Log in     RSS       

  • Renting Authority Main Site

    • Behind on Rent
    • Behind on Rent 1
    • Behind on Rent Again
    • Eviction for Illegal Activities
    • Eviction Process
    • Eviction Wizard
    • Evictions
    • Is this happening in your property?
    • Ready to Evict Quickly
    • Rental Property Listing Service
    • Rule 1: Rental Application
    • Save 44% on your next background credit report
    • Tenant Broke Lease Agreement
    • Work a Deal
    • Rule 2: Rental Background and Credit Application
    • Rule 3: Employment and Past Rental Verification
    • Rule 4: Lease Agreement
    • Rule 5: Management Tools
    • Website for your Rental
    • Forum
  • Categories

    • Evictions
    • How to Screen an Applicant
    • Important Links
    • Landlord Basics
    • Landlord Nightmares
    • Listing Rentals Online
    • Maintenance and Gardening
    • online rent pay
    • Testimonials
    • Uncategorized
  • Recent Posts

    • Customer Support
    • Property Tax Questions
    • Online Rent Pay FAQ
    • Be Grateful and Thankful
    • I really appreciate your article
  • Archives

    • March 2010
    • December 2009
    • November 2009
    • October 2009
    • September 2009
    • August 2009
    • March 2009
    • February 2009
    • January 2009
    • December 2008
    • November 2008
    • October 2008
    • September 2008
    • August 2008
    • July 2008
  • Meta

    • Register
    • Log in
    • Entries RSS
    • Comments RSS
    • WordPress.org

Archive for November, 2008

Should I charge an application fee?

Tuesday, November 25th, 2008

Several landlords have asked, “Should I charge an application fee?” My answer astonishes some. It is simply YES.

Three reasons why:

1.     Application fees start the filtering process

If an applicant is unwilling to pay an application fee, you may have a difficult time collecting rent.  You are in charge, it is your asset, and you make the rules.

2.     Covers your costs
Screening prospective tenants cost you time and money.  Recover as much money as possible.  If you have to screen 4 tenants to find the right one, it will cost about $100.  Don’t go in the hole $100.  Collect the application fee upfront.

3.     Being consistent on application fees reduces discrimination lawsuits
Charging differing prices and not charging at all on some applicants, opens you up for a lawsuit.  Charge a consistent fee.  Even if you feel sorry for someone. Please don’t misunderstand me.  I am not being cold hearted.  Attorneys look for inconsistencies like this to create a discrimination lawsuit.

If you have any questions or comments, please email me.

Sincerely,

Troy Boldt

Renting Authority
888-674-9181

tboldt@RentingAuthority.com

www.RentingAuthority.com

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to the RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

Posted in How to Screen an Applicant, Landlord Basics, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Discrimination Quiz

Monday, November 24th, 2008

Please read this.  I never want this to happen to you.
Take this short illegal discrimination quiz.  See if you are inadvertently discriminating.
Have you ever done the following?

  1. Told an applicant there is not an opening because you did not want to rent to that person, when there really is an opening.
  2. Advertised in such a manner that indicates a preference base on group characteristics, such as skin color or sex.
  3. Set restrictive standards for certain applicants and not others, such as higher income.
  4. Refusing to reasonably accommodate the needs of disabled clients, such as hearing dog, sight dog, or other service animals
  5. Had different sets of late payment penalties for different tenants.

The Fair Housing Acts prohibit landlords from taking any of the above actions based on race, religion, or any other protected category.

Consistently using a standard application protects you from costly lawsuits.

Using Renting Authority’s rental application and tenant screening process help you avoid discrimination lawsuits.  They are a great tool that you now have access to.

Don’t worry, Renting Authority provides you with the best rental applications at no cost.

Follow this link and customize your rental applications today.  Select print application or email application.

www.toolbox.rentingauthority.com
Sample application
http://www.rentingauthority.com/videodemo/genericapp.html

Email an application to yourself

http://www.rentingauthority.com/videodemo/genericapp.html

Have a great day,

Troy Boldt

888-674-9181
tboldt@rentingauthority.com
www.rentingauthority.com

Join the forum discussion on this post - (8) Posts

Posted in How to Screen an Applicant, Landlord Basics, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Renting Authority Gives Back

Tuesday, November 11th, 2008

Last year our family visited Best Friends Animal Society located in Southern Utah.  They take care of about 2,000 dogs, cats and other animals, who come from shelters and rescue groups around the country.  Only Best Friends provides the special care they need.

When the animals are healthy, they help find them new homes.  This is an amazing charity.  At the end of our visit, I showed my support by purchasing some items in their gift shop.

