Does BP recommend A Sreening service i.e.Cozy?

[Bill Broeren]

Does BP recommend a Sreening Service?

[Joe Splitrock]

BiggerPockets has partnered with Smartmove and RentPrep to offer tenant screening. They charge $38 for credit and background check. Smartmove is a TransUniion credit report. Click through on this BP link:

https://get.biggerpockets.com/...

I was a long term Cozy customer and moved over to Apartments, due to customer migration after Cozy was acquired. I used Apartments for one screening and on the most recent vacancy, I used Zillow application and screening. I will describe my experience with both:

Apartments.com allows tenants to fill out a brief application through their website and the tenant pays for a credit report that gets shared with the owner. They use TransUnion credit reports (like Cozy previously) and it costs the applicant $29 plus tax. It is the same credit report as RentPrep. The applicant can submit their application and credit report to any property on Apartments.com for 30 days.

Zillow allows tenants to fill out an application through their website that is very similar to Apartments and the tenant pays for a credit report that gets shared with the owner. Zillow uses Experian credit reports, which I like less than TransUnion. Experian shows how many payments were on time or late for each account. TransUnion shows what months there were late payments. This is nice to see if late payments are recent or an old issue. Zillow also has a way to upload pay stubs and other documents, which is easier than asking for them separately. Zillow also allows applicants to pay once and apply for 30 days to other listings. We have decided to let people who come to us through Zillow, apply through Zillow for convenience. Zillow is also $29 plus tax for credit and background check.  

Cozy used to cost $39.99, so both Apartments and Zillow are a much better value for applicants. We have every adult occupying the property apply, which is usually at least two people so it helps the cost burden for applicants. It is also nice that they can move the application to a different property if yours doesn't work out. 

Be aware that these screening services only give you information. You need to interpret the report, call landlord references and verify employment.