciate them all!!

[ScottGem]

Expensive? I pay less than $100/yr for a medium sized box at my local post office. I think the smallest size box in about $50/yr

[achampio21]

My husband called about one and they said it was $60-$75(depending on size) every six months. Which would be $120-$150 a year. Not expensive per say, but an expense we would like to do without if we could. I know it sounds like we are being REALLY cheap. But we were trying to figure a way to solve several things with one fix! (hopefully the cheapest one :D)

FYI we tried to sell the house, but the market out here is HORRIBLE! There are prob 3-6 houses on every block for sale that have been for sale for about 1-2 years. We have been making 2 house payments for over a year now. With a family of 5 and some other things going on that are very pricey. He is wanting to try and rent it so he can at least get SOME money coming in. But realizes that with renting it we are putting ourselves in a position to poss cost us even more. So he is a very thrifty man (which is one of the reasons I love him so :p) and he wants to save every poss way he can. Does that help?

[Fr_Chuck]

Actually unless you have a management company doing the collectoin and handling the rent, what legal address are you using as your address. The contract has to list not only who you are, but where you are normlly and where rents are to be paid. Also they have to be able to contract you for repairs. Also if you have never rented before, visit the housing court, know all the forms you need to file for an eviction before you even rent. Don't ever let them move in with a promise to pay,

[achampio21]

Okay thank you! We are VERY new at this. And have no idea what we are doing but I used the link from the Real Estate forum to print out all of the laws for our state.

We were just going to give a cellular number to call which wouldn't be traceable. But I didn't know we had to list our address on the forms. Is it very pricey to hire a management company to do all of this for us? And being that we are completely clueless (yes I'll admit it :p) would that be the way to go until we are familiar with the process?

This is quite a thing we are getting ready to do isn't it? It's not going to be as easy as we think.

[JudyKayTee]

Actually unless you have a management company doing the collectoin and handling the rent, what legal address are you using as your address. The contract has to list not only who you are, but where you are normlly and where rents are to be paid. Also they have to be able to contract you for repairs. Also if you have never rented before, visit the housing court, know all the forms you need to file for an eviction before you even rent. Don't ever let them move in with a promise to pay,

All anyone has to do is ask the local assessor who owns the property and what the owners' legal or mailing address is.

I do it all the time.

[ScottGem]

Did he contact a Post Office or a place like the UPS Store? Check out this site:

USPS - Post Office™ Boxes

To get Post Office rates for your area. It says they start as low As $10. I searched the Indianapolis area and rates start as low as $13 for 6 months.

[ScottGem]

If you are only going to have one property, I wouldn't bother with a management company. But I WOULD make sure you know all the laws in your area. Check to see if there is a landlords trade group in your area. They can be an invaluable resource.

[JudyKayTee]

Expensive? I pay less than $100/yr for a medium sized box at my local post office. I think the smallest size box in about $50/yr

I just picked this up yesterday from the PO:


Box Size:
Size 1 - (3 IN X 5.5 IN)
Size 2 - (5 IN X 5.5 IN)
Size 3 - (11 IN X 5.5 IN)
6-month Box Fees:
$19.00 - size 1
$27.00 - size 2
$49.00 - size 3

[achampio21]

I don't know then, maybe he misunderstood them. But he called the post office directly. Or maybe they misunderstood him! I will save that link in favs and show to him. Thank you.

As to tenants not knowing where we live, I guess that is out of the question. Know matter what they will figure it out. Then I guess we will just have to be very picky about who we let rent from us.

Thanks everyone for all the useful info. I feel a little more informed now. (and I think I know more than my honey at this point! That never happens! :p)

Thanks again!

[rockinmommy]

This is quite a thing we are getting ready to do isn't it?! It's not going to be as easy as we think.

I've been a landlord for about 15 years. No, it's not easy, but it doesn't have to be that hard, either. As you've started to do, familiariaze yourself with your local and state landlord / tenant laws. Screen tenants. (I do a background check and credit check on every applicant, in addition to verifying employment / rental history / etc.) And run things like a business from the start. The biggest mistake I made, and most landlords I know agree, is being way "too nice" in the early stages of our business. Or I guess too niave is a better description. This is a business, not a charity. You can still be very friendly and polite, but follow your lease. If late fees apply, charge them. If a person is violating the lease, give them a written warning, and then enforce the penalty (fees, eviction, towing vehicles, etc.) It's unfortunate, but I've experienced again and again that if you waiver and don't stay up on enforcing the rules, you'll get run over. And that starts getting costly. I still work with my tenants constantly to help them out in rough situations. If they stay in communication with me, I'm happy to do whatever I can to help. But I get everything in writing, and I follow up with whatever action I told them would occur if they don't hold up their end of the bargain.

