Anyone tried Ziprent or remote property managers??

Question

So I am managing a condo for rent in Orlando remotely. Anyone used Ziprent? They want $1000 for lease up. They use lockboxes and no live agent tours. How good is this? It seems to be cheaper than a manager and plus they allow you first right of refusal whereas most property managers will choose who ever they want.

Michael Eskenasy · Answer

Interesting thread to revisit because I think the comments accidentally identify the real dividing line between a great remote-management experience and a terrible one.

It isn’t technology vs. local property manager.

It’s automation + competent exception handling vs. automation without competent exception handling.

The happy-path workflow is relatively easy to automate:

Inquiry → prescreen → schedule showing → temporary access code → application → screening → lease → payment.

And when everything moves through that pipe correctly, I can absolutely see why a service like ZipRent feels like the future. Paul’s experience is a great example: tenant placed quickly, strong applicant, near-market rent, lower placement cost, and very little friction.

But Chris’s recent experience exposes the other half of the system.

What happens when:

• the photos create a documentation question?
• the intake gets rescheduled?
• something doesn't fit the automated workflow?
• the listing fails to launch?
• the owner needs a human decision instead of another status update?

the photos create a documentation question?

the intake gets rescheduled?

something doesn't fit the automated workflow?

the listing fails to launch?

the owner needs a human decision instead of another status update?

That is where I would evaluate any remote PM.

I’d actually ask them a question most landlords probably never ask:

“When your automation fails, who owns the exception, and what is the service-level expectation for getting it resolved?”

That answer would matter more to me than whether the lockbox is fancy.

The same applies to local property managers, by the way. A person physically located in Orlando isn't inherently better if they take three days to return a call, have sloppy screening procedures, and can only show the property Tuesday at 2:30.

I think the winning model is eventually going to be heavily automated because leasing has a ton of unnecessary coordination friction. Self-scheduling alone solves a legitimate problem: prospects want to see properties when they are available, not when an agent happens to have an opening.

But good automation should make the humans more available for unusual situations, not eliminate them entirely.

One place I would be cautious is treating “I get final say on every applicant” as automatically superior. Personally, I’d rather define very clear, defensible written qualification standards upfront and have the system execute them consistently. Once you start introducing subjective interviews and case-by-case judgment, you can create inconsistency that wasn't present in the screening model to begin with.

So if I were comparing a remote company with a traditional PM today, I wouldn't ask:

“Do you use self-showings?”

I'd ask:

How fast do you respond to leads?How fast can a qualified prospect get inside?Exactly how is screening performed?How quickly do you escalate exceptions to a human?Who checks the vacant property?What happens when the technology breaks?

And what were your actual median days-to-lease over the last 12 months in my market?

Give me those answers and I can compare two operating systems.

Without them, I'm mostly comparing two sales pitches.

Technology isn't the moat here.

Execution is.

Drew Sygit · Answer

@Paul Passafiume have you checked out their website?

Where does it explain HOW they will execute their services?

This may be important to you so your expectations are met.

Chris Tessmann · Answer

Attempted to use them for the last month or so to get a listing up. I still don’t know if they actually have people working there or if it’s all AI. Either way, couldn’t get a response about different things in 48 business hours multiple times, they scheduled an intake then rescheduled it basically same day without asking about it. Got put to a manager after saying I want out and the same exact thing happened. Blaming unresponsiveness on too many inbound inquiries and increased marketing and that calls in are better than text or email. (Apparently there are more people answering phones that can’t be switched to answering emails or texts.) when I did get responses it was people asking for written consent on the photos I have when I was sharing emails, screenshots, and even the folder the former PM created and sent to me containing listing photos.

Had high hopes but, after a month of back and forth and not being able to even get listed, don’t have any confidence at all they’d actually be able to perform even the most basic of functions that a PM should be able to.

Drew Sygit · Answer

All seems perfect - until Ziprent gets sued for a Fair Housing violation caused by an owner interviewing a prospective tenant.

Paul Passafiume · Answer

Usually they won't but there is a way to follow fair housing laws and also research you who are renting to. Politically correct bs has ruined this country!

I hired Ziprent and they are WONDERFUL. If I was a property manager, I'd watch out. Big tech has invented a way to take over another industry and I see Ziprent as the future. As Zillow is to property listings, Ziprent is to property management.

Ziprent found me a tenant with an 800 credit score in 7 days near the top of the market rent for my condo during slow season! The process has been wonderful and I am hiring them only for lease up and will handle it from there bc as we all know 90% of the work is lease up.

Also, they did this 30% cheaper than most local property managers. Ziprent presented me the tenant. They screened him, then I interviewed him myself. Owning 25 doors, I interview all my tenants, just like a job interview. I also personally got a landlord reference on him. Ziprent emailed me within 24 hours of the tenant application and I approved him (after Ziprent strongly recommended I do so and act fast). Ziprent will write the lease, execute it, then get the tenant in the unit and collect first month's rent and deposit. Easy and seamless!

I will always have a say in who rents with me and you should too!

Dear Ziprent owner, can you please come to Kentucky and IN? These are growing markets.

Paul Maldonado · Answer

What grade neighborhood was this in? I have a place in a C grade neighborhood that includes section 8 prospective tenants so I think there is more risk.

Chris Grenzig · Answer

@Paul Passafiume we also don't allow owners the right of first refusal, partially for fair housing reasons, but also partially for logistical reasons. Any approval for something by an owner is a bottleneck in the process. Often residents want to move in within a couple of weeks and it takes time to get all the information together to get everything accomplished in a timely manner. This is without adding in an outside approval process. In our opinion, you are hiring us as the professional to find someone to rent to, if you can't trust our judgment than it's not a good fit.

I can understand why you would want to have the final approval, trust me I do. But from the property management side the application, lease signing, and move-in process is arduous enough as it is.

Essentially it sounds like Ziprent has just been a manager you've found that's willing to do so. There might be other more local options who will, but you'd have to call around. The other option would be to negotiate and pay more for the right of first refusal for any applications and maybe someone local would take you up on that.

Drew Sygit · Answer

@Paul Passafiume why would a PMC place a tenant they knowing will have to evict later?

How will they explain that to the owner?

If anything, a concerned owner would want to have a clear understanding of a PMC's screening criteria and fully understand the process - which we originally posted.

Paul Passafiume · Answer

Yes, they use basically self showings. But they use high level tech....pre screen, self showings, and the 1225 is the standard fee for first month lease up services including them drafting and getting tenant to sign lease.. And they give you, the property owner, last right of refusal. Also no one with felonies, evictions, or credit under 650. It is basically everything I do in my local market....

I'd love to go with a local property manager but they hide behind fair housing laws and say the property owner cannot refuse whatever tenant they pick. I am not a fan of that...too many property managers will take anyone that will sign and move to the next dollar. I always play by fair housing laws but not giving me a pick in my tenant is not to my liking!

Paul Passafiume · Answer

Any non sponsored users? LOL but thanks sir!

Anyone tried Ziprent or remote property managers??

Anyone tried Ziprent or remote property managers??

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