Do you guys use BP Smart Move for tenant screening?
Most Popular Reply
Joshua Dorkin
I recently had a vacancy and decided to give Smartmove a try. Overall I was very displeased with the service. My complaints are the following:
1: Does not let you run your own credit according to terms of service. In order to make sure the system worked, I wanted to test run it on myself so I set up a landlord and renter account. I did get my credit report and it had a very user friendly look especially for new landlords that don't have as much experience looking at them. However, today when I tried to log on (so about 1 week has passed) it would only let me into the rental account. I got a call back from the customer service people who told me that I violated the terms of service by running my own credit and that I was now permanently locked out of the landlord account. The only way to remedy this would be to sign up using a new email and not do it in the future. Since I read every service agreement I click on when I sign up for an update or new service *NOT*, obviously I did not know this was a condition of using Smartmove. Might want to advertise that a little better.
2: Incomplete credit: Since I ran my credit "illegally" I did get a report and it was complete except for one major thing, my loan on the property I own! I was informed this was because I am in Texas and Trans Union is not the most used agency here. I realize that any individual service I use would have this problem but it is concerning since being in Texas, I would want the Texas transactions to be reported. I emailed them to see if their service offered any remedy to this and promptly got an email back that said "No we don't off that service."
3: Nobody completed it. This is not the fault of Smartmove but the whole idea puts the power in the hands of the applicants. I didn't charge an application fee but instead had the applicant pay for the service. They received a copy of their report which I thought was a good selling point as well as it being a soft inquiry but of the 15 emails I sent to check credit I got 3 back. And only after calling repeatedly to urge them to do it. And even if I collected the money upfront, they would still have to go online to authorize the transaction when in reality, by signing my application, they have already given me permission. So in that scenario yes, I would get to keep their money but, I don't think that is honest or the right way to do business. Maybe if this was a single family home and people were more motivated I would get a better response but if they took the time to fill out the application and return it, you'd think they would have the time to go online. I feel like I am giving up some of the control in the application process and any landlord does not like giving up control.
4. The criminal report was suspect because I know for a fact, one application had a minor history but the report came back clean. Also very disturbing. Granted it would not have been disqualifying in any way (was not violent or a felony) but still it should have come up.
As pros for the site I will say that it is very user friendly and their support team was very prompt but overall I was not impressed. Luckily I chose one of the applicants yesterday and they are moving in at the end of the month. However I will not sign up again for a new account and look for a new way to get credit reports next time I have a vacancy.
Josh, I realize BP endorses this site and I hope this post is seen as constructive criticism and not unfounded bashing. Please contact me if you would like to discuss it more. Thanks
Peter Moser
37 Replies
- Specialist · MA · Member since 2009 · 858 posts · 306 votes15y
I have not used it, but will look into it next time I need something. I use renting authority because they pull a full credit report for about $25.00. They will also call on employment, but I stopped using that feature as it was inaccurate. I just ask for a paystub now, and call the employer myself with a release.
- Landlord · Seattle, WA · Member since 2010 · 3k+ posts · 1k+ votes15y
I plan on using it when screening for my next tenant.
I thought I'd add a link to the service for those interested:
BiggerPockets SmartmoveJosh,
I did have one problem with it. A tenant apparently says he never received the email to sign up so I can get his credit/background check. Do you happen to know how I can resend the request over to him without having to pay another $25 fee?
I used BP Smartmove for one of my tenants last year, and I think it went great.
Some of the benefits of BP Smartmove over another service I use is that
1) It very simple to use. You just enter property address, rent amount, lease term, and the tenant's email address and the credit screening email is sent to the tenant. The tenant fills out the email and once is complete you receive the report.
2) The tenant feels like this is more private compared to other screening companies.
3) The final report gives you a credit recommendation with easy to read credit and criminal reports.One of the benefits of the other service I use:
1) The reports are more detailed. I can add another credit bureau report if I wanted to.
2) You can use this service if the tenant doesn't have an email address. Smartmove requires a tenant to have an email address, which can be an issue for some of the lower income tenants.
