Online guarantor/co-signer service?

[John Doss]

Hello BP! Currently in the process of purchasing my first house hack (a duplex) near the local university and plan to rent out by the room. I expect my main target demographic to be students/young professionals. In this situation, obviously most students wouldn't meet the income requirements to pass the screening. However, I was digging around and found this guarantor/co-signer service that a lot of the local student housing apartment complexes utilize to rent to students that would otherwise not qualify.

The company is called Leap (https://www.leapeasy.com/landl...). On their site, they assert that they will act as the applicant's co-signer/guarantor for a fee (that is paid by the applicant). Once approved, the tenant pays Leap and then Leap sends the landlord the rent check every month. They claim that if the tenant defaults on payments, they will continue to pay the rent, and will even cover a portion of the legal fees for an eviction. They also claim to provide free marketing by featuring the property on their direct-to-consumer marketing platform. 

After a quick search of the forums, I didn't really see much info on services like these. What is everyone's opinion? Too good to be true? Or is this something that could be very useful to utilize?

TLDR: The company assumes the risk of renting to tenants that would otherwise not qualify or meet basic screening standards. The expense of the service is placed on the applicant. Landlord also receives free marketing of the property on their site.

[John Doss]

It seems like a legitimate company that eliminates a lot of the hassle of requiring guarantor/co-signer and minimizes the risk for student housing. They are a nation wide company. I'm surprised there's not anything about this on BiggerPockets yet. Here is an interview with one of the company's executives. 

Interview with Leap executive