Denver, CO · Member since 2010 · 41 posts · 1 vote
Hey guys,
Do you use biggerpockets.smartmove.com for your tenant screening? If so, how do you like it compared to others? If not, why not and who do you use? I used it for my prop and it seemed to work really well. What's your thoughts?
Rental Property Investor · DFW, TX · Member since 2013 · 953 posts · 910 votes
13y
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
Lender · Tampa, FL · Member since 2013 · 228 posts · 95 votes
11y
I used Smartmove recently and was unhappy with the results. I did a background check on a potential tenant and everything seemed to check out. It told me the tenant had some open collections but no evictions and no criminal record. It gave me a low acceptance recommendation and I doubled the security deposit and required first and last months rent. I received one months rent payment and he hasn't paid since. A friend of mine is an attorney and handling the eviction, he looked the tenant up and found 2 evictions. I looked the tenant up and found the evictions and criminal stuff myself right in public records. Maybe this is an issue specific to Pinellas County but I don't know why Smartmove didn't catch it. It doesn't leave me feeling good about using them in the future especially considering tenants could have lived anywhere and checking my county alone doesn't help. Anyone have great experiences with another company?
I am a representative with TransUnion SmartMove. I’m sorry to hear about your experience – we would be happy to research these records further if you would like. Send an email to [email protected] and include the email address of your renter and a description of the records in question. We will contact you directly. Thanks!
I used Smartmove recently and was unhappy with the results. I did a background check on a potential tenant and everything seemed to check out. It told me the tenant had some open collections but no evictions and no criminal record. It gave me a low acceptance recommendation and I doubled the security deposit and required first and last months rent. I received one months rent payment and he hasn't paid since. A friend of mine is an attorney and handling the eviction, he looked the tenant up and found 2 evictions. I looked the tenant up and found the evictions and criminal stuff myself right in public records. Maybe this is an issue specific to Pinellas County but I don't know why Smartmove didn't catch it. It doesn't leave me feeling good about using them in the future especially considering tenants could have lived anywhere and checking my county alone doesn't help. Anyone have great experiences with another company?
I had a very similar experience with Smartmove as well in Hillsborough County. The criminal record showed two records and when I went to the county website, I found 12 records. In another case, I had the applicant tell me they had a criminal record and when I ran the report, nothing came back.
I've contacted TransUnion multiple times and just get the run around. I'm not sure why I would pay for a service that can't provide information that I can Google for FREE!!
@Yinan Q. - Not currently, however I believe that's in the works.
That's very disappointing that it doesn't provide eviction reports. Evictions are a major deal breaker for most landlords. This doesn't seem like much of a deal if now a landlord has to pay additional money for a screening company that provides national eviction reports.
SmartMove now offers national eviction reports. Additionally, if you send an email to [email protected]we will be happy to research your records further. Please include the email address of your renter and a description of the records in question. Thanks!
SmartMove now offers national eviction reports. Additionally, if you send an email to [email protected]we will be happy to research your records further. Please include the email address of your renter and a description of the records in question. Thanks!
New York City, NY · Member since 2013 · 105 posts · 16 votes
11y
I've never used it myself. I've been using http://www.myrental.com for a few years now with great results so I've never felt the need to change services. I haven't heard much about Smart Move TBH.
I am a representative with TransUnion SmartMove. I’m sorry to hear about your experience – we would be happy to research these records further if you would like. Send an email to [email protected] and include the email address of your renter and a description of the records in question. We will contact you directly. Thanks!
That's not very helpful in mitigating damages caused to BP members who rely on SmartMove to provide accurate information during paid screenings, especially when said records are not only public record, but also readily accessible via the internet.
Shame on you, especially for not being forthright about the shortcomings of your system when called out on it. This type of political response tells us all we need to know.