3) I feel like more in charge of the screening process.
4) I also have the option of running local/county criminal check.Overall, I enjoyed using Smartmove, but I lean towards another service because of my personal preference.
Also, I used Smartmove only once a long time ago, so it's possible I may have missed some of its benefits or recent feature changes.
Hope this helps!
Ryan - I got your email and am waiting to hear back from my reps at TransUnion to see what we can do to help you out. I'll be in touch via email.
I recently used the service for one of our higher end single family homes and I think it worked out great. What would be nice is maybe a mobile friendly browser for tenants that primarily use smart phones and have limited access to a pc. Just a suggestion. Otherwise, I was pleased with the process.
With only one Single Family rental property, and no office address, I am hesitant to use MY address as the SmartMove Landlord Address. The tutorial says that information is given to the applicant.
Not sure I want someone who I don't accept having my HOME address...
Is it appropriate to use the rental property address instead?- Real Estate Broker · Castle Rock, CO · Member since 2011 · 22 posts · 4 votes14y
LOTS of good people are having BAD credit now, and we want to give every applicant a change to succeed after explaining our expectations when running the credit checks.
We get reports from All (3) Major Credit Reporting Companies and give the Landlord a Blended Average. We also look at the Sources of Debt and Trouble this way, to match up with stories the marketing dept is hearing.
[they are not all the same, but I can't tell you if T U reports higher or lower or median of the three, b/c I have not analyzed a sampling]
It seems easier to sleep to have the detail, rather than a single score and no context. Maybe Josh can jack up mysmartmove.com to accommodate me in the future!
- Residential Landlord · Indianapolis, IN · Member since 2010 · 592 posts · 138 votes14y
Edward Hooks, what do you pay for the screening service to get all 3 reports? What do you charge tenants as an application fee?
- Real Estate Broker · Castle Rock, CO · Member since 2011 · 22 posts · 4 votes14y
Kyle we charge the primary applicant $50 and use it all. Fee for additional Occupants 18+ is $25, of that we use little.
- Flipper · Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2009 · 973 posts · 679 votes14y
I have used Smartmove in the past. I felt it was very easy to use and gave good results. My only complaint has already been voiced, in that my applicants would say they did not receive the link. It could be going to spam, they could be lying, who knows, but it can add time and frustrating to the process for both.
I was using Smartmove to bill the fees directly to the tenants. Maybe the above problems would be resolved if you take their money, and input all of their information directly? Not sure if it gives that option or not.
I'm going to see if we can get a rep from the company to chime in and answer questions. I'm familiar with the product to the extent that I need to be, but am not familiar enough to provide adequate customer service.
- Real Estate Broker · Canton, GA · Member since 2010 · 15k+ posts · 11k+ votes14y
Yeah my issue with it has been not all 3 agencies are on it.In Georgia Equifax is the predominant agency that is reported to.
So with Trans Union and Experian there might not be a complete file on the applicant.
Each company has their own version of tenant screening.They all want the MONEY.I just wish you could order ONE REPORT that had all three instead of fighting which one to pick.
Credit isn't as important as it used to be.Many have foreclosures or short sales from under water homes they let go.I pay more attention to the money and stability of the job and if they have a bunch of judgements from other landlords.
I also screen every tenant 18 or older.If you don't it will come back to bite you.
- Member since 2009 · 4 posts · 0 votes14y
@Ryan L. @Marc Freislinger - Thank you for contacting TransUnion SmartMove. If your renter has not yet received an email from SmartMove to create their account and complete your rental application please first verify that the request was sent to the correct email address. Also, please have your renter verify that the request did not go into their spam/junk folder. Once these items have been confirmed and the renter still does not have the email they can still complete the application by going directly to https://biggerpockets.mysmartmove.com/ and clicking on create an account under the Renters tab or Renters section listed on the main page of the website. The renter can then create their account using the email address that you sent the request to. Once the renter sets up their account they will see an option on the homepage to complete your request to complete your application request.
