Investor · Temple, TX · Member since 2015 · 111 posts · 80 votes
Hi, everyone! What are your thoughts on Cozy or TurboTenant?. I will own five units from two properties by mid-August. I want to manage them online as much as possible. Both of these free management tools look promising, and I don't need something like Buildium or Appfolio yet.
I've done some reading in the forums on both Cozy and TurboTenant, and there doesn't seem to be just one better choice.
What are your thoughts? Do you think one has an advantage over the other?
Rental Property Investor · Augusta, GA · Member since 2014 · 8 posts · 10 votes
10y
I'm two months into Cozy. I have really enjoyed the ease of it. I have had a couple of hiccups that Cozy immediately handled with quick respond on the site. It has simplified my life!
Vancouver, WA · Member since 2016 · 230 posts · 161 votes
10y
Neither of these solutions actually includes software to manage properties and track income/expenses properly. Turbotenant, last I checked was just doing the same thing as smartmove, and Cozy does screening and ACH, but no software. I imagine it will be years or longer before either of them has anything that competes with the current software on the market.
If you are looking to manage these properties online, look at one of the full solutions. I've been using Rentec Direct and they give me the tools to do tenant screening and ACH along with portals for my tenants and everything. For 5 units you would pay next to nothing, maybe nothing on their platform. I'd suggest looking at it instead of one of these partial solutions.
http://www.rentecdirect.com if you are interested. I get nothing for recommending em, I like them that much. =)
Rental Property Investor · Augusta, GA · Member since 2014 · 8 posts · 10 votes
10y
I'm two months into Cozy. I have really enjoyed the ease of it. I have had a couple of hiccups that Cozy immediately handled with quick respond on the site. It has simplified my life!
Investor · Temple, TX · Member since 2015 · 111 posts · 80 votes
10y
@Tony Gunter, sounds like we're in the same boat. Thanks for the quick look at the difference!
@Jason Hartley, thank you for the detailed reply. I haven't heard of Rentec Direct, but I will be looking that up tonight. Unsolicited recommendations certainly carry a lot of weight, so thanks for your opinion!
@Andrew Daniel, it's good to know that Cozy has great customer service. Thanks for your input!
Property Manager · Miami, FL · Member since 2016 · 62 posts · 15 votes
10y
Check out rentigo - they are new in the rent collection scene so are really going out of their way to stand out with great customer service and low processing fees.
Developer · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2015 · 2k+ posts · 904 votes
10y
Tons of ways to collect ACH payments including your bank.
I have some tenants who still prefer a physical cheque so for them I setup a sub account and they deposit at a local branch, saving me the time and effort.
Property Manager · Miami, FL · Member since 2016 · 62 posts · 15 votes
10y
@Account Closed I heard about rentigo directly from their sales person at a HOA meetup in Miami - didn't realize they don't have contact info on the site. Very strange (I have Katya's direct number and talk to their customer support guy via email so I don't have that issue). For the fee, I opted to eat the fee but I know it can be transfered to the tenant in their system (really easy). To be honest, I have mixed feelings about that since the online payment is really a convenience for my tenants so me taking the fee isn't 100% something I'm comfortable with, but because the fee is the same as my bank charges basically I decided to take the hit. Are there any landlords out there that ask the tenants to take the fee? Interested to hear how that works out...
Property Manager · Miami, FL · Member since 2016 · 62 posts · 15 votes
10y
@Account Closed i think it depends where. My sister in law has a few apartments up in tallahassee where there is a huge student population so for her most of the payments are online (parents paying for their kids). I personally prefer online because it's quicker but that's just me. I guess i'll continue taking the fee on myself though ;)
@Percy N. really? I hate taking a physical cheque! Tha'ts why i looked for online solutions in the first place!!
Me too, but the customer (in this case the tenant) is always (OK mostly) right, so it is an easy solution. Plus, no long delays in the ACH transfer and there is no question as to when the check was "post marked" for late fees.
When they deposit the check into the provided bank account, everything is still electronic for me as I do not have to deal with the paper check.
Investor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2016 · 35 posts · 20 votes
10y
I've been using Cozy for 3-4 months now and it's been great so far. I can't speak to the quality of their tenant screening service but their customer service is definitely top notch. Initially I had a slew of questions about how their transaction ledger worked and their responses were always prompt and they were open to any suggestions I had.
Investor · Temple, TX · Member since 2015 · 111 posts · 80 votes
10y
Well, since I started this thread, I guess I should update it... I've been using Cozy for rent collection for two months now, and it's been great.
I chose Cozy over TurboTenant only because Cozy is already set up to accept online payments. That was my most immediate need.
I inherited five tenants and all but one have switched to paying with Cozy. It will be a requirement for new tenants to pay rent online going forward.
There is no fee for tenant or landlord with Cozy when using an AFT. The tenant can choose to pay the extra for debit or credit. Setup is super easy and the user interface is very smooth to navigate.
I haven't had an opportunity to use Cozy for listing yet. That will happen within the next month or two. Will update this thread when I do.
Thank you, everyone, for your input so far! It's been very helpful.
Investor · richmond, VA · Member since 2011 · 29 posts · 16 votes
9y
I just had a bad experience with Cozy, screening side not payments, so I'm here to find a better service. I can't speak to their collections, but in my opinion their handling of the screening process is scuzzy and misleading, and reflects poorly on me as a landlord.
Rental Property Investor · Washington, DC · Member since 2015 · 278 posts · 156 votes
9y
I've been using Cozy for say 10 months and I've had an issue. In March I went to inspect my Florida property and took all my tenant's meyer lemons and said I'd credit them. So I put a credit on their account, but the next month I got the full rent and a $30 or $40 credit was just sitting there. I contacted Cozy and they said it was up to the tenant to claim the credit, something the tenant (for whatever reason) was not claiming. Then I increased the rent a few months later, and just to make sure I asked the tenant to make sure that they had the same amount on their side. I can't remember if the increase was smooth or not but the credit amount changed. In the end I put an extra charge on just to get rid of the credit and now it is fine.
My tenants like Cozy over my mother/property manager coming over to pick up the rent.
Investor · Temple, TX · Member since 2015 · 111 posts · 80 votes
9y
Yes, @Charles Frankenhoff, I'm wondering the same thing as @Casanova Brooks. I've used Cozy for several months now to collect rent, and it's pretty good. Just about to use it for listing and screening for the first time.
Professional · San Francisco, CA · Member since 2016 · 124 posts · 31 votes
9y
I was using cozy more than 6 months. Great service, without any doubts, maybe it will be new Zillow in future, but actually it gives you an opportunity to do whatever you want online and control process as much as it possible! What about TurboTenant? Choosing between these two ones, without any doubts I will choose Cozy for multiple reasons (from traffic to design and optimization). There is also one interesting project called Rentberry. Tenants can make bids there and it's innovative somehow. I'm really getting deep into this service because it provides simply totally the same + an opportunity to earn more in case your property is qualified and nice.
Fort Collins, CO · Member since 2017 · 99 posts · 86 votes
9y
@Account Closed Good question! Essentially, the goal was to ensure that the software was completely free for landlords, not just for some features, but every feature. Who should pay the processing fee is something that was discussed at length, as it could fall on either party. The conclusion of the team here was to continue our focus on providing a 100% free service for landlords.
As a tenant myself, I'm more than happy to pay a small fee for the convenience of paying my landlord on time. I get to hop online, pay my rent, and go about my day. Let me know if you have any other questions! :) I'm happy to answer them.