Read at your own pace · 12 slides
Rent on Autopilot — The Details
- How we collect the $2,700/month without a property manager — using Baselane (landlord banking + rent collection).
- Every fee written out — what we pay, what the tenants pay, and every instance we could ever be charged.
- The exact process, start to finish — ending with money in our own bank.
- Plus: the $2,500 security deposit — getting it back from the fired property manager, and what Wisconsin law actually requires.
Every number here was verified on Baselane's own pricing and help-center pages — not the brochure.
Fees · 1 of 3
What WE pay to receive rent
$0
- Nothing per payment. Nothing monthly. No minimum balance, no setup fee, no contract, no cancellation fee.
- One condition: rent deposits into a free Baselane checking account (FDIC-insured through their partner bank). That's the plan — it's what makes everything fee-free.
Fees · 2 of 3
What the TENANTS pay to send rent
- Bank transfer (ACH) into our Baselane checking: $0
- Debit/credit card — their choice, never required: 3.49% of the payment, paid by the tenant. On $1,350 that's ~$47 — so they'll use the free bank transfer.
Fees · 3 of 3 — the fine print, complete
Every instance we could EVER be charged
- Order a paper checkbook: $15 — we won't order one.
- Baselane mails a physical check for us: $2 — won't need it.
- Same-day outbound wire: $15 — the normal free transfer takes ~3 days; we'd never need same-day.
- Their optional "Smart" subscription (faster deposits, fancier bookkeeping): we simply don't buy it. The free tier does everything we need.
- $2 per rent payment — only exists if rent routes straight to an outside bank. Routing to Baselane checking = waived. That's the whole reason for that account.
That is the entire list. There is nothing else.
In their own words
Moving money out is free too
"No. Baselane does not charge a fee to send outbound ACH transfers."
— Baselane's own help center. Standard transfer to our bank: $0, arrives in ~3 business days. (3:00 PM ET cutoff; weekends and holidays roll to the next business day.)
The process · steps 1–4
From baselane.com to ready
- 1Sign up at baselane.com — free, ~10 minutes, personal name is fine (no LLC needed). This opens the free Baselane checking account.
- 2Add the property — the Wisconsin address. Done.
- 3Set up Rent Collection — lease dates, rent $2,700/mo, due the 1st, late-fee rule exactly as the lease states it.
- 4Split into two schedules — $1,350 per tenant. The dashboard always shows who paid and who hasn't. No more "I thought he paid it."
The process · steps 5–7
Tenants on autopay
- 5Point rent deposits at the Baselane checking account (the fee-free setting).
- 6Invite both tenants — name, email, phone. Each gets a simple portal: connect their bank once, turn on autopay.
- 7From then on, monthly and automatic: reminder before the 1st → autopay pulls the rent → late fee applies by rule if a payment misses. Rent clears into Baselane a few business days after the 1st.
The process · steps 8–9
Landing in OUR bank
- 8Connect our current bank once (routing + account number, in Baselane's Transfers section).
- 9Transfer out — $0 fee. One-time, or set a recurring auto-transfer (e.g. the 10th of every month, balance → our bank). Arrives in ~3 business days.
- Realistic calendar: rent due the 1st → cleared in Baselane ~the 3rd–5th → in our own bank ~the 8th–10th.
- Alternative: skip step 9 and use the Baselane account as the property's operating account — pay the property tax from it, and every transaction lands auto-categorized for taxes.
Security deposit · 1 of 3
Getting the $2,500 back from the fired PM
- 1Written demand (email is fine — paper trail matters): the $2,500 deposit + full tenant ledger + final accounting. Give a firm date — 14 days is customary; check the management agreement's termination clause.
- 2The deposit sits in the PM's trust account — it's tenant money held on our behalf; they must hand it over when management ends. If they stall: a letter citing Wisconsin ATCP 134 and the DATCP complaint process usually unsticks it fast.
- 3Document it on arrival — amount, date, which tenants it belongs to.
- 4Tell the tenants in writing: "We now hold your $2,500 deposit directly; same lease terms." Not legally required for a manager change — but it prevents every future "who has my deposit" dispute.
Security deposit · 2 of 3
What Wisconsin law actually requires
- Separate or escrow account required? No. Wisconsin (ATCP 134.06) does not require one.
- Interest owed to tenants on the deposit? No. Not required in Wisconsin.
- What IS required: return the deposit within 21 days after the tenant surrenders the property, with an itemized written statement for anything withheld.
- The rule with teeth: miss the 21 days or withhold improperly, and tenants can sue for double damages plus attorney fees.
Security deposit · 3 of 3
Our play: separate it anyway — inside Baselane
- Baselane lets us create a separate virtual sub-account in one click — their help center has a page specifically for holding security deposits this way. Costs $0.
- Name it "Security Deposit — [property address]", park the $2,500 there, never touch it.
- Why bother if the law doesn't require it: that money is spoken for. The day a tenant moves out, the 21-day clock starts — a clean, untouched $2,500 in its own labeled bucket means no scrambling, and no accidentally spending money that was never ours.
That's everything
The whole picture
- Receive rent: $0 · Tenants pay: $0 by bank transfer · Move it to our bank: $0, ~3 business days.
- The only fees that exist: checkbook $15 · mailed check $2 · same-day wire $15 · optional paid tier — all avoidable, all optional.
- Deposit: demand from the PM in writing → park in a labeled Baselane sub-account → 21-day rule at move-out.
- This week: open the account, set the two schedules, invite the tenants — autopay live before the 1st.
Prefer to listen? The 3½-minute narrated version is here. Questions — call me.