If you would like we can also send an email with the link directly to your renter. Please provide your renters’ email address and we will be happy to send them the link. Thank you for choosing TransUnion SmartMove.Please refer to the FAQs at https://biggerpockets.mysmartmove.com/LandlordsFaqs.aspx for more information and details on questions about TransUnion SmartMove.
- Member since 2009 · 4 posts · 0 votes14y
@Cindy G. - Thank you for contacting TransUnion SmartMove. SmartMove takes precautions to secure your personal information. If and when we ask you to provide your personal information, we will do so through a Web page that uses the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol. This protocol provides security for your information by encrypting it as it travels from your computer to our computer.
The address you provide when creating the landlord account is not shared with the renter. Only the rental property address is shared. Thank you for choosing TransUnion SmartMove.
Please refer to the FAQs at https://biggerpockets.mysmartmove.com/LandlordsFaqs.aspx for more information and details on questions about TransUnion SmartMove. Thanks for chiming in, Michael Criste! If anyone has any other questions about Smartmove, just let Michael know and he'll be able to help you out.
Joshua Dorkin
I recently had a vacancy and decided to give Smartmove a try. Overall I was very displeased with the service. My complaints are the following:1: Does not let you run your own credit according to terms of service. In order to make sure the system worked, I wanted to test run it on myself so I set up a landlord and renter account. I did get my credit report and it had a very user friendly look especially for new landlords that don't have as much experience looking at them. However, today when I tried to log on (so about 1 week has passed) it would only let me into the rental account. I got a call back from the customer service people who told me that I violated the terms of service by running my own credit and that I was now permanently locked out of the landlord account. The only way to remedy this would be to sign up using a new email and not do it in the future. Since I read every service agreement I click on when I sign up for an update or new service *NOT*, obviously I did not know this was a condition of using Smartmove. Might want to advertise that a little better.
2: Incomplete credit: Since I ran my credit "illegally" I did get a report and it was complete except for one major thing, my loan on the property I own! I was informed this was because I am in Texas and Trans Union is not the most used agency here. I realize that any individual service I use would have this problem but it is concerning since being in Texas, I would want the Texas transactions to be reported. I emailed them to see if their service offered any remedy to this and promptly got an email back that said "No we don't off that service."
3: Nobody completed it. This is not the fault of Smartmove but the whole idea puts the power in the hands of the applicants. I didn't charge an application fee but instead had the applicant pay for the service. They received a copy of their report which I thought was a good selling point as well as it being a soft inquiry but of the 15 emails I sent to check credit I got 3 back. And only after calling repeatedly to urge them to do it. And even if I collected the money upfront, they would still have to go online to authorize the transaction when in reality, by signing my application, they have already given me permission. So in that scenario yes, I would get to keep their money but, I don't think that is honest or the right way to do business. Maybe if this was a single family home and people were more motivated I would get a better response but if they took the time to fill out the application and return it, you'd think they would have the time to go online. I feel like I am giving up some of the control in the application process and any landlord does not like giving up control.
4. The criminal report was suspect because I know for a fact, one application had a minor history but the report came back clean. Also very disturbing. Granted it would not have been disqualifying in any way (was not violent or a felony) but still it should have come up.
As pros for the site I will say that it is very user friendly and their support team was very prompt but overall I was not impressed. Luckily I chose one of the applicants yesterday and they are moving in at the end of the month. However I will not sign up again for a new account and look for a new way to get credit reports next time I have a vacancy.
Josh, I realize BP endorses this site and I hope this post is seen as constructive criticism and not unfounded bashing. Please contact me if you would like to discuss it more. Thanks
Peter Moser
Hi all,
I am new to landlording and gave mysmartmove.com a try too.
For the first applicants, it worked like a dream. I really liked how quick it was once they accepted the request.
