Hope everyone enjoyed Fat Tuesday, I sure did!  I’ll be napping all day!

-Brody

A high paw to Anthony Jimenez!   Anthony was named as YapStone‘s Employee of the Quarter for Q4 2010.    He is currently the highest producing Account Executive for VacationRentPayment (RentPayment‘s sister company, processing vacation rental payments).  With a demonstrated track record, Anthony has had great success when selling VacationRentPayment’s business solutions to small and large size vacation rental management companies.

A certified California Real Estate Agent, Anthony also has experience in real estate, development and multifamily property experience as well.  He has also been a member of  the Vacation Rentals Manager Association since joining the vacation industry and prides himself on the contributions, ideas and leadership experience he has brought to the organization and looks forward to continuing.  He was a star football player and graduate of Columbia University in the City of New York, and is proud member of the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend Indiana.

Dear Residents,
Help me help you avoid late fees with electronic payments from RentPayment.  Pay online, by text, or by phone 24/7!

Sincerely,
Property Manager

P.S.  Please ditch those checks!

As a middle school teacher for 10 years, I would incorporate technology into my lessons, but more often than not, I would go by the book, both literally and figuratively. I knew that there was a huge opportunity to work in a tech related field, but I was happy as a teacher, and I didn’t have a broad background working with technology. After having taught for many years in the South Bay, I wanted to venture out and do something different, challenge myself and explore what this technology industry was all about. I was fortunate to find out about an opening at RentPayment for an Account Manager. I knew my attention to detail, teaching skills, and dedication to service would make me the perfect Account Manager.

While I didn’t know exactly what the job would entail, after working at RentPayment for four months, I’m extremely that happy I made the switch. I enjoy the client care aspect of RentPayment as well as training clients on how to use our services. We are rapidly progressing as a company and are introducing more ways to pay rent, such as with the iPhone app- RentPayment Mobile. The switch from teaching children to teaching adults has been fantastic! It amazes me on a daily basis how we are able to use technology to improve industries and the way people interact with money. The thought of paying rent online, by phone, text message, and more is incredibly convenient and easy for renters. But the real benefit is how much it improves the operations of a property management team. I enjoy being able to show Accountants, Property Managers, and Leasing Agents all the great ways RentPayment can benefit them. From in person credit card acceptance for Leasing Agents, to transaction summary reports with excel exports for Accountants we have a suit of resources to help their day to day operations. The switch from teaching education to teaching technology isn’t very different.   I’ve come to learn, that they are both all about educating the future.

If I were to grade Yapstone as a company both to work for and what it is capable of doing for residents and property managers, I’d give them an A+!

Written by:
Tony Maskell, Client Account Manager for RentPayment

With the NAA Student Housing conference this week and Spring Break approaching fast,  RentPayment is gearing up for Student Housing Season 2011.   A good portion of our clients include student housing communities;  and the college-aged crowd especially loves RentPayment‘s many online and mobile payment options.

Each year, around mid- late August, student housing communities experience a huge influx of new move-ins as a new school year begins.  For the RentPayment Marketing Team, this is a very busy time when we help Property Managers notify their new residents of their electronic payment options with RentPayment.  In addition, each year we host a special promotion just for our student housing communities.

Last year we gave away a $1,000 grand prize to one lucky student and 10 other students were awarded $100 Gift Cards.   To spread the word of RentPayment and meet some of our RentPayment users during this promotion, we made a trip out to two of our biggest student housing focused college towns, Austin and College Station, TX.   During this trip, we visited properties, gathered resident feedback and helped property managers manage the influx of new move ins and inform residents of their online payment options.

Enjoy this video montage of our time in TX!

Here at RentPayment we have an amazing team of Account Managers, Developers, and Client Care Representatives that help us serve our customers and clients 7 days a week. One of our amazing team members is Petrita Red, a Client Care Representative, that is making some pretty inspiring news. In the March 2011 issue of Health Magazine Petrita’s incredible 112lb weight loss story is profiled. Not only is Petrita the pack leader in phone support for RentPayment but she is also an inspiration to the team for her dedication to health and her amazing accomplishment.

