Custom Online Rental Applications?

Question

Hello,

I really want to have my rental application to be online and customizable to my own liking with the ability to choose the credit bureau I get my credit checks from. Rentscreener seemed to be the only website that allows you to really customize an online application and select your own credit bureau. Does anyone have experience with this company or have any other suggestions?

I plan on using cozy for everything else like rent collection and more but I don't like that the cozy rental application is not customizable which is why I am looking to other sources.

Filipe Pereira · Answer

Hey, neat! Didn't even catch that you are a "local"!
Google has changed my life :) Once you get google forms down, go ahead and set it up to send the responses to a google sheet. From there you can use a google chrome add on called "Form mule" - to set up responses to tenants as to whether or not they qualify. It's the peak of efficiency from what I've found and all free! It's what we use in my management company and I can't recommend it enough.

I don't recommend advertising what your criteria is, because once people know it they can lie to you about their situation. It's how dogs show up 2 weeks after moving in even though on the application they said they had no dogs... I just leave the questions open and let them answer. I.e. "What pets do you have?" The question makes it sound like we are OK with pets - which we are, in some cases. If the question was "Do you have any pets?" well that sounds more like a qualifier and the prospective tenant might be more inclined to say no, even if they do. Catch my drift?

We use a google form to pre screen and a different one after they've seen the unit to apply. Keeps it clean and easy, and I don't have to worry about depending on Cozy. I'd rather depend on Google!

Filipe Pereira · Answer

Our entire tenant screening and application process is done online and is in the tenant's hands. We use google forms, and customize it to our needs. Check out this link to see how we set up the screening form. The full application is very similar. Once we receive the application, we send them a background / credit check invite through cozy.co. I don't believe you can select which bureau it comes from, but we haven't had issues with the one that cozy uses.

What's nice about cozy is that it also allows us to decide who has to pay for the checks. I.e. in CT we can tell tenants to pay for it, but in MA we're not allowed to collect any fees associated with the application.

Hope that helps!

Drew L. · Answer

@Filipe Pereira Yes that definitely clears things up. Thank you so much for the help! I can’t wait to get my google forms up and running!

Drew L. · Answer

@Filipe Pereira Thats awesome! I didn't realize all of the customization you can do with the google forms like form mule. I will definitely have to check that out!

About the qualification criteria, that makes more sense now. I was thinking originally that I needed to say it to protect myself from fair housing laws in case I denied a tenant but I want to make sure my tenants are truthful so I will definitely try to frame my questions a similar way to how you described it. Do you ever disclose your qualification criteria anywhere like after an applicant applies or do you just keep it to yourself through the entire application process?

From using google myself I think it is a very good option and I may just go that route as well and it is very easy for tenants!

Drew L. · Answer

@Filipe Pereira Believe it or not just yesterday I actually saw your post from a while ago and made a very similar google form as you did Haha. I thought it was a really good idea for prescreening tenants. I agree, I love cozy as well. When I made my own version of your google forms I added a few questions and some of my disclosures about the application process and my qualification criteria. I was thinking I could either create my whole application like you created on google forms or utilize the prescreening google form I have now and use cozy for the rest of the screening so I would be able to let tenants know my qualification criteria upfront and ask any custom questions that are not on the cozy rental application. What do you think of that idea?

Thank you so much for the help! I am in CT as well!

Jennifer Rysdam · Answer

I just made my application on Word and put it on my website so that they can download it. Some print, fill out, take pics, and text it to me. Others will open it in Word or Google Docs, fill it out online, and email it to me. I have always used TransUnion SmartMove for my credit/background checks. I don't like that they have several states that are excluded though. One of them is SD, which bothers me because I'm on the MN/SD border. Usually a simple Google check can find anything major that anyone has done though.

Filipe Pereira · Answer

Yes, it's great @Andrew Letendre!

When you deny a tenant, give them a reason, avoid the ones that may be subjective or has a bit more wiggle room (i.e. credit/income). I try to use the easy ones (you smoke, you have a pitbull, etc.). The important thing is that you remain consistent. Don't tell one tenant that has a pitbull no (because of the pitbull), then 2 weeks later accept a tenant with a pitbull.

We don't disclose it at any time. If tenants ask, we may go into more detail, but generally speaking if a tenant isn't prequalified (and they receive the email stating it) they just move on. I don't like to say our criteria because I like to remain flexible. For example, let's say my income requirement is 3K and credit score requirement is 600+. (These are pretty common for most C+ markets in CT, btw). If I get a tenant with a 3500/mo income and a 590 credit score - am I going to reject him/her if everything else checks out? Probably not. But what if I advertised the 600 credit score - she may have never applied in the first place! In that instance I unnecessarily cut down my tenant pool. Hope that makes sense!

Drew L. · Answer

@Jennifer Rysdam thats a great idea as well, I may do something similar and give my potential tenants an option to fill it out online as well. I agree smart move is my preferred way of screening as well. Thanks for the help!

@Allan Smith Yea, i heard buildium was another great system. I think I may be overthinking the the credit bureaus a little, I just want to make sure I get them from a bureau like transunion.

Allan Smith · Answer

Buildium for the win. Affordable, can customize your app, gives you a website for rental listings, syndicates listings. Background/credit check is $15. You can't pick the credit bureau but I would push back on that as it sounds like you might be splitting hairs a little.

Drew L. · Answer

@Chris Seveney, I was also thinking about using a pdf filler like DocuSign as well. Has it been relatively easy for your tenants to fill out the application using DocuSign?

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