Second time around, I found a problem. My applicant didn't get her e mail from mysmartmove.com and I didn't get my copy either. There was no way to resend the e mail, so I started a new application and still got nothing. I contacted them and their response was VERY fast. They said to check our spam (we had) and if it wasn't there the applicant could create an account on her own with the same e mail address and my request would be there to complete. She did that and all is well now, but I'd rather have the option to re-send after a certain amount of time :)
Kelly
Peter Moser - I just got back from lunch with our SmartMove rep, Julie Hill and we talked about you and your situation. I believe she will be chiming in here soon. I know she wants to talk with you about your experiences. I'm sorry that there were some problems and I definitely don't have a problem with you mentioning them. We still fully support the product and our partners and I know that TU will do their best to rectify some of the issues for you. Thanks for sharing!
Kelly N. - Welcome to the world of landlording. I'm glad you found a resolution to the issue and that there is a solution when someone doesn't get an email from the system. Email is something that is problematic for many companies, including ours from time to time. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
NOTE: Please do use our partner link (yes, we do get a partner fee) where you save $5 off your reports at http://biggerpockets.mysmartmove.com -- you'll save some cash and will help support BP at the same time for doing so.
- Englewood, CO · Member since 2013 · 1 post · 0 votes13y
@Peter Moser- Thank you for contacting TransUnion SmartMove. Below are answers to what you have listed.
@Peter Moser- Thank you for contacting TransUnion SmartMove. Below are answers to what you have listed.
1. SmartMove is to be used for tenant screening purposes only in reference to the landlord service agreement section 3.3. This section states that SmartMove landlord users are only using this service for no other purpose than assisting with a residential leasing decision. For FCRA rules and regulations refer Landlords to www.ftc.gov/credit.
2. Please note that under the Fair Credit Reporting Act you also have the right to dispute any incomplete or inaccurate information contained in your report. If you would like to initiate a dispute, please contact our Customer Support Department at 1-866-775-0961 or at [email protected] After a full dispute investigation, any inaccurate or incomplete information will be modified or removed and the landlord who viewed your report will receive updated information. Please be advised that SmartMove only pulls from the TransUnion Credit Bureau.
3. SmartMove was designed as a consumer initiated website. This will help landlords avoid having to pay membership fees and the screening required to become a consumer reporting agency subscriber in order to obtain a potential renter’s credit and criminal information. Since SmartMove is designed as a consumer initiated website, requiring the consumer to authenticate their identity online and give permissions to release their credit and criminal information prior to the information being released to a potential landlord.. Applicable law requires a permissible purpose to provide credit and criminal information. Therefore, the potential renter must authenticate their identity by personally entering their information into the SmartMove website and provide permission to disclose their consumer report to the landlord concerning their application for tenancy with the landlord.
SmartMove was also designed to use email addresses as the username to log into the website. Due to this design each individual needs to have their own email address and have a request sent directly to that email address. If potential renters use a shared email address they will need to create a new email address for one of the individuals. We suggest using a free email service (e.g. Yahoo!, Gmail, Hotmail).
SmartMove payment options are Landlord or Renter pays only. When a landlord begins a new application request, they choose whether the landlord will pay for the application or the renter. Based on who is chosen, credit card entry information will be displayed to that party at the time of the transaction.4. Criminal records are pulled by a person’s first name, last name, and date of birth. When additional identifiers are not present on public record data you may receive multiple possible matches to your potential renter. If you would like additional information on any possible records that pulled for your potential renter please contact Customer Support at 1-866-775-0961.
TransUnion SmartMove covers national and statewide (47 states, DC included) criminal records and provides results within hours. TransUnion’s criminal database is continually updated and is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Instant searches also include data for:
• America’s Most Wanted
• FBI’s Most Wanted
• More than 15 terrorist databases
• National Sex Offender Public Registry
• U.S. Marshals Drug Enforcement Administration
• U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF)
• U.S. Secret Service
• U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
• U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)
States not included: WY, SD, MA, and DE
This information is also available online at - https://mysmartmove.com/maps/LandlordsCriminal.aspx - Investor · Tallahassee, FL · Member since 2014 · 246 posts · 89 votes12y
great question...hopefully they get around to answering it
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