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.

[Scott Klingman]

@Thomas Hayworth thanks for the review!  Since my original post, I have used the support chat feature several times, and am impressed with the ease of use and quick response times.  I've got leads coming in for my listing now, and hope to evaluate the screening capabilities very soon.

[Nathan Lombard]

I use it and think it's good. I really wanted an app that could handle detailed expense tracking for multiple properties, and this fits the bill. The dashboard is handy for getting an overall view of each property. Haven't tried it on web like Thomas, but I'm always on my phone, so that's not much of an issue for me. 

[Markos Gerges]

Now you got me curious on making the switch just because of the free background and credit checks, I hate asking tenants to pay a fee.

[Greg Soon]

I just installed it and started using it. Unfortunately it could not recognize any of my house's address. Is this only for CA?

[Jonathan W.]

@Scott Klingman they are newer and we tried them to start but they came up short in the service department. It took time and despite all the amazing features that tell us seems to offer, we went with the more established cozy

Not exactly sure why but that’s what the team decided. I believe it was the slower service

[Scott Klingman]

@Greg Soon For non California addresses, you have to message support, and ask them to add the address.  At that point they ask for proof of ownership, such as a copy of the deed. Fairly quick process, but not quite seamless.

Quick update on the screening capabilities.  So Tellus does screening through another service called Naborly, which itself offers this service for free (not just through Tellus).  After potential tenants fill out an application through a provided link, the application and credit/background report is uploaded to your Tellus account.  I was impressed with the quality of the report, and the standard application questions. After looking at Naborly's features though, it seems using Naborly itself (not through Tellus), probably provides a better overall experience.  However, for a hands off and integrated approach, processing through Tellus works fine.

[Scott Klingman]

Can anyone comment on how long ACH transfers actually take? (from tenant account to landlord account).  They say "up to 4 business days" but I'm curious what others are actually experiencing.

[Greg Soon]

Originally posted by @Scott Klingman:

@Greg Soon For non California addresses, you have to message support, and ask them to add the address.  At that point they ask for proof of ownership, such as a copy of the deed. Fairly quick process, but not quite seamless.

Quick update on the screening capabilities.  So Tellus does screening through another service called Naborly, which itself offers this service for free (not just through Tellus).  After potential tenants fill out an application through a provided link, the application and credit/background report is uploaded to your Tellus account.  I was impressed with the quality of the report, and the standard application questions. After looking at Naborly's features though, it seems using Naborly itself (not through Tellus), probably provides a better overall experience.  However, for a hands off and integrated approach, processing through Tellus works fine.

 Thanks Scott. Yes I have to request it one by one and they added them without asking for the proof of ownership.

I have not tried their payment system yet, because it takes time to register the bank for the applicants, and receiving payment. But once an application is approved I intend to use the payment system.

[Christine Johnson-Sundby]

Thank you all for commenting on this thread.  I currently use cozy but tellus seems to have many more features. I'm going to use it for one of my upcoming vacancies!  I will report back on my experience.

[Brielle Williams]

For those who have used the app, what info did you have to provide the app? When I signed up, I typed in my rental address, it populated, and I selected it. I then uploaded my lease agreement with my tenants. Afterwards, when my tenants tried to sign into the app the app’s system was experiencing problems with their verification codes. So, the codes that my tenants were given kept giving them an expired error message. I messaged support and they resolved the issue in a day or two.

Next my tenant tried to submit rent payment but was told he would have to verify his bank info. They do that by depositing two small amounts into your account and then you typing those amounts into the app. I also had to do this with my account. So, we both completed this step and my tenant submitted payment and the app alerted me that it was and is being processed.

Now I get an alert from support telling me in order to receive payment, both my tenants and I will have to submit state issued identification and I have to submit proof of address for rental.

Is this the norm? This seems like a lot of info to have to provide to an app? And why are we being asked for such, in incremental steps? I feel like, if these are the requirements everything should have been asked for upfront. I dislike having to go back and forth with my tenant having to ask for more and more. It looks and feels more professional when setting the correct expectations upfront.

If anyone has any experience, I would love to know if you had to submit all of this info in order to receive your payment and also if you were made aware at the start of the process. I greatly appreciate any insight any of you could provide. Thanks.

[Thomas Hayworth]

Hi @Brielle Williams - I had to provide all that info too. Bank accounts make sense if you're collecting rent, but I wasn't expecting to submit ID and proof of address. I asked their support about it and was told it was to help prevent fraud. I complained about it being so cumbersome, and they told me they were working on putting in a new verification system. When I added my second property, it was a lot faster.

