I just tried the applications service and was not happy with the results. It's a canned solution that doesn't give the landlord any control over the process, and has some gaping holes for information that is usually needed to screen a tenant.
First, the social security number is optional on the application, so if they don't provide it you may not get a background check, just a notice that says "background check unavailable." Somehow, they are able to generate a credit report without one, and that is rather strange to me.
On the application, you get pretty basic responses to their work history and living location history. There aren't many opportunities to collect the more explanatory information that is sometimes need to explain frequent job changes or moves. You also cannot modify the application questions. What you get is really basic. It's also very hard to save or print the application. I think they think you will always return to the website to view it, which presents other problems.
One glaring omission to this application is the required statement that every application should have - the statement authorizing the landlord to contact employers and past landlords and for those organizations to release information to you. Most corporate employers and property management companies absolutely require a faxed or emailed copy of this statement with the applicant's signature. You do not get the release authorization nor the signature with the Zillow Application.
Now for the credit report. Zillow uses Experian to provide the credit summaries. I say summary because you won't get a full credit file. You will get a version of the credit score with a suggestion about how bad it is, and then a summary of the rest of their credit history. For many, this may be fine, but I encounter lots of people with mixed credit histories and would rather not go on just that score, but read through the report and decide for myself how much of a risk they are based on what sorts of issues they have had. Regardless, the reports that are provided on Transunion's Smartmove (and Credit Karma for that matter) are far more detailed and useful.
Also, background check report seems to be optional thru Zillow. Need I list anything more?
@Thomas P. I have recent experience with this.
So when I rented my house on Zillow I turned on option to accept applications. I figured why not try it.
I really like it. It is very detailed. I went ahead and ran the persons credit via residentresearch.com like I normally do to compare the reports.
I like how resident research approves, declines or says conditional with more deposit. They make the decision for me.
On Zillow I have to look at everything and be the person accepting or declining which puts the liability on me if someone complained that I turned them down.
I do like how I can tell people to just go to Zillow and apply.
The people I just signed a lease with applied before they even saw the house. So I knew if I was wasting my time or not.
Apparently that had applied to another house but someone beat them to it so the applied their application to my property at no extra expense to them.
So yes I really like it and it is very accurate.
John, this is super late but hoping maybe you've had enough experiences with this that you could help? We just used Zillow applications and are a bit confused on how to read the credit reports they sent back...turns out they are not full credit reports but summaries.
Closed accounts don't say if they were paid in full, charged off, etc. Any idea how to read those? For example, we're seeing a lot of different scenarios under Closed Accounts
a) XX account - $0
b) XX account -
c) XX account-$12,392
We assume (a) is a paid in full closed account, not sure about b, and really not sure about c!
Thanks.
I'm not sure without seeing what your talking about. The credit score will ultimately reflect negative items. So if their are unpaid accounts or accounts in collections they will not have a great credit score.
No worries, thanks for the prompt response, John. Their credit score is definitely bad, but I'd give more weight to a paid off account that used to be delinquent than a charged off account that's still unpaid. Does that make sense?
I would post an image but don't want to invade their privacy. Here's a more detailed example (fake accounts and fake numbers). If you haven't seen this, no problem.
Closed Accounts
1) Discover Credit Card$0
2) Auto Loan$14,000
3) Charles Schwab Credit Card-
4) Wells Fargo Credit Card$1,203
5) Student Loan$0
6) Bank of American Credit Card-
@Thomas P. I have recent experience with this.
So when I rented my house on Zillow I turned on option to accept applications. I figured why not try it.
I really like it. It is very detailed. I went ahead and ran the persons credit via residentresearch.com like I normally do to compare the reports.
I like how resident research approves, declines or says conditional with more deposit. They make the decision for me.
On Zillow I have to look at everything and be the person accepting or declining which puts the liability on me if someone complained that I turned them down.
I do like how I can tell people to just go to Zillow and apply.
The people I just signed a lease with applied before they even saw the house. So I knew if I was wasting my time or not.
Apparently that had applied to another house but someone beat them to it so the applied their application to my property at no extra expense to them.
So yes I really like it and it is very accurate.
John, this is super late but hoping maybe you've had enough experiences with this that you could help? We just used Zillow applications and are a bit confused on how to read the credit reports they sent back...turns out they are not full credit reports but summaries.
Closed accounts don't say if they were paid in full, charged off, etc. Any idea how to read those? For example, we're seeing a lot of different scenarios under Closed Accounts
a) XX account - $0
b) XX account -
c) XX account-$12,392
We assume (a) is a paid in full closed account, not sure about b, and really not sure about c!
Thanks.
I'm not sure without seeing what your talking about. The credit score will ultimately reflect negative items. So if their are unpaid accounts or accounts in collections they will not have a great credit score.
No worries, thanks for the prompt response, John. Their credit score is definitely bad, but I'd give more weight to a paid off account that used to be delinquent than a charged off account that's still unpaid. Does that make sense?
I would post an image but don't want to invade their privacy. Here's a more detailed example (fake accounts and fake numbers). If you haven't seen this, no problem.