A high paw to Petrita, for inspiring me to get my tail in gear. –Brody, Yap Mascot

Brody Pays Rent Online by Credit Card

You all met Brody a few weeks back as he was introduced as the “YapStone Mascot.” Seeing how it’s the beginning of the month and rent is due for most, Brody would like to “yap” to everyone about how he prefers to pay his rent. He makes sure his rent is paid on time every month by using his monthly ClickPay email reminders from RentPayment. From there, he can just pay his rent with the tap of a paw!

Have your residents sign up for ClickPay reminders today to ensure on-time payments.

Meet Beverly, she was so excited to win $10,000. Watch her amazing surprise reaction and what she has to say about RentPayment!

It’s also interesting because she pays rent online for her daughter who is a college student and living at a student housing community.   More student housing communities should communicate directly with parents about rent payment options.  Having parents pay the rent online (rather then sending the money to their child and relying on them to bring in a paper check) is a great way to collect more on-time payments.

Enjoy!

Beverly has consistently paid her daughter Megan’s rent on time through RentPayment since Megan began living in her college apartment near San Diego State University. Beverly appreciates how much easier it is to pay online, adding “I don’t have to worry about sending her [Megan] a check, her taking it to the office, and then waiting the 2,3,4,5 days for it to clear.  This way [with RentPayment.com] we go on and in 2-3 minutes, the rent’s paid! ”

The options and flexibility of the system are what attracted Beverly to RentPayment.  “When I go on, I have options.  I can use a credit card, a debit card, or I can use our checking account to pay rent, it’s so convenient,” Beverly tells us.  She also is a recent adopter of RentByText, noting “Texting is such a big part of society today, I remember when I first started texting my kids.  Sometimes I use RentByText, but a lot of times I’ll use it just as a reminder to go online and send my eCheck in via the internet.”

How did hear about RentPayment?

Beverly first found out about RentPayment through an informational packet move-in packet given by American Campus Communities to all its new renters.  “In that packet was all the information we needed, including RentPayment.com [flyer] and how we could easily sign up,” says Beverly.  For student housing communities, this highlights the importance of getting parents involved.  A lot of student renters still rely on help from parents or guardians, but do not communicate all payment alternatives to them. These are the ones who often benefit most from having an electronic payment option.

Beverly was so excited to win $10,000 and truly a joy to meet.   To her, RentPayment is just another one of the modern conveniences she uses in her daily life.  Thanks for your support, Beverly, and congratulations!

#10. Laundry
I can never find any quarters, nor do I ever have the single dollar bills needed to make change! Thus, I end up driving to the bank, or the local convenience store and dropping my last $10 bill for a roll of quarters… sigh…

#9. Bus Fares
I always find myself holding up the line while digging through my pockets for the proper coins and bills. Usually end up getting yelled at by the after-work rush hour crowd.

#8. Charitable Donations
Is it rude to ask the Salvation Army Donation Rep outside my local store, who rings the bell during the holidays, if he’ll take a Visa? You should see the looks I get from the Girl Scouts when they try to sell me cookies!

#7. Lost Bets
I lost a bet to a friend the other day on the outcome of a football game, but didn’t have the cash to pay up! Yeah, I got out of having to pay… but now I look like a jerk!

#6. Groceries
In my perfect world… I’d order everything online, have someone pack everything up for me and then deliver it to my front door!

#5. Prescriptions
My local Rite-Aid has the longest lines!! Less time spent running errands… wouldn’t that be the life?

#4. Parking
Drove around downtown for 35 minutes waiting for a free parking spot to open up because I couldn’t feed the meter! I should really listen to be boyfriend who always harps on me for not keeping change in my car….

#3. Bar Tab
How embarrassing to have to go pick up my credit card the next day when I’ve forgotten to close my tab… Can’t I just pay from my laptop in bed?!?

#2. Lottery Tickets
Of course I want that chance to win that mega-millions jackpot!!! But how often does anyone walk inside to the store at a gas station, I’d love to be able to play and pay for the lotto online. Maybe that would increase my chances to win?!

#1. RENT!
Oh wait, I can! Thanks RentPayment!

RentPayment.com… helping you ditch the last check you write!