Rentprep, Cozy, or....?

Question

Hello fellow landlords, I'm looking for comparisons on the multitude of online services that offer background and credit checks. What do you use and why? Thanks guys!

Mike

Daniel Dawson · Answer

I actually just had a poor experience with rentprep. They used to do a pretty thorough screening. Not the case at all anymore.  I most definately would recommend something else. We are going to have to run ours again now out of our own pocket. Possibly Avail as well. Im following along with this one.

Nate Smoyer · Answer

Hey @Michael King,

These are both good solutions, but if I may, I recommend taking a look at Avail. Including the credit, background, and eviction checks, Avail will ask the tenants to provide references and then work to get confirmation from those previous landlords the tenant is who they say they are. Avail is listed on the Landlord Resources page - https://www.biggerpockets.com/tools/landlord-resources

Hope thats helpful. Cheers!

**Disclosure, I work for Avail, but also use the product myself.

Michael King · Answer

Nicholas, thank you very much! For now my business is in its infancy, so I think I'll head towards Cozy.

I'm intrigued by using the notion of a local company for screening, so I think I'll have a look up that avenue as well, thanks for the tip!

Nicholas Zaharevich · Answer

@Michael King, We've used Cozy in the past. You will get criminal history, credit reports, eviction history, and SSN number verification.  However, you will still need to verify income/employment, call references, and do a little analysis when you have all of the data.

We used to use a local company that would make all of the calls for us.  That was nice because they would provide you with the feedback and even give a recommendation based on some guidelines you set.

Now, we use Rentec. The background checks are much like Cozy.  We use it because of the built in accounting, leasing, and marketing functions.  Kind of an all in one...and comes at a cost, unlike Cozy, which I believe is still free.

Rentprep, Cozy, or....?

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