A few months after the trip, I wondered, how can I still support Best Friends Animal Society?

Believe it or not, a friend introduced me to Uplej not long after. He explained I could donate to charities of my choice with Uplej.  Best Friends Animal Society was a charity Uplej supports. I signed up online, Uplej collects the money from me automatically and they pass the donation along to them or any charity of my choice.

Uplej helps hundreds of charities raise money.  They leverage the power of social networking to accomplish this.  It is free to sign up and become an advocate for your favorite charity. You don’t need to pledge any money to make a difference.

If you can spare 2 minutes to sign up, please do!! Simple instructions are written below. All that’s required is your email, first name, last name, a uPlej user name, and then you choose a uPlej password. That’s it!

uPlej is a website designed to help charities raise money. I’ve chosen the Best Friends Animal Society as my charity, but you could choose another. They offer free accounts, so you can be an “Advocate” or a “Donor.” To register follow these easy steps:

  1. Visit our uPlej page by clicking here www.uplej.com/rentingauthority
  2. Click on “Join Free!”
  3. Fill out the form (new uPlej username, your email, new uPlej password, first name, last name, select your charity, & click “sign up for free”)
  4. On the second page, select if you want to donate ($4.79/month to charity) or have a free “advocate” membership ($0.00, so you’re not required to pay anything)
  5. That’s it! You’ll get an email confirming your registration, and just a few minutes later you’ll be added to our “friends list”

If you can, please pass along this information to anyone you think would help out! If you’re married, both husband and wife can register.

Give to your favorite charity today or become an advocate. Click here now

Thanks for your support,

Troy Boldt

888-674-9181

tboldt@rentingauthority.com

www.RentingAuthority.com

<!– /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:”"; margin:0pt; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-fareast-font-family:”Times New Roman”;} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink {color:blue; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {color:purple; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} span.apple-style-span {mso-style-name:apple-style-span;} @page Section1 {size:612.0pt 792.0pt; margin:72.0pt 90.0pt 72.0pt 90.0pt; mso-header-margin:36.0pt; mso-footer-margin:36.0pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} /* List Definitions */ @list l0 {mso-list-id:1976718253; mso-list-template-ids:-1702449996;} ol {margin-bottom:0pt;} ul {margin-bottom:0pt;} –>

Posted in Important Links | 25 Comments »

You must have an online presence!

Friday, November 7th, 2008

Finding apartments has become an online endeavor!

Over 90% of applicants say they look online first when apartment shopping.

But you’re a landlord not a webmaster.  That is exactly why Renting Authority’s website builder is one of our hottest products.  It is so simple and the end product is professional.  All this is FREE with your upgraded membership.

Your website includes:

  • Pictures and descriptions of your rental
  • You can include multiple rentals on one website
  • Easy tools to manage and change your web site in seconds
  • Links to online rental application and online rent pay
  • Web sites allow you to stay in communication with current tenants (address book)
  • Show your apartment to possible applicants online first.  Saves you time and money.

 

Create your own website in about 15 minutes with Renting Authority.  This benefit alone is worth more than the cost of the upgrading your membership.  Let’s break down the cost of building your own website without Renting Authority. 

 

Cost without Renting Authority

Web designers charge between $500 to $800 to create a website for you.  Then you pay an average hosting fee of $19.95 per month.   If you want to make changes to your website, you have to pay a webmaster for the changes.  Average hourly charge is $55.  Most charge a minimal of 1 hour.  So each time you need to change a listing, it costs you around $55.  With Renting Authority, you can make your own changes.  It is easy to do and you have support.

 

Oh yeah, Renting Authority’s websites have a couple of feature you will not get anywhere else.  Online rental applications.  This is not just a PDF that applicants download and fill out.  It is a real electronic application.  The applicant fills it out online, pays an application fee online, and then Renting Authority automatically process the background and credit reports.  Sorry, but no webmaster can create that for you.

 

One more thing, you can accept online rent payments with your website.  Very cool.  Send your tenants to your website and they can pay by check or credit card online.  The best part about online rent pay is you don’t pay any processing fees.  That’s right.  The tenants pay a small convenience fee when paying rent online.

 

Sign up Today!

 

View Demo Site

 

View the Website Creation demo to see how easy it is to set up your own website.

 

If you have any questions about online rent pay or any of our products, please click the customer support button

 

Sincerely,

 

Troy Boldt

 

 888-674-9181

www.rentingauthority.com

tboldt@rentingauthority.com

 

Posted in How to Screen an Applicant, Landlord Basics, Listing Rentals Online | 3 Comments »

Renting Authority | Toolbox Log In | 1-888-674-9181 | Terms and Conditions | Refund Policy