Having a strong lease is your greatest, single asset as a landlord! The strongest lease you can use, in my opinion, is your state's Apartment Association lease. But you have to be a member to use it. It's well, well worth the cost of membership just to be able to use their lease. But if you're cutting costs you may not think so.

As for the rent payment situation. I used to always have rent mailed to my home address. I never had any problems. Like prev. posters pointed out... anyone with half a clue can track you down anyway. Now, (because of quantity)all mail goes to a PO Box, I have a drop slot at my office, and we will collect rent, if requested. When doing so the tenant must leave it in a pre-determined location INSIDE the property. It is a good opportunity to see the property on a regualr basis.

Didn't mean to go on and on. I could write a book about the subject, including all of the mistakes I've made that I've learned from...

Good luck.

[achampio21]

I've been a landlord for about 15 years. No, it's not easy, but it doesn't have to be that hard, either. As you've started to do, familiariaze yourself with your local and state landlord / tenant laws. Screen tenants. (I do a background check and credit check on every applicant, in addition to verifying employment / rental history / etc.) And run things like a business from the start. The biggest mistake I made, and most landlords I know agree, is being way "too nice" in the early stages of our business. Or I guess too niave is a better description. This is a business, not a charity. You can still be very friendly and polite, but follow your lease. If late fees apply, charge them. If a person is violating the lease, give them a written warning, and then enforce the penalty (fees, eviction, towing vehicles, etc.) It's unfortunate, but I've experienced again and again that if you waiver and don't stay up on enforcing the rules, you'll get run over. And that starts getting costly. I still work with my tenants constantly to help them out in rough situations. If they stay in communication with me, I'm happy to do whatever I can to help. But I get everything in writing, and I follow up with whatever action I told them would occur if they don't hold up their end of the bargain.

Having a strong lease is your greatest, single asset as a landlord!! The strongest lease you can use, in my opinion, is your state's Apartment Association lease. But you have to be a member to use it. It's well, well worth the cost of membership just to be able to use their lease. But if you're cutting costs you may not think so.

As for the rent payment situation. I used to always have rent mailed to my home address. I never had any problems. Like prev. posters pointed out......anyone with half a clue can track you down anyway. Now, (because of quantity)all mail goes to a PO Box, I have a drop slot at my office, and we will collect rent, if requested. When doing so the tenant must leave it in a pre-determined location INSIDE the property. It is a good opportunity to see the property on a regualr basis.

Didn't mean to go on and on. I could write a book about the subject, including all of the mistakes I've made that I've learned from..........

Good luck.

Thank you! I have never heard of Apartment Association, does every state have that?

I really appreciate all the info.

I have said it before and I will say it again. This site kicks butt!! I love it!

Thank you Everyone!

[rockinmommy]

[QUOTE=achampio21]Thank you! I have never heard of Apartment Association, does every state have that?
QUOTE]

Well, there's the National Apartment Association. NAA Welcome Page

Then each state has one. Did I read that you're in Indiana? Indiana Apartment Association, Inc.

If not, just Google your state and apartment association.

[ScottGem]

I don't believe every state has such an association, but you should be able to find a trade group

Try these sites:
Indiana Landlord Associations
Welcome to LANDLORD ASSOCIATION.ORG - News, Information, Advice, Management Tools for Landlords, Real Estate Investors, Property Owners and Apartment Managers.
Landlords Association - Landlord Tenant Law, Land Leasing Agent, Leasing Commercial Property, Commercial Property Lease Agreement, Commercial Leasing Agent

[froggy7]

And, just my 2 cents, I wouldn't want to put my rent into a box on the outside of my house if I were a tenant. What's to stop someone from stealing it? And conversely, what are you going to do when they say that they followed your instructions, but the rent's not there when you go to pick it up?

[achampio21]

You are all amazing. Thank you for all the awesome info. We will def. let you know how it all turns out.

And rockinmommy, I may need to talk to you more in the future it sounds like if we make this a continual thing!! :p

And to froggy7, we had thought of that and was going to make it a lock box. But yes you are correct, if they were devious enough they could break it and claim it was stolen. So we are going to take everyone's advice spend the little extra $$ and get PO box just for rent money.

Again we both REALLY appreciate ALL the help, advice and nifty links everyone gave! Thank you VERY VERY much!!

(PS~ I have to spread my greenies around some ScottGem!! Sorry! )

[excon]

This is quite a thing we are getting ready to do isn't it?! It's not going to be as easy as we think.

Hello a:

The landlord business IS a business like any other. If you don't understand the business, you'll probably lose money.

As an example, rent a movie called Pacific Heights, starring Michael Keaton. Then tell us you still want to be landlords.

excon