Will Flex work for us? Will our staff and tenants use the solution? Can Flex actually make us money? 🤔
If you’re asking any questions along these lines, don’t sweat it. It’s normal to want to make the right decision. Rent payments are a huge deal—so much so that how you collect them can make or break your business. But this fact isn’t always reflected in rent collection solutions and processes.
79% of renters say they’ve received incorrect, delayed, or lost payments from their property management company, which led them to cut ties.💸 On the other hand, 78% of residents say making and receiving online rent payments would improve their view of their property management company.
Like many property managers and landlords, you’re probably searching for a rent payment solution that your renters and team will love. You may have even tried a few options, like an online rental payment portal. Now, you’ve found Flex and wondering what makes our app so special compared to the other rent payment solutions out there. We get it. To help you decide whether Flex is right for your business, we’ll be covering the housing types that have done well with Flex.
So, what is Flex, and why is it a good call for property managers and landlords?
Have you ever paid for goods through a phone app? Chances are it was quick and easy, allowing you to complete your transactions with little thought. Well, Flex allows users to do just that, only this time for rent payments. 🤳
Our innovative technology simplifies paying and managing rent while making it more affordable. Using Flex, your tenants can split rent payments into two affordable portions and adjust the second installment date to suit them (subject to credit checks and terms and conditions). Once your company is all signed up, we’ll pay rent on the 1st of each month, no matter what. Additionally, our solution will chase tenants who pay rent late, not your team. Your team will get access to real-time data and analytics on your tenants to help your team forecast quicker and more accurately.
If you’re worried about how much this is all going to cost you, don’t be. Flex is free for your company, with low fees for renters. Plus, if you’ve got staff living on the property, they can use our app on the house. As a result, you can look forward to perks like:
✔️More on-time payments
✔️ Optimized cash flow
✔️ Increased ROI
✔️ Higher net operating income and efficiency
✔️ Less rent collection admin
✔️ Happier tenants and staff
✔️Less admin and risk
✔️ More time to focus on growth initiatives
Flex for success: Housing types that flourish with Flex
One of the great things about Flex is its versatility. This feature allows it to cater to different tenants’ preferences and help property managers and landlords succeed. Let’s break down some of the housing types and renter profiles that are winning with Flex.
Student housing 🧑🎓
From books and tuition fees to lump sum rent payments and food costs, students have a lot of costs to cover. Some have demanding study schedules and extracurricular activities. These commitments can make it difficult to work enough hours to cover bills. Others are dependent on loan or scholarship installments, resulting in irregular income.
So, many students face the reality of too many expenses and too little time and funds. Flex helps students stretch cash further and provides more time to pay rent. This feature increases the odds of on-time payments, stabilizing cash flow in your business. You’ll also ease the administrative load on your team since they’ll no longer have to chase payments.
Class A “luxury properties” 💎
It’s easy to think you don’t need flexible rent payments when you’re managing luxury properties, but the opposite is true. “Cash is king”, especially in this choppy economy. Class A renters often prefer being liquid throughout the month. It’s also common to see those with good credit using credit cards to stretch out payment dates.
Others pay for high-end purchases in installments to preserve cash periodically. Around 68% of financially stable BNPL users have leveraged the solution at least twice in the past year. The same reasoning fuels many Americans with large mortgages opting for biweekly payments. While Flex isn’t a BNPL solution, renters can still access similar perks like split rent payments to achieve this. Every little helps.
Affordable housing and Section 8 housing 🏠
Did you know more than 80% of households in Section 8 housing earn less than $20,000?
Between rising living costs, 24% rent price hikes, rent controls fuelling housing shortages, and a spike in unemployment, cash can get tight for these tenants. Such circumstances make them ideal users, increasing the odds of adoption.
This is because implementing Flex can help tenants in affordable and subsided housing catch a financial break by addressing affordability immediately with split rent payments. Our solution also promotes financial inclusion and wellness,[Link to resident financial health blog post] helping more people to afford a place. For example, Flex extends payment flexibility, automated payments, credit building, and budgeting assistance to renters. These are great benefits since tenants using Section 8 and affordable housing don’t always have access to traditional credit. Using our solution, rent payments can contribute to credit history, allowing tenants to build their credit scores.
You may wonder, “What about the late fees we’ll miss out on by implementing Flex?” However, it’s important to consider the risk associated with late payments. Last year, 7% of landlords missed mortgage payments due to tardy rent from tenants. A better approach is to focus on securing on-time payments using a solution like Flex.
Single property (multifamily unit) SMB landlords 🏢
When you’ve got a handful of properties, rent payments are even higher stakes due to cash coming from fewer avenues. It’s also common to depend on rent payments to cover expenses like salaries or maintenance. This situation can make for a very stressful Rent Week.
With Flex, you’ll streamline collections and stabilize payments using automatic reminders, payments, and (non-payment) follow-ups. You’ll no longer have to wait for Rent Week to collect funds. Nor will you need to question whether you’ll get rent thanks to our commitment to paying out each month whether tenants have paid or not. These features will increase your team’s productivity and income without increasing workloads.
You can also enhance financial visibility and maintain accurate records to guide decision-making and drive more tenant satisfaction [link to the power of happy tenants blog post]. Simply use our automated receipt issuance, reporting and analytics tools, and seamless integration with property management, HR, accounting, and ERP solutions.
Sage advice: How to succeed with Flex like Sage Ventures 🏆
To improve rent payment processes and set your business up for continued growth, it helps to learn from those that have gone before.
Take Sage Ventures, a Maryland-based property management company with over 4,000 units. The property management team received many requests from tenants for flexible payments and noticed an increase in delinquencies. So, Sage decided to test Flex’s rent payments app.
After a successful trial, Sage onboarded Flex across its portfolio. Using Flex, Sage now saves 5 hours each month on admin per assistant manager, which they redirect to strategic tasks. They’ve also seen a decline in delinquencies. Plus, Sage has processed $2.2 million in rent payments since July 2023 using Flex.👌
Key takeaways
- Offer flexible payments through a rent payment app
- Empower residents with self-service tools
- Remove manual rent collection and followups with technology
- Test solutions in one property or resident profile before rolling them out to the entire company
Create housing harmony with Flex 🛋️
In today’s tech-driven world, using cutting-edge technology to run your rental property management company is a must. A great place to start is leveling up your rent payment solution. But don’t go for any ol’ solution. The right one will mimic your tenants’ payment preferences, increase on-time payments, and take pressure off your team, to name a few. Considering this, Flex is a good shout. By partnering with us, you can deliver a modern, sleek rent payment experience without adding to your team’s workload.
So, don’t wait. Book a demo to learn how Flex can revolutionize your rent collection processes.
