Tellus App. Anyone actually using?

[Scott Klingman]

Is anyone using Tellus?  It appears to be similar to Cozy, but offers free background and credit checks (no cost to landlord or tenant), and also has a decent android application (cozy does not).  I've seen it mentioned here a few times, but haven't seen an in depth review from anyone actually using it.  I just listed my first rental property on there, and am waiting for it to push the listing out to the 16 different sites they claim to link to (zillow, hotpads, facebook, craigslist etc.)  If all goes well, I plan to utilize the tenant screening, rent collection (no fee), and other services they offer.  Sounds too good to be true, so again, looking for real feedback.  Thanks!

[Thomas Hayworth]

I’ve been using it for a while now. So far, it’s been great. Here’s my overall analysis of the app:

Positives:

Yes, it’s really free. I was skeptical at first, but there have been no fees, no monthly payments.

It does what I need it to. Rent shows up on time. I can track expenses (they have this feature where you can take pictures of receipts from your phone and categorize the expense). And they handle a lot of the legwork for listing and screening.

Their screening is solid. I was impressed with the reports I got (credit, criminal background, rental history, etc.)

Their customer service is on the ball. I get responses to my questions super fast. A friend of mine (fellow landlord) uses a different PM software and has to wait a few days sometimes before his questions are answered. He might be making the switch soon.

Negatives:

They say you can manage your account from different devices (phone, computer, tablet, etc.). I have an iPhone and thought the experience was really good. I signed into my account from my computer and…let’s just say it was different. I didn’t find it as full-featured as their app. I actually asked their support team about this and was told that web is still pretty new. So hopefully we’ll see some improvements on that end.

Overall though, I’m very happy with the mobile app. One of the coolest things (I think) is that it’s all designed around their chat. So it makes communicating with my tenants easier. Maintenance tickets, reimbursements, photos, documents…you send it all through chat. Seem kind of unique for property management, but who doesn’t want clearer communication with their tenants?

Those are my thoughts. Feel free to ask me anything else.