All Forum Posts by: Lucas Hall

Postlets and CL are my two go-to listing sites.  You can hit all the listings sites just by using these two.

TrueRent isn't really free if you want to collect rent online - which is the main point of a PM software (IMO).  

They advertise on their Features page: 

$39 one-time setup fee

$14.95/month + $0.25 each transaction

With no on-site visits required, and no need for landlords to collect applicants’ Social Security numbers, Cozy’s new background checks make it easy for landlords to find reliable tenants and protect their investment.

Introducing Cozy Background Checks

Cozy, the leading tenant screening and rent payments service for landlords nationwide, announced the availability of fully integrated background checks as part of Cozy’s tenant screening tools.

Cozy's new background checks don't require landlords to collect Social Security numbers or any other sensitive information, and they don't require any on-site visits. Cozy's background checks are fully FCRA compliant, and provided in partnership with Checkr.

Criminal, Eviction, and More

Cozy’s background checks include full searches of national and county criminal records, past evictions, sex offender lists, and terrorist watch lists. Paired with Cozy’s recently redesigned tenant credit reports, landlords will also get detailed information about outstanding debts, payment history, account history, and more. Together, Cozy’s tenant screening tools provide landlords with a complete picture of their applicants’ histories, so they can make a more informed decision.

Free for Landlords

Incomplete tenant screening can be costly: the average cost to evict a problem tenant can exceed $10,000, which could be avoided with a complete background and credit check. Best of all, these screening tools are completely free for landlords. Purchased together, Cozy credit reports and background checks cost applicants just $34.95, or $19.95 each.

A Full Suite of Tools

“The introduction of background checks represents one more step in our mission to democratize technology to make renting less painful for everyone,” said Gino Zahnd, CEO and founder of Cozy. “Paired with credit reports that don’t hurt tenants’ credit scores, a reusable online rental application, and fee-free online rent payments, we’re well on our way to making renting easier and more secure.”

Cozy tenant screening reports are integrated with Cozy’s free rental application, where landlords can get all of the information about their applicants in one place. For landlords who prefer to use their own rental application, all they need are their applicants’ names and email addresses to run a background check and credit report.

Learn More: https://cozy.co/for-landlords/tenant-screening

About Cozy

Cozy (www.cozy.co) makes renting easy for landlords, property managers, and tenants. Simple rent payments, rental applications and tenant screening make Cozy the best way for landlords and renters to deal with every part of the rental lifecycle.

Founded in 2013 and headquartered in Portland, Oregon, Cozy is used by tens of thousands of landlords who run their rental businesses in over 3,500 cities nationwide.

The main problem I have with giving out bank routing and account numbers is that a tenant  can derail an eviction action by simply depositing some money into my bank account (sometimes as little as $1). 

In most counties, once you start the formal eviction process with the courts, a landlord is not allowed to accept any money from that tenant, otherwise, it cancels the eviction, and forces the landlord to start over.

Do you really want to give that much power to a tenant - especially one who is not paying their rent? I think not. 

In order to be successful in an eviction scenario, you have to be able to block all future payments from a tenant. You can't do that if you pass out your bank information.

@Matt Holmer

 Thanks for the tip on skip tracing.  Do you perform the investigation yourself or hire a skip tracer?

@Account Closed

 I hadn't thought of using "do not forward", in addition to "address service requested". I'll give that a try too - because I don't really need to send them a letter, I just need to figure out what their forwarding address is.  I don't care if they actually get it.

Thanks!

Hey friends,

Has anyone every used the "ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED" feature with the Post Office to track down former tenants?

Does it really work? 

Do you really get a piece of paper returned to you with the recipient's forwarded address? 

If it works, it would be super helpful in finding tenants who have abandoned the lease. 

According to https://store.usps.com/pse/common/includes/tooltips/tool-tip-pse-ancillary.jsp :

"Address Service Requested - In the first year after the recipient moves, the mail is forwarded. You’ll be given their new address and charged an address correction fee. In months 13-18, the mailpiece is returned to you with the recipient’s new address, at no charge. After 18 months, the mail is returned with the reason it couldn’t be delivered, for no charge."

I've spoken with the postal workers at two post offices, and neither knew what this service was - and both said "we don't do that". So confused...

Thanks!

@Alec Bewsee Cozy does take a few business days to deposit the funds, due to the way the ACH system works in the US. It follows the standard timeframe that all ACH processors adhere too.  Here's a great explanation of the payment process: https://cozy.co/ach-explained

In full disclosure, I work at Cozy, but I also use it with all my properties. Even if I didn't work there, it would still be my tool-of-choice to collect rent.  It's easy and my tenants love it.

@Carson Sweezy

I had a group house on Capitol Hill where I lived with my tenants. There was lots of demand for that area.  

I like renting out group houses because I can get a higher rent.  For example, a 6 bedroom row house on the Hill will get $5,000 a month, if I rent to a group because they look at it as $1000 per person.  However, if I try to market it towards family, it would be too expensive. 

I always buy property based on location then square footage. The closer you are to the things that matter (transportation, shops, food), the better off you will be.

Hi @Carson Sweezy,

I was a live-in landlord or many years prior to getting married. However, all those tenants were just out of college, and trying to start their career. 

Your profile says you're from Centreville, VA. Are you trying to market to GMU students? That's where I went to school. When I went there, the furthest students would live was Fairlakes, if they were attending the main campus. Others lived in the city of Fairfax, and northern Burke, and even Oakton. I did know a few students who lived in Centreville and Manassas, but they hated the commute, and moved-out as soon as they could. They only liked it because it was cheap housing. Most students wanted to be within 3-5 miles from school, and no more than 10-15 minutes.

If you want to command a high rent, get as close to campus as you possibly can, and make sure there is enough parking for all the tenants. 

Calvin, congrats man. Which state are you looking to invest in?