Tenant screening - turbo tenant vs cozy vs smartmove

Rental Property Investor · White Plains, NY · Member since 2018 · 348 posts · 86 votes

Guys, I am trying to see which service is the best to use. We've used Smart Move and Cozy, but have not tried Turbo Tenant. I just am concerned if we have to go through an eviction, we'll not have the information from Smart Move since we cannot see the entire personal information. I like the scoring feature where it says approve or deny, as Cozy doesn't give that info. Any one try all three? Which do you guys find the most useful? ?

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Katie Stewart

Specialist · Fort Collins, CO · Member since 2018 · 557 posts · 191 votes

As @Anna Watkins mentioned in her response, make sure that you go the extra mile and do a comprehensive search of the applicant on the internet. It's amazing what you can find through a simple google search (i.e. maybe criminal charge was removed from the person's record, turns out their Facebook shows they like to party, etc.). In addition, walk the tenant to their car after the showing. The condition of their car can be very telling as to how they treat their personal property.

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Nathan GesnerBusiness Member
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Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes
7y
Contact each company and see if they'll let you try out the software for free. Many of them will let you use the software for 14 - 30 days as a test run.
The DIY Landlord Book4.7247 Reviews
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Tony Condo
Investor · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2018 · 6 posts · 0 votes
7y
Try Stessa
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Sarnen Steinbarth
Commercial Real Estate Broker · Fort Collins, CO · Member since 2015 · 308 posts · 151 votes
7y
@Account Closed suggested. We are free forever for our landlords.
Feel free to reach out directly if you have any other questions on our service.
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Jason Clough
Rental Property Investor · CA · Member since 2018 · 1 post · 1 vote
7y
Turbo Tenant uses SmartMove. As such I would recommend SmartMove over using a third party that utilizes their services. I have used SmartMove for over 60 applicants and like the product. Cozy is a great alternative but I would only use them if I was also using Cozy to collect rent from the tenant.
Other options include RentPrep - Used by TenantCloud and a good alternative. The worst option (IMO) is RentSpree the official partner of the CAA.
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Luke Hagenbach
Residential Real Estate Agent · Newport Beach, CA · Member since 2008 · 11 posts · 9 votes
7y
Originally posted by @Account Closed:
I just am concerned if we have to go through an eviction, we'll not have the information from Smart Move since we cannot see the entire personal information. I like the scoring feature where it says approve or deny, as Cozy doesn't give that info.?
I have not used Smart Move, but do use Cozy. It's convenient, but not a substitute for experienced decision making or good contracts.

As far as having the information on a tenant, you should certainly collect all contact information on a tenant as part of your lease contract after you have screened the person through one of these sites.
As far as scoring goes to make a decision, I would not use an algorithm to determine if you should rent to someone. That is something you will need to develop a feel for, or hire someone who has this skill. Whether you should rent to someone or not should be a combination of looking at the credit report (not just the score, but why they have that score, how long ago were derrogatory items, etc.), what sort of job security do they seem to have (security is great; if they seem like they'll be in a much better position next year, they'll have a higher probability of buying a home or moving to a better situation), what their cash reserves look like, whether they have been forthcoming or hidden things from you, or if they have been evicted - legally (which shows up on reports), or effectively (which is harder to determine), etc.
In short, these are great supplement tools to make screening or receiving payment more convenient, but they are not substitutes for developed intuition and property management.
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John Teachout
Rental Property Investor · Concord, GA · Member since 2015 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
7y
One thing to consider when screening tenants, just today I ran across a post on the Atlanta, GA Craigslist where someone was offering to provide (for big bucks) documents to get a tenant into a property. Some of the things they listed were: pay stubs, employment letter, bank statements, Good Grief, what next that these fraudulent means are being advertised in the open on social media. Trust not and verify, that's the motto. Google is your friend getting past the fakeness.
Here's some of the ad's text:
GET MOVED IN FAST WITH DOCUMENTS REQUIRED TO RENT
OR LEASE HOME/APARTMENT:PAY STUBS 35.00
BANK STATEMENTS 95.00 .(w/stubs)*otherwise $125-$145,,w2 $75.00 1099 $75.00 1040 TAX RETURN $125.00-$175.00 .PROOF OF EMPLOYMENT LETTER $75.00 ..DOC NOTE/WORK EXCUSE $85.00 * RENTER INS $125.00
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Anna Watkins
Investor · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2014 · 389 posts · 250 votes
7y
Yikes!! All the more reason for an active, personal tenant screening. Check their Facebook/social media presence, search the name, and verify employment through the "back door" -- don't call a number provided by the applicant. Find out about the employer yourself, call the main number and ask for the supervisor. Check out their FaceBook friends if you can. Do a lot of detective work on the front end, and save yourself a lot of hassle and money later on!
I just had an applicant who listed a previous residence by address, but no landlord or phone number. I found out online who manages that property and am following up. I told the applicant yesterday that leaving out the info wasn't a good move, and that I recognized another previous address, that happens to be owned by people I know (BP members!). A quick text, and lo and behold, the applicant was booted by his roommates for non-payment of rent about 10 months ago. I haven't heard back from him yet.
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Katie Stewart
Specialist · Fort Collins, CO · Member since 2018 · 557 posts · 191 votes
7y
As @Anna Watkins mentioned in her response, make sure that you go the extra mile and do a comprehensive search of the applicant on the internet. It's amazing what you can find through a simple google search (i.e. maybe criminal charge was removed from the person's record, turns out their Facebook shows they like to party, etc.). In addition, walk the tenant to their car after the showing. The condition of their car can be very telling as to how they treat their personal property.
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