You don’t have to be a Bitcoin fanatic to understand the potential here. It’s hard to ignore the direction the world is heading. A paperless, more digital and efficient economy is going to make more sense as time goes on. Banks are losing more and more trust with citizens and foreign Fiats are failing all over with fluctuation in parities. Moreover, digital banks are eating up market share from traditional brick & mortar banks that were once the staple of a robust US economy.
And if you’re trying to hedge against the declining USD, then accepting bitcoin even at its current price may not be a bad idea. Couple that with the fact bitcoin increased by 2,166.66 percent in 2017, a few months of bitcoin payments could turn into enough cash to purchase a new rental property if bitcoin does well. This is a big if, but some property managers are willing to take the risk. Perhaps the main reason to accept bitcoin as payment is that it lets landlords obtain some bitcoin without having to put up cash.
Early adopters?
According to the American Apartment Owners Association (AAOA), Alvic Property Management, who specializes in the management of condominiums, cooperatives and multifamily rentals in the New York metro area, has become the first property management company to accept rent and maintenance payments in Bitcoin.
California’s real estate firm Caruso Properties to accept bitcoin for rent as reported by Coindesk. In a partnership with Gemini Exchange, Caruso will now let tenants of its retail and commercial properties pay their rent in bitcoin. This makes Caruso the largest real estate manager in the United States to accept the digital asset as a form of payment. Additionally, Caruso has allocated roughly 1% of its treasury into bitcoin, according to the LA Times.
Cons?
Besides the volatility risk of Bitcoin, accepting rent payments in cryptocurrency is not for multifamily operators who have to liquidate the rent payments instantly to cover accounts payables. It can take up to 10 days to cash out bitcoin paid by a tenant. Many landlords need to use rental payments for their mortgage and cannot afford a 10-day wait.
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