Closed Accounts
1) Discover Credit Card$0
2) Auto Loan$14,000
3) Charles Schwab Credit Card-
4) Wells Fargo Credit Card$1,203
5) Student Loan$0
6) Bank of American Credit Card-
I'd pass on a low credit score unless there is a very good reason for it, like medical bills, divorce etc.
@Thomas P. I have recent experience with this.
So when I rented my house on Zillow I turned on option to accept applications. I figured why not try it.
I really like it. It is very detailed. I went ahead and ran the persons credit via residentresearch.com like I normally do to compare the reports.
I like how resident research approves, declines or says conditional with more deposit. They make the decision for me.
On Zillow I have to look at everything and be the person accepting or declining which puts the liability on me if someone complained that I turned them down.
I do like how I can tell people to just go to Zillow and apply.
The people I just signed a lease with applied before they even saw the house. So I knew if I was wasting my time or not.
Apparently that had applied to another house but someone beat them to it so the applied their application to my property at no extra expense to them.
So yes I really like it and it is very accurate.
John, this is super late but hoping maybe you've had enough experiences with this that you could help? We just used Zillow applications and are a bit confused on how to read the credit reports they sent back...turns out they are not full credit reports but summaries.
Closed accounts don't say if they were paid in full, charged off, etc. Any idea how to read those? For example, we're seeing a lot of different scenarios under Closed Accounts
a) XX account - $0
b) XX account -
c) XX account-$12,392
We assume (a) is a paid in full closed account, not sure about b, and really not sure about c!
Thanks.
I'm not sure without seeing what your talking about. The credit score will ultimately reflect negative items. So if their are unpaid accounts or accounts in collections they will not have a great credit score.
No worries, thanks for the prompt response, John. Their credit score is definitely bad, but I'd give more weight to a paid off account that used to be delinquent than a charged off account that's still unpaid. Does that make sense?
I would post an image but don't want to invade their privacy. Here's a more detailed example (fake accounts and fake numbers). If you haven't seen this, no problem.
Closed Accounts
1) Discover Credit Card$0
2) Auto Loan$14,000
3) Charles Schwab Credit Card-
4) Wells Fargo Credit Card$1,203
5) Student Loan$0
6) Bank of American Credit Card-
I'd pass on a low credit score unless there is a very good reason for it, like medical bills, divorce etc.
Thank you.
I did end choosing not to use Zillow for many of the reasons listed here. Though convenient which I was looking for, the simply don’t provide enough information to make good decisions. With no way to modify the application and all the limitations, it’s not a great option.
Chris Schwartz did you ever solve the issue you had seeing the credit and background reports? I'm having the exact same issue and there is no customer support response. They just keep marking my ticket solved (which it's not). I've found them on Twitter, tracked down people on LinkedIn in and discovered the email social(at)zillow.com (which is supposed to offer customer support for social media complainers) all to no avail. 48 hours later, I can't access the reports and don't see a light at the end of the tunnel for being able to. Jason
I have used it and agree with @David Stumpf in that it is not detailed enough and overall doesn't provide enough info in either the Application, credit or background check to make a good decision. Better options are out there. It gets high marks only for convenience.
Haven't used it yet but I would rather use free service offering the same feature.
I have just used it for the first time and after 7 emails back and forth with Zillow support I still cannot see my applicants results. Everytime I try to access them I get an error message telling me that I need to contact support. Supports latest response is that I need to disconnect my account from my private server, and it's a Hotmail account! Ugh. They've clearly got some development work to do.
I will not use this again.
To get around the issue of not getting enough data from applicants I removed the duplicate items from my original application form (past landlords, references and job details) and had them do a two-part application - filling in the remaining details for me and also doing the Zillow application.
@Jacob Morgan thanks for the input! Zillow is such a big company now they seem to have shinny object syndrome. They are now leveraging their name to do everything. It would be a great solution because of name recognition, but the more I look into software, I am leaning more toward tenant cloud. What do you suggest?
@James Murphey I haven't tried Tenant Cloud, but i have used Smartmove and RentPrep for screening. As for the management, I usually just collect payments via Zelle or Square Cash. If these services charge a fee for rent collection, I'm usually not interested.
@Jacob Morgan I just want to have everything inside of one or two applications. I do not want to create a monster of different systems for each renter. Tenant Cloud is looking more appealing. How many properties do you manage? Could you see yourself using your system for 20 properties?
I've just started receiving a couple of applications from Zillow with credit/background checks. Like others have said it doesn't give you much info and seems like a lot is voluntary from the tenant. For example one application has a credit score of mid 500, but says 100% on-time payments, no debt, no late payments. It shows 4 collections, but there's no way to see for what or why. Overall very confusing and seems inaccurate. Also the background/credit check doesn't mention evictions one way or another. I believe they just ask the applicant if they've ever been evicted?
Also like others have said Zillow doesn't seem to have a support team to answer questions or assist.
Zillow application is super easy, practical and makes a lot of sense for the renter- 1 application fee for multiple apartment inquiries, but doesn't seem realistic for property owners.
