Oklahoma City, OK · Member since 2017 · 32 posts · 12 votes
Hey everyone! I know that there are many posts out there about different forms of rent collections but I wanted to go ahead and see what everyone is using today! Based on many of the forum posts I have read through it seems like a favorite is: Cozy. Can y'all tell me a bit more about it and what you like about it...
If you are using something different than Cozy what are you using? Have you used Cozy and switched to something else?
Thanks!! Excited to get my tenants squared away on an easy to use service that can make collecting rent hassle (and hopefully cost) free!
I've been using Cozy for about a 1 1/2 years. It's user friendly and free for landlords. However, payments using the free service takes several days to hit your account. I tried using the Express pay but when my client had insufficient funds it rejected the payment (and rightly so) but still charged me the express pay fee. Once your tenant has an insufficient funds transaction Express Pay will not automatically work the following month. There has to be a successful transaction before Express Pay starts working again. So if you're not in a hurry to get your funds, then Cozy will be just fine.
I used Cozy for rent collection for 1 year. I love the platform, love their free services and that they are very much geared to the small to mid-sized landlord. It seems they are continuously checking in on the forums to gauge what people are requesting and then deploying it when possible.
The rent collection is great because it is automated on the tenants end- so easy for them. You are notified when the rent is paid and when it will arrive in your account. The tenant can pay via credit card and the service fee will likely still be under the late fee. They can have their payments reported to a credit bureau, though it is unclear what affect this would have on building credit. All around great service.
With that said- I now collect via Zelle. Instant payment into my account. My last collection from Cozy was paid on June 30th and I received it today, the 9th of July. I knew this going in... but now with Zelle I go to bed on the 1st of the month with all my rents instantly deposited. Can’t beat that.
@Patrick M. Thanks for the reply and the information! So the only drawback of Cozy from your experience is the delay in the funds being deposited into your account? From what I understand Zelle is similar to Venmo, a peer to peer payment system. How do your tenants know where to send the funds via Zelle? Are you able to send them a direct link or do they search a username/phone number etc?
I've been using Cozy for about a 1 1/2 years. It's user friendly and free for landlords. However, payments using the free service takes several days to hit your account. I tried using the Express pay but when my client had insufficient funds it rejected the payment (and rightly so) but still charged me the express pay fee. Once your tenant has an insufficient funds transaction Express Pay will not automatically work the following month. There has to be a successful transaction before Express Pay starts working again. So if you're not in a hurry to get your funds, then Cozy will be just fine.
I did similar research earlier this year. I must have looked at ~15+ different landlord tools but ultimately settled on Cozy. It has been great, I have only used it for rent collection and I tested the rent estimate reports, and I plan to use for screening when the time comes. I have also told my tenants to submit maintenance requests through Cozy but we haven't had any yet.
All the features and the fact that it's free far outweighs the delays in funds, I figure I'll have funds by the 5th and budget accordingly. Easy.
It's not always the same, it varies based on weekends and banking holidays. Cozy emails you when the payment has started and when it's depositing, both emails also provide "Estimated deposit date."
@Joe Miller sorry for the delay. You pick an email or phone number that identifies you. You subscribe via your bank and the tenant will pay from their bank. I found that my tenants were using a Zelle friendly bank and my 2 newest tenants used My bank and they were very excited to use zelle.
I use Cozy’s background check and credit report as well and I love it.
I collect 9 rents and when there was a choice between having the rents sprinkled over a 6+ day period or all in instantly on the 1st, I could not pass that up