RentGuard - Automated Rent Collection & Late Fee Enforcer
9/10
Demand Score
Late rent directly impacts cash flow and mortgage payments. Landlords spend 10+ hours/month chasing payments, and 30% of tenants pay late regularly.
7/10
Blue Ocean
Competition Level
$99-299
Price/Month
Predicted customer spend
50 days
Time to MVP
Difficulty: Moderate
The Problem
"Manual data entry in Excel creates a perfect storm for expensive mistakes... Teams waste 5 hours weekly correcting spreadsheet errors and hunting for current project data versions"[](https://premiercs.com/blog/why-construction-managers-are-quietly-abandoning-excel-in-2025-real-examples).
🔗 Validated by Real User Complaints
This problem has been verified through 2 real user complaints:
Competitor Landscape
- Cozy/Apartments.com - Free but basic, no enforcement automation
- Buildium - $50+ minimum, overkill for small landlords
- RentRedi - Lacks sophisticated late fee automation
- Zelle/Venmo - No automation or tracking features
Must-Have Features for MVP
Automated ACH rent collection
Smart late fee calculation and application
Multi-channel payment reminders
Legal notice generation
Payment plan setup
⚠️ Potential Challenges
- State-specific landlord-tenant law compliance
- Banking/payment processing partnerships
- Trust building with financial data
Risk Level: Moderate
🎯 Keys to Success
- State-specific compliance templates
- White-label tenant experience
- Same-day ACH processing
- Strong payment processor partnerships
Ready to Build This?
This moderate-difficulty project could be your next micro-SaaS success.