It's awesome. I utilize Zillow now for both applications and billing. In my rental contract I let tenants know that paying cash will incur a 25 dollar fee to encourage them to use Zillow instead. One thing I would recommend is turning off the auto apply feature as I had some unqualified tenants apply and spend their money before even talking to me or seeing the house (which I thought was. strange in and of itself, but that's another story). So I have them tell me about their employment/rental history/who will live there and see the apartment before sending them the application. I highly recommend it.
Horrible. Folks are turning in applications. If they show up in my rental manager, I click through to see the information and come to an error that tells me I can't see the information. I have submitted three help requests. Nothing. The applicants paid for the report. Now I need to get it rented and not sure if I pay through a different service for their report since Zillow is missing in action. Horrible. No assist. Zero.
I used Zillow to list my property and to screen tenants. If you are looking for Zillow to make the decision for you, it will not do that. But if gives you all the data to make the approve/deny decision in under 5 mins. The only supplemental thing I did was to call previous land lords for references.
I use Cozy and love their platform for both applications and management.
@Thomas P. I have recent experience with this.
So when I rented my house on Zillow I turned on option to accept applications. I figured why not try it.
I really like it. It is very detailed. I went ahead and ran the persons credit via residentresearch.com like I normally do to compare the reports.
I like how resident research approves, declines or says conditional with more deposit. They make the decision for me.
On Zillow I have to look at everything and be the person accepting or declining which puts the liability on me if someone complained that I turned them down.
I do like how I can tell people to just go to Zillow and apply.
The people I just signed a lease with applied before they even saw the house. So I knew if I was wasting my time or not.
Apparently that had applied to another house but someone beat them to it so the applied their application to my property at no extra expense to them.
So yes I really like it and it is very accurate.
@Thomas P. I have recent experience with this.
So when I rented my house on Zillow I turned on option to accept applications. I figured why not try it.
I really like it. It is very detailed. I went ahead and ran the persons credit via residentresearch.com like I normally do to compare the reports.
I like how resident research approves, declines or says conditional with more deposit. They make the decision for me.
On Zillow I have to look at everything and be the person accepting or declining which puts the liability on me if someone complained that I turned them down.
I do like how I can tell people to just go to Zillow and apply.
The people I just signed a lease with applied before they even saw the house. So I knew if I was wasting my time or not.
Apparently that had applied to another house but someone beat them to it so the applied their application to my property at no extra expense to them.
So yes I really like it and it is very accurate.
Yes, it is about $29 I believe. Then I charge a $40 application fee.
@Thomas P. I have recent experience with this.
So when I rented my house on Zillow I turned on option to accept applications. I figured why not try it.
I really like it. It is very detailed. I went ahead and ran the persons credit via residentresearch.com like I normally do to compare the reports.
I like how resident research approves, declines or says conditional with more deposit. They make the decision for me.
On Zillow I have to look at everything and be the person accepting or declining which puts the liability on me if someone complained that I turned them down.
I do like how I can tell people to just go to Zillow and apply.
The people I just signed a lease with applied before they even saw the house. So I knew if I was wasting my time or not.
Apparently that had applied to another house but someone beat them to it so the applied their application to my property at no extra expense to them.
So yes I really like it and it is very accurate.
Yes, it is about $29 I believe. Then I charge a $40 application fee.
Thank you for the info!!!
I used to use Zillow for listings and Cozy for applications and rent collection. Here are the thoughts about applications:
1. Zillow has the applications integrated into their systems, so it is easy to click a button to send invite to apply or resend the application. With Cozy I had to paste int the URL manually.
2. It seems that Zillow allows the renter to pay once and apply to many landlords. This saved them money, but they are less committed when they send an application, compared to paying per application.
3. Cozy's credit check with a bit more detailed and easier to export / print.
I just did my first try to use Zillow Applications and Rent Collections (instead of Cozy). All went well so far, will see how rent collection goes.
I had a lot of success with it personally. I rented out 7 properties during COVID that I had as Airbnbs using the Zillow Application and process and it was relatively seamless. Biggest compalint was the UI is a choppy when going back and forth with someone who has reached out to multiple landlords. The "application" Send request seems to get buried on their side from my conversations, but overall happy.
I did get a message today though that each listing will be charged $10 a month starting next month. Also I did a combination of Avial.co and Zillow to really bump traffic on my properties.
It does not provide me an address history. Also it doesn't show me their SSN's so I can send them to collections later if needed. On top of that it does not include the required disclosures WA state requires for applicants.
Last but not least, almost every applicant you get, 10 out of 10 for me so far on Zillow has BAD credit of around 550 with a sob story. The reason these people apply via Zillow is because they apply once to get checked then use that profile over and over again with multiple landlords hoping they find one that will accept degenerates. The applicants on there don't even contact me first, they just apply. And in EVERY single case thus far they do not meet the fairly low bar of 650 credit score or income 3x the rent. It's like Kindergarten or something...
Oh, and I've selected and saved the "hide my property address on listing" option multiple times. Yet it still shows it. If they can't get that right I don't have faith in their background and credit check process. As a former programmer this is a very simple line of logic. The other stuff is way more complex but they can't even get the basics right.
Try legalnature.com, they have a really good application there.