All Forum Posts by: Lucas Hall

Hi @Patrick M.

A tenant should get credit for the payment when they initiate it, not when it clears.  So, as long as they login to Cozy and pay by 11:59pm on the 13th (regardless of if it's a weekend or not), then it will be considered "on-time".  

This best practice is no different than if you receive a physical check from a tenant. As long as the check is in your hands by the due date, then it's considered on time. It shouldn't matter how long the bank, or in this case, a payment processor takes to move the money because the tenant has done their part. 

With that said, you could certainly encourage them to setup recurring automatic payments - that way they never have to remember to pay rent, and you'll always see their upcoming payment in the queue. Personally, I require "automatic recurring payments" in my lease. 

I hope that helps!

Hi @Rob Drum

Thanks for clarifying. 

Before any credit or background data can be given to anyone, Experian requires tools like Cozy to verify the tenant’s identity. It’s the same verification they would revive if they were working directly with Experian, TransUnion, or Equifax. 

Experian provides Cozy with 3-4 multiple choice questions that only the tenant would know the answer to. Questions usually resemble “which street name have you resided?”, “In what year did you get a loan for 200k from Wells Fargo?”, or “how much is your monthly  auto loan payment to Toyota?”.  

They need to answer these correctly, otherwise they will not pass the test. Most of the time, they guess at the answer, 2-3 times, and then get locked out for XX hours. Other times, the tenants have asked the Credit Bureaus to intentionally freeze their credit profile as a means of preventing Identity theft, or have signed up for some service that does this automatically (maybe Life Lock?).  They usually don’t realize that doing so makes it impossible for anyone, including themselves, to pull their credit. 

Cozy has a series of very strong warnings to ensure that the tenant knows that if they fail to answer the ID verifications correctly multiple time, Experian will lock their account. But alas, many tenants are in a hurry and don’t take the time to read the warning and continue to guess at the answers. 

There are other reasons why they wouldn’t be able to verify, like not having a SSN, misspelling their own name, or using an address that is not their own.  Or, it simply could be that they are trying to use someone else’s identity and they system is stopping them. 

There’s a good help doc to send your potential applicants. It’s on helpdocs dot cozy dot co, and search for “Tips for verifying your identity with Experian”. 

Plus, you could also have your tenants reach out to the Cozy support team f they are having trouble. 

I hope that helps!

Following.

Hi Everyone,

The majority of Cozy’s background checks are delivered within 1 minute. Further, 90% are delivered within 28 hours.

The main factor that can lead to slow results is that county criminal and eviction searches are completely dependent on the systems that each county has put into place. Sometimes the background data is delivered to Cozy (and other screening companies) automatically, and other times, a real person has to search through physical file cabinets to find and report on the results. This isn’t the only factor to how fast background data is returned, but it’s one of the most influential.

Why not offer both to your next tenant and see which they prefer?

Hi @Yvonne H.

Automatic late fees rolled out to a small beta group in a April. Everyone else will get it in mid-late May.  If you’d like to be part of that early group, simply email the Cozy support treat. 

@Mike McCarthy, you can use Cozy’s online application without requiring credit or background checks.  Then, only request screening reports from those that prequalify. No need for some tenants to waste $40 if they won’t meet the income requirements. 

@Eyal B. Yes. As many accounts as you want. No charge. 

Hi Eric,

We initiate an ACH debit from your tenant’s account, and wait for their bank to confirm the payment was successful — this generally takes 3 business days. Then, we initiate a deposit of those funds to your bank. We never take possession of the funds, but rather just wait for them to clear your tenant’s account before we initiate a deposit. 

Hi @Jose N.

Cozy does all of this (your entire list).  And it's free.  What else are you not mentioning?