Cozy

9.4

If you’re looking to open up an account with Cozy.co, there’s good news and bad news.

The bad is that, with the acquisition of Cozy by rental industry giant, Apartments.com, the creation of new Cozy accounts ceases to exist. The good news is that, with the acquisition of Cozy by rental industry giant Apartments.com, you can now get all the features and innovation of Cozy, plus the clout and market dominance of its new master. Despite some early hiccups, the result has a chance to be a streamlined, polished, and super functional platform that will most definitely appeal to the masses.

The Bottom Line: With the acquisition of Cozy.co, Apartments.com is in the process of creating a highly functional and incredibly affordable platform great for small landlords. We have a feeling this new and improved software will certainly be up there with the best available for many landlords, but the key phrase is “in the process”. The companies are in a time of transition at the moment and there are still clear kinks in features and education that need working out before we can definitively put these guys among the top platforms out there.

Designed For:

Generally small, residential landlords

FEATURE	INCLUDED?	ADDITIONAL COST
Online Payments	Yes	Free for ACH, 2.75% for credit / debit card charges paid by the tenant
Online Lease Signing	Yes	No cost
Tenant Screening	Yes	$39.99 when purchased as a bundle, or $24.99 individually paid by the applicant
Tenant Messaging	Yes	No cost
Listing Syndication	Yes	No cost
Dedicated Tenant Portal	Yes	No cost
Sub-User Management	No	N/A
Mobile App	No	N/A
Renter’s Insurance Marketplace	Yes	Per policy cost, typically around $20 per month

Estimated Cost:

Free!

Pricing

10/10

One of Cozy’s major selling points is that their services are completely free for landlords, and that’s a promise they make good on. Everything from online payments to rental advertising comes at absolutely no cost to property managers.

There are two available upgrades: the first comes in the form expedited funds delivery for $2.99 per payment. This will get you your money faster at a relatively small cost.

The second upgrade available to you is the ‘Premium’ listing boost. This is designed specifically for landlords with a small number of units (1-4 to be exact) and is advertised as giving 10x more exposure to selected listings. The tricky part is figuring out exactly how much it’s going to cost you. According to their help center, the pricing for Premium varies depending on your state and market. When we tested the function, we were quoted at $99 to boost one Midwest unit for 30 days. Considering that this option is only available to landlords with a smaller number of units, and would only really be employed as a one-time, as needed cost, you’re not looking at anything too crazy

Features

8/10

When it comes to features, Apartments.com almost has it all. They’ve got everything we’ve come to expect from a property management platform – from online payments to screening, renter’s insurance and a tenant portal. But the last thing to push them across the finish line is what happens long after the move-in date.

Apartments.com has just added maintenance request tracking to their list of offerings after acquiring Cozy.co; however, it seems as though not everyone at the company has gotten the message. This is where some of the merger confusion starts to set in. From page to page we got conflicting information on the matter. After calling the designated help line, it was confirmed that the feature is available; however, I wouldn’t expect it to fulfill all your hopes and dreams just yet. In talking to the account rep, it seems as though they are behind the ball when it comes to sub-user management, and have not yet begun to scratch the surface of possibility on allowing contractors access to the portal. And while this might not be a gamechanger for newer landlords, once you’ve had the amenity it’s hard to go back.

This one gap aside, the software has plenty of shiny new tools to keep you moving. Our favorite addition being the streamlined screening process, which allows landlords to get a thorough picture of each applicant and stand them up side-by-side for comparison. The sophisticated screening techniques are a godsend in terms of peace of mind for property managers concerned about Fair Housing compliance; which, in reality, we all should be.

Ease of Use

9/10

A quick caveat – we’re giving Cozy / Apartments.com a pass on what we believe to be a shortly lived confusion between the two platforms. The biggest barrier at the moment to the usability of Apartments.com is simply understanding where you are and what you’re getting. The line between the original site and their new acquisition of Cozy.co is a little blurry at the moment. And while they are sure to tighten up their pitch soon enough, it’s worth noting that now might not be the best time to jump on board.

That being said, Cozy tends to be considered a very easy to use piece of software. Because they’ve limited their scope in features and in the type of landlords they’re targeting, the features that remain are straightforward and to the point. It’s simple to navigate and understand for both you and your tenants.

Flexibility

7/10

Creating software is difficult, and in order to make it easy to use, many providers turn to rigidity. Cozy / Apartments.com has generally made that their approach. The features work well and are simple to understand, but that often comes at the cost of its flexibility.

This rigidity is felt most acutely when it comes to listings. While the syndication, like most of their services, comes free, you are limited as to where your property will post. Only sites that fall under the Apartments.com umbrella will host your listing, and this is even after you have paid for a Premium “boost”.

Customer Support

8/10

Cozy and Apartments.com offer an extensive library of articles to learn more about how to easily navigate the site. And if you’re not in the mood to do your own digging, there’s also a handy help chatbot in the lower right corner, ready to shorthand any inquiry you might throw at it.

They promise to respond by email within 24 hours, however, outside of listings and the Apartments.com side of things, they do not offer phone support. This may be a relic of Cozy’s no phone support policy and subject to change in the future, but for now, it can be a painful experience if a major issue does crop up.

Stray Notes

Cozy can be criticized sometimes for their slow funds delivery. They take anywhere from 3-5 business days to deliver money into your account, unless you choose to pay extra and expedite the funds. If there’s a holiday or a weekend right around your payment date, this can mean you don’t receive your money for as many as 8-10 days after it was submitted.

Overall Score

The Verdict

8.4

TOTAL SCORE

One of the first, great, modern property management tools for small landlords

Cozy set the world on fire when they first announced their free model for landlords, and while they don’t offer all the features and flexibility you may want and their marriage with Apartments.com may be rocky at times, they’ve held their own in an ever crowding market.

Pricing

9.4 Expert Score

Pricing

Features

Ease of Use

Flexibility

Customer Support

PROS

Merge of cutting-edge startup and established industry leader
Free for landlords and upgrades are inexpensive
Innovative tools to customize and streamline process
Applicants and tenants can carry information and paid features to and from other property managers

CONS

Cozy

Designed For:

Estimated Cost:

Pricing

10/10

Features

8/10

Ease of Use

9/10

Flexibility

7/10

Customer Support

8/10

Stray Notes

Overall Score

The Verdict

8.4

One of the first, great, modern property management tools for small landlords

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