[Nicholas Nicastro]

 Thank you all! @Scott Klingman How do you fully implemented the software? I am curious if it could handle 27 units that I own and manage professionally

[Teresa Martinez]

I want to caution you against using Tellus Naborly. I used the Tellus Naborly tenant screening. Naborly missed 3 DC evictions in 2008, 2014, and 2019 and reported "No Records Found" under their "National Eviction and Rental Property Search." I went to the free DC Court search and typed in the tenant's name and the 3 eviction cases and documents filed popped instantly to my horror. I trusted Naborly to do an actual tenant search. Their services are negligent.

I sent a copy of the Court's eviction cases against the tenant to Naborly that they missed. I communicated with "Emily" who identified herself as a "Naborly Customer Support Manager" and wrote:

"This Applicant perhaps had three previous evictions on a database that Naborly does not have access to. At this time there is no extensive US or Canada wide database exclusively for evictions, and evictions do not appear in the criminal background check we conduct on tenants."

How in the world is Naborly checking for evictions? Short anwer, Naborly does not check for evictions on the free local websites of courts that carry out evictions. So they do not have a trustworthy tenant screening service.

Note that Emily said she could not discuss details of the Tenant Report since Tellus was the customer and not I, since this was sent to them through a Tellus account. However, when Naborly wanted to sell their product Naborly Shield, they discussed the Tenant report in full detail with me. Naborly obviously makes up policy on the fly to serve their purpose.

Any suggestions on what I can do with this negligent Tenant Search that I relied on and is costing me money now to evict a person I would never have accepted if I knew they were a habitual rental free loader who had been evicted 3 times?

[Gene Hacker]

The idea that their free screening missed multiple evictions is troubling.  I am considering using this service and treating the free screening as a prequalification check, and then use a more reputable screening process. 

Has anyone else had issues with the screening missing things?

[Chris C.]

i've started using it and liked it so far

[Greg Soon]

I tried to use it but there are a few issues bothers me:

1. My applicants submitted background check request through tellus, but the reports did not come to the app until after I asked one by one. I still have people applied two weeks ago and their report is not in. When I used a few months ago I did not encounter this issue.

2. the desktop version can no longer be logged in. I was told they are working on it.

The app seems comprehensive but it is just not fully function. I would rather them charge for screening to get some money to hire some programmers to make it fully function

[Jason Nelson]

@Scott Klingman I’m a current Tellus ACH user with several of my rentals. The initial payment took 5-7 days only I believe because the tenant paid with a debit card. Now they have their checking info linked, they pay and the next day the payment is in my account. I have been very pleased thus far, been using it for about 8 months. I like the reminder feature that rent is due so often the tenant pays before the due date.

I will be using the listing and screening features in the coming weeks, so we shall she how that process goes.

[Bellman Tumasang]

Hi guys I’ve read good things about the tellus app I just have questions for the people who use it and know about it? 

Can each property have its own bank account such as a bank account for Property 1 LLC and another for Property 2 LLC?

Can tenants, landlords and property managers use the app at the same time? 

Is it true that Landlords can look at communications between tenants and property managers?

Can rent be paid to the property LLC instead of straight to the property managers bank account then you collect the proceeds and pay the property manager their cut?

I’ve done research and it turns out that TellUs has an app for both android and iPhone for rental property management but is it also possible to do this online via their website like a desktop version? If I had a big property company with many properties and tenants instead of using an app I’ll rather use a website?

Thanks for the answers could you please explain any other features please ❤️

[Paul K.]

BLUF

I have very limited experience but have been using Tellus for two months now as owner/landlord and wanted to share my experience. Tellus is a solid no-fee platform. Third party screening through Naborly is no longer free (as of about a month ago?) and is $25. Stellar support team and nice user interface. Lacking in some very basic functionality but with minor improvements, this would be a really great platform.

Screening

Screening for Tellus is provided by Naborly and is no longer free as of about a month ago - there is a $25 fee now. I’m new to the game so when I went through a mock application, I was surprised to see that providing your SSN is optional. I’ve also found that you can skip multiple sections of the screening. If applicants don’t provide their SSN, I’m not sure how Naborly pulls credit/criminal history. One tenant provided employment details but the report came back with “unable to verify employment.” I ended up contacting the company and verifying employment myself. The report takes a few days to process and you can view the report directly in Tellus.

