Zillow Rental Manager Review, Pricing, & Features
What Is Zillow Rental Manager?
Zillow Rental Manager is an online property management platform that helps landlords manage their single-family, multi-family, and vacation rental properties. With this free service, renters can find available properties to rent, landlords can manage their rental listings, and real estate professionals can list their rental properties on Zillow’s platform.
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Table of Contents
- What Is Zillow Rental Manager?
- Zillow Rental Manager Review Summary
- Zillow Rental Manager Pricing & Cost
- Zillow Rental Manager Features
- Is Zillow Rental Manager Right For You?
Zillow Rental Manager Review Summary
Zillow Rental Manager allows landlords to advertise their properties, post photos, and do tenant screening. With Zillow's Rental Manager tool, tenants can search an extensive database of rentals near them, save listings to their favorites list, sign up for automatic alerts about home recommendations or property updates, and set up notifications to know about home loans and refinancing.
Zillow and its affiliates offer customers an on-demand experience for selling, buying, renting, and financing real estate, using technology to solve complex problems and make every transaction smoother. Rich Barton and Lloyd Frink — two former Microsoft executives — founded the platform in 2004; the website launched in 2006.
The site also has tools such as a home inspector finder, which helps prospective buyers narrow down what they are looking for in a new home based on location, amenities, square footage, and the number of bedrooms they want.
Zillow offers various options depending on what type of renter you are: traditional renters, who are looking for long-term homes; vacation renters, who are looking for short-term homes; relocation renters, who need temporary housing while they look around; and those with pets who require pet-friendly properties.
Zillow Rental Manager Pricing & Cost
Zillow's rental management tool is free to use. However, there are some listings-related fees:
- Upgrading to premium is a flat fee of $29.99 for up to 90 days at one time, and you have to purchase again if you need it past that period.
- $9.95 convenience fee for debit payments by tenants.
- Tenants pay a 2.95% fee when using a credit card.
- Online rent collection using ACH bank transfers is a free service.
Zillow Rental Manager Features
Zillow offers a variety of features to help landlords manage their properties and tenants. Below, we'll discuss the key features of Zillow Rental Manager so you can decide if it's the right tool for you. Zillow Features:
- Automatic rent reminders
- Tenant screening reports and background checks
- Credit-check integration
- Lease signing
- Rent collection
- Rent estimate calculator (Zestimate)
Automatic rent reminders
Zillow will email renters with reminders about when rent is due, sending the message a few days before it's due. If their rent is due on the 15th and they sign up for automatic reminders, they'll receive the first reminder email on the 10th and a follow-up email will be sent two days after the rent due date.
This service can help renters keep track of when they need to pay their rent while being proactive. Renters who have delayed automatic payments may find this feature particularly useful, as it can help prevent late fees from accruing. Landlords can also take advantage of these automatic alerts to ensure timely payment.
One downside of this type of notification system is that if renters don't open the emails immediately, they might forget when rent is due, resulting in late or missed payments. However, landlords can encourage tenants to set up auto-pay through Zillow to avoid this particular problem.
Tenant screening reports and background checks
Zillow's screening report and background check are both extremely thorough. They scoured databases to find any criminal records, bankruptcy filings, or other concerning personal information. With this feature, Zillow enables homeowners to access tenants' background checks, credit checks, eviction history, and income verification.
The company also provides a list of pre-qualified potential renters so landlords can make quick decisions about who they want to rent their property. Unlike most online rental applications where landlords are forced to contact all applicants to see if they are interested, with Zillow, you can select qualified people to streamline applications and communication.
Credit-check integration
Zillow has a robust credit-check integration designed to help you determine if the tenant will be able to pay their rent on time. This integration is not just limited to landlords but also can be used by property managers and other service providers. With Zillow's credit-check feature, you can get a detailed report on potential renters.
The free screening tool Zillow offers includes a tenant's rental application, a credit report from Experian, and a background check from Checkr.
Applicants will need to pay $29 for the reports. They can use them for any Zillow rental application they complete within the next 30 days.
Lease signing
With Zillow, you can create and sign a lease agreement on your phone, tablet, or computer. You can upload an existing lease agreement or customize a new one on the platform. Zillow allows you to create, customize, and sign a lease using their lease tool.
Zillow's lease templates are created with local law firms to ensure they meet legal requirements. Their lease tool enables landlords to include rules regarding property usage, pets, keys, and residential activities.
For example, it may state that no pets are allowed on the property unless specified in the lease. Landlords can also specify which locks should be used on doors when tenants vacate properties and what types of renovations tenants must make or avoid before moving out.
Rent collection
Zillow Rental Manager is an excellent tool for collecting rent from your tenants. Rents are deposited directly into the landlord's account. In addition, renters can set up automatic payments, which will charge their payment methods on a recurring schedule.
Landlords can use Zillow's online payments for free, and renters who pay using an automated clearing house (ACH) incur no fees. However, tenants who pay their rent with a credit or debit card are charged a 2.95% fee when using a credit card and a $9.95 convenience fee for debit payments.
Rent estimate calculator (Zestimate)
Zillow's rent estimator, called Zestimate, helps landlords decide their property values and prices. The Zestimate is a good tool to get an idea of what your home might be worth to potential tenants, and it can also help you decide how much to charge. In addition, the Zestimate shows current rents in your area, so you can compare your home's features with homes in nearby neighborhoods and see if yours compares favorably.
Is Zillow Rental Manager Right For You?
Zillow's rental manager software can help you manage your property from anywhere. It's perfect for landlords who are on the go, as it allows you to access your property information from any computer or mobile device. In addition, this platform provides renters with a one-stop shop of all available units in their area, including listings and prices.
Zillow also offers detailed and customizable search options, which allow renters to find what they're looking for in an apartment at their desired price range. As a result, Zillow is ideal for landlords and tenants alike because it provides both parties easy access to the necessary property details. In addition, the user interface is easy to navigate, so even if this is your first time using this software, you'll still be able to make updates quickly and efficiently.