Real Estate Broker · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2015 · 65 posts · 25 votes
Does anyone here currently use TenantCloud (formerly EVAproperty) or have in the past? I've seen them mentioned in a couple of threads, but haven't found anyone who actually uses them. They seem to offer a LOT of features for FREE, but I'm wary if nobody has any first-hand experience with them.
I also don't understand their business model. Cozy is free but makes money on the background checks. That's the one thing that TenantCloud doesn't do (yet).
Rental Property Investor · Oklahoma City, OK · Member since 2020 · 24 posts · 16 votes
6y
I just bought my first 11 unit and needed some software so I evaluated most of the free/cheaper options and decided on TenantCloud. A lot of these software packages (cozy, avail, innago, TC, etc.) seem very good and each seems to have slightly different pros and cons so I bet you could be happy with any of them. My priorities were online rent collection, online leases, tenant screening, maintenance requests, website listings and listing syndication. It seems like most of these had those features with slightly different quirks so why did I finally decide on TenantCloud? For me, it was something I haven’t heard mentioned anywhere on BP - the ability to have multiple Team members which TC offers. Here’s why.
When I bought the 11 unit, it needed some work and the broker who sold it to me recommended a property manager that also did maintenance and light rehab work at a reasonable cost. I interviewed him, really liked him, checked references and was ready to go with him, but he was old school, did paper leases, collected rent in person, etc. I want to be able to scale my properties and I’m a big believer in technology and processes so I needed property management software for all the things I mentioned above. I considered hiring a traditional property manager that does everything using their software and processes and just sends me a check each month, but I felt I needed to be more involved to learn and grow as a real estate investor. To me, I needed a hybrid between complete self management and traditional hands off hiring of a property management company. I want to be involved in the property management process to learn the business but I also wanted to hire a property manager to deal directly with tenants and be there when I can’t.
When I evaluated all of the software above and even the more expensive ones like Appfolio and Buildium they seemed to either be designed for independent owner landlords or property management companies, but not the hybrid I wanted. There didn’t seem to be a way that I could setup and control all the online payments, leases, tenant screening, etc. (since the PM I wanted to hire didn’t have that stuff) but then have my PM have a separate login and be the interface with the tenants. I wanted maintenance requests to go directly to him, but I also wanted to receive them to keep an eye on the process and to make sure everything was getting handled on a timely basis since that seems to be the biggest complaint when I talk to tenants. Plus I wanted to be there to handle requests when my PM took a vacation or got sick since he’s a one man operation. Maybe I’m wrong (and I want BP members to tell me if I am!) but none of the other software apps would allow me to do this hybrid system except TenantCloud.
Basically, TC allows me to add Team members that have their own rights. I have a login, my wife has a login and my PM has a login. I setup leases, online payments etc. but all communication with the tenants comes from my PM and not me. If I send an announcement, it can come from him or me. Maintenance requests go to him, but I see them as well and could assign them to outside vendors if necessary. If he completes a repair, he can add an expense and upload a receipt. But if I buy something for the apartment, I can add it in as well. From my basic research, TenantCloud was the only inexpensive software that would allow that. Please let me know if I’m wrong and others allow this as well.
Sorry for the long post, but needed to get that out there!
Investor · Palm Bay, FL · Member since 2014 · 50 posts · 13 votes
10y
I just started trying them out. I set up my property and the tenants. But that's about it. I had some issues, contacted their support team and they were lightning fast and helpful at getting back to me. But I have not been able to try out most of the features they offer yet. Seems pretty good so far though.
Real Estate Broker · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2015 · 65 posts · 25 votes
10y
Cool, thanks. I signed up too and started poking round. I read elsewhere that they make money by charging vendors. We, the landlords are the asset, and TenantCloud is supposedly a way for vendors to offer their services to us. Not sure if they have enough vendors signed up to make that work. Maybe they'll start offering some for-fee features, like background checks a-la cozy. Anyway, looks pretty slick so far, at least for a small investor who manages their own properties.
Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2015 · 106 posts · 29 votes
10y
Just posting an update here, they just announced on Facebook on Tuesday that they are now offering background checks! They don't really have specifics on their website yet so I don't know what it will cost, who pays and how just yet, but it's a good sign!
Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2016 · 37 posts · 18 votes
10y
Updates? Thoughts? reviews? On the TenantCloud platform would be much appreciated.
Seems to have more features then cozy. (but that means more room to make mistakes)
Seems TenantCloud has an android and iphone app now too.
Love the idea online rent payment and having an automated method to keep track of whats due, what needs paid and easy record of when rent was received by tenants throughout the year. Working in some automation via IFTTT or Zapier would be even better!
I wonder, however, how TenantCloud (or Cozy for that matter) handle partial Rent payments.
Real Estate Investor · Lincoln, NE · Member since 2013 · 584 posts · 353 votes
10y
I signed up to try it out. Data entry was difficult and lengthy (14 units). The accounting function sucks. It might be "free" but it's not a good product.
Hey Igor — Katie from Cozy here! Right now, tenants can send a payment in any amount they'd like — we don't have restrictions against partial payments.
Investor · Eugene, OR · Member since 2016 · 34 posts · 40 votes
10y
I have over 20 single family rentals and love TenantCloud. @Wade don't know what you mean about accounting as it is my favorite part (I do want more reports). They just updated late fees, so I can customize to each lease. First two months I made a lot on late fees and now no one pays late:)
Wholesaler · Stone Mountain, GA · Member since 2016 · 15 posts · 6 votes
10y
I use tenantcloud and haven't had any issues. I have set up a dwolla account for ACH payments at no cost. Also, I love the marketing feature for you to market your properties. Hope this help.
Vancouver, WA · Member since 2016 · 230 posts · 161 votes
10y
Their interface looks pretty modern, but I'm reluctant to try anything new because I've been very happy with the software I use, Rentec Direct. I think at this time I'll stick with a more mature platform, at least until these newer platforms like tenantcloud and others have time to work through their growing pains. My accounting, tax, tenant, and property data is just too important.
I like other people to work out the bugs in applications before I try them. ;)
I use tenantcloud and haven't had any issues. I have set up a dwolla account for ACH payments at no cost. Also, I love the marketing feature for you to market your properties. Hope this help.
@DemiR
does the tenant pay anything to use the ACH payments?
Investor · Eugene, OR · Member since 2016 · 34 posts · 40 votes
10y
@Addy Naik Payments with Dwolla are free for tenants to pay and free for landlords to receive. Paypall does charge a fee, but my TenantCloud account is free. All of my tenants pay with Dwolla, so the whole thing is free. Their latest update with the calendar and maintenance requests is amazing. Hope that helps.
Investor · Eugene, OR · Member since 2016 · 34 posts · 40 votes
10y
@Addy Naik it is about 3 days (they do have a same day, but it costs).
@Jeff Gates very interesting. I have been using Dwolla for months and all has worked great. In fact now I pay my service people with it too. Will look into this and hope they have fixed it.
Dwolla is a peer to peer system that may have security risks. I did read this:
Dwolla fined $100,000 for misrepresenting its data-security practices
I've been using Dwolla to collection rent payments on 21 units for about 4 years, and I have never - not once had an issue with security, payments being collected on time. And if that is something that you are worried about, you can always setup automatic withdraws so that all payments collected immediately get transferred to your bank of choice. I can't speak highly enough about dwolla! They used to charge 25 cents per transaction back in the day, and now it's free.
This is one of the things that makes tenantCloud attractive to me - unlike many of the other PM platforms out there - they have dwolla payments integrated into their product.
I woud be weary about the claims of any of the U.S. based providers to perform in Canada if they do not have an actual presence in the country. Tenant screening is a little different here (our privacy laws are stricter) as are tenancy laws. Additionally, unless they have relationships with Cirrus or Canadian banks and are processing payments/collections in country, you are going to incur higher costs.
Rental Property Investor · Plano, TX · Member since 2015 · 59 posts · 41 votes
9y
@Igor L. Did you compare cozy and tenant cloud? what is your feeling? I currently use cozy but getting annoyed that there aren't any accounting functions or ios native app