Payment

I’m not sure what third party Tellus partners with for payments but the initial payment from each tenant took over two weeks. Follow-on payments were quicker (5-7 business days). The payment process itself is very easy to use for both landlords and tenants. I set the rent amount in the app’s lease details and that is charged automatically every month. I also manually initiate utility fees every month. Tenants can send payment requests to the landlord/property manager for things like repairs etc. This is more of a user interface issue, but my biggest gripe so far is that when I initiate a payment request, if the payment date is more than 3-4 days out, the charge will not show up anywhere for either the landlord or tenant. I recently charged a tenant for utilities but set the due date for two weeks out. After submitting the payment request, I couldn’t find documentation of it anywhere. Thinking it was an error, I submitted another payment request. When the second charge didn’t show up either, I contacted Tellus support, who clarified the 3-4 day lead time. They removed the duplicate charge and when they changed the due date to the next day, it appeared in my rent history. 

Support

I have been very impressed with Tellus support. You can chat with them directly through the app. The team is responsive and will usually get back to you within a few hours. Even though the issues I’ve had were very simple ones that Tellus should allow landlords to fix themselves, the support team resolved them every time. Friendly, professional, and responsive.

User Interface

Overall, I really like the interface of the app and if there were a few minor improvements, I would be perfectly happy. From a landlord perspective, there is pretty limited functionality. Like I mentioned above in the payments section, I lack the ability to edit a lot of things like payment amounts or dates once submitted. I have to rely on support to change even minor details. One tenant moved in mid-month and my policy is to charge a full month rent at move-in and then apply any prorations to the following month’s rent. Tellus automatically prorated when the tenant moved in and did not provide the ability to edit the amount. As a workaround, I had to manually initiate a second payment request for the remaining amount. Not a huge deal at the end of the day, but it’s an extra step or two and raises additional questions from tenants. 

Conclusion

There are a few basic features that I would like to see added to provide landlords more flexibility. Free tenant screening is no longer offered so that may turn away potential users but the support team is great, the app itself is very easy to use and navigate, and there are a lots of additional features. Whenever I bring up recommendations or features I’d like to see, support seems receptive and offers to pass it to the development team. If just starting out like me or looking to switch to a no-fee property management platform, I recommend trying out Tellus. 

-PK

[Laine Furukawa]

@Paul K. Thanks for this. I just recently found out that the screening wasn’t free anymore and saw that they still were claiming “free tenant screening” in the App Store. I find it a bit unprofessional not to let your users know ahead of time of such changes as well as continuing to falsely claim “free”.

Did you receive any email or announcement?

The change isn’t a deal-breaker for me as most platforms charge for background checks. Their support is pretty on it and probably the main reason I’m willing to continue using the app. The app itself can be buggy at times and the interface does have a learning curve with so many options especially for new users.

Overall, the app itself is free (as of now) and hopefully they will announce ahead of time if that ever changes, but taking that into account as well as all the features it provides and the responsive support — Tellus is a good option if looking to streamline how you communicate with tenants and manage your properties 🤙🏽

[Ken Weiner]

I started using Tellus last summer and thought it was great since it posted my listing to all the popular rental websites, the screening process via Naborly was free, and their support was very quick - they often responded within minutes to a few hours. I received monthly payments from tenants with no problems.  I've recently started using Tellus again to fill a new vacancy and it feels like things have gone downhill.  Their platform is no longer posting to Craigslist, Zillow (unless you pay a fee), and Apartments.com.  I am not getting reliable notifications when leads come in.  The screening process now costs $25 because their partner Naborly started charging for their service.  And Tellus support is taking much longer to respond and sometimes forgetting to respond without a reminder.  Also, I have to nudge their support to take certain actions which should be automated.  For example: checking Naborly to see if any applications have come in, re-posting my listing if I make any edits.  I hope things get better as it has the potential to be such a great platform.

[Gary Abner]

I'm looking for options and considering tellus.

Any updates on user experiences?

[Scott Klingman]

Original Poster here.  I used Tellus for about a year, with my first and second properties.  Tenant screening was free for all parties, payments posted next day, and the app worked pretty well.  I have since added properties 3 and 4, and had to fill multiple vacancies.  Tellus just doesn't cut it anymore.  The "simplicity" of the app results in having to contact support multiple times throughout the process,  from posting the listing, to lease establishment.  If you only have one property and don't mind managing everything from your phone, it's probably an ok option.

Personally, I have completely phased out of Tellus, as I think there are better options out there, especially if you can pay a few bucks a month. I now use a combination of TurboTenant (listing, pre-screening, applications, screening), and Avail (digital leasing, payments, maintenance requests).