A: No. Most of the service providers we deal with are NOT handling tenant's personal information (like social security numbers and dates of birth) so set-up is easy. If you're managing renters insurance or furnace filters, the tenant's personal data is not being transmitted over multiple digital platforms. When you're dealing with names, dates of birth, social security numbers and amounts unpaid, the credit bureaus (and data collection companies) are VERY SENSITIVE about who is using this program and are they really managing the property. You'll be asked to prove you're in the management business (or own the property if you're a private landlord), have the proper insurances in place, have a real estate license (when required by the state) have an actual management agreement (just one, not one for each managed property) (or lease if you're a private landlord), have a business license (if one is required) and so on. The bar for security of the data is set very high by the credit bureaus so the appropriate level of scrutiny with managers participating in this program is necessary. You'll have to demonstrate you are legitimate.

A: The first month you're in the program.Since this is a fully automated system, ALL tenants are reported the first month even though you're paying nothing for the service. As you move new tenants in (and execute lease renewals) they will execute the Credhub agreement and start paying their monthly fee to you. Once you're receiving income from the tenant you begin paying Credhub. You make no payments to Credhub until the tenant is paying you.

A: 30 days if you stay focused …. 60 if you take your time. You're joining credit bureaus and the security is very high. They'll need you to prove you're really in business with appropriate licenses and an actual management agreement. If it was easy everybody would do it. This will take your company to a new level so bare down and get it done. 

A: No. Appfolio (and several other reporting services) does PARTIAL REPORTING to Experian only. Experian reporting only grows the tenants credit score. No negative reporting affects the tenant's credit score on Experian. Their system only reports that the tenant rents from you (and posts any unpaid balance) but only affects their credit score positively. Tenants love that you report positively only. Tenants don't care that you do PARTIAL REPORTING to Experian because there is no consequence to them. It's toothless. The service is free (and safe) through Appfolio. Tenants will never complain about postings because there is no negative effect on their credit. See Experian's Document About Their Rent Credit Reporting Service HERE.

This new system is FULL REPORTING and reports to Equifax and TransUnion where the tenant's credit score is affected immediately, so tenants care about what you report giving you power over collecting rent, unpaid tenant charges and post move-out balances. Watch more videos on this topic and see how powerful this new service is.

See THE TRUTH About Credit Reporting HERE

A: Once it's set up it will require a few minutes a month to select which tenants will be reported PAID AS AGREED or with an outstanding balance. Smaller companies will take 5 to 10 minutes while larger ones 15 to 20. When they owe a balance you can REPORT PAID AS AGREED or let the system report outstanding balances as they show up on their ledgers. All the outstanding balances are accumulated at the top of the report so it's easy to see those who need reviewing.

A: Lots.

1. You control what day of the month the tenant data is pulled. This decision is made as you're setting up your system with Credhub.
2. You control what outstanding balance is auto-reported PAID AS AGREED. If you select amounts under $51 the system will report all balances under $51 as PAID AS AGREED. If you select $101 all balances under $101 will be reported PAID AS AGREED. YOU control the minimum amounts that are auto-reported as OUTSTANDING or PAID AS AGREED. The system auto-reports based on YOUR set up.
3. You get to override the system every month as you audit the report. You get to decide who is reported PAID AS AGREED or THERE IS A BALANCE DUE. If you made a deal with a tenant to pay off their balance over the next three months you might report them PAID AS AGREED and give them time to bring their account current. If a tenant is refusing to settle outstanding balances you'll let the auto-reporting system report them with an UNPAID BALANCE. This is REAL POWER OVER TENANTS.
4. Ultimately you control the monthly reporting date to the credit bureaus as well. Credhub pulls the data on the day of the month you select. You get to audit the report and sit-on-it until you want to submit to the bureaus. 

A: Your fee to Credhub is $5 per month per property no matter how many adults occupy the property. The $5 is FULL REPORTING (positive and negative) while the $9 is REPORTING AND IDENTIFY THEFT PROTECTION for the tenant. Managers often charge tenants $8 to $10 per month PER TENANT (you get to decide) depending on what you think the threshold is for your tenants. So, you'll likely make $5 to $10 per tenant per month net profit PLUS what you charge owners. There are lots of training videos on this topic. Remember: you don't start paying Credhub until the tenant is paying you.    

A: It depends. For the tenant to start paying for this service there is a Credhub document for them to sign. How fast can you get your tenants onboard? Some managers get tenants on this program as new leases are executed or renewed. If you adopt this method it will take a year to get everyone on this program. Other managers are more aggressive and send all current tenants a digital document introducing the new service and encouraging them to SIGN UP TODAY. It depends on how aggressive you want to be. We have sample letters to your current tenants to help you implement this service faster.

A: People like to GET CREDIT WHEN CREDIT IS DUE and love the idea that YOU ARE HELPING THEM BUILD THEIR CREDIT. We did this for 30 years and tenants loved it. If they hesitate, you should question what kind of tenant they expect to be. Remember: you're not sending your report to the credit bureau until the end of the month (typically the 27th through the 30th) so if they haven't paid by then, they SHOULD be reported accordingly.

A: Credit bureaus have rules. One of them is "every customer must be reported every month." So, every tenant in your system will be reported every month starting the first month you're in the system.

Credit card companies and mortgage companies can't pick-and-choose which customer they report every month. The credit bureaus make the rules. However, you can charge tenants different amounts for the service or nothing. They DON'T have to sign a document or pay you a fee (like section 8 tenants, students, co-signers or special needs occupants).

For 30 years we reported to Equifax without tenants signing (or paying) anything. It was mandated by Equifax. Participation for the tenant therefore is OPTIONAL. Your paying Credhub isn't optional but the cost is so cheap you can choose to waive the cost for tenants protected under the CARES ACT, section 8 tenants and grumpy old men who fuss too much. Make your money, cover your costs, on the tenants who pay, not the tenants that you waive (or charge reduced prices). WHO you charge, How Much you charge and WHEN you charge is up to you. So, participation is clearly optional.

Credhub covers the cost of reporting to the bureaus (beginning the first month) until you have the time to sign up new tenants (and renewals), at which time you begin paying Credhub. Watch our training videos to get a clear understanding of these issues.

A: First, very few tenants push back when it's presented properly. We did this for 30 years and had very few tenants resist because of the way we presented it. It's all about the presentation. Whether it's a monthly pet fee, filter charge, renters insurance or credit reporting charge, every manager has a leasing program (a model) and tells tenants what costs are involved to rent from them. This just becomes one of the parts of your model. Watch our video on Why Tenants Don't Push Back for a better understanding. 

Secondly, if they push back you might comment "maybe we should reconsider having you rent from us if reporting your payment history is a problem for you." After all, THEY SHOULD BE THRILLED THAT YOU'LL BE BUILDING UP THEIR CREDIT SCORE. Also, since you submit your data to the credit bureau late in the month (25th) they have almost a month to get their rent in before it affects their credit. If they understand this and Still Hesitate, you should consider another applicant. They generally have plenty of time to pay and have their credit score impacted in a positive way. They still might owe a late fee but your reporting will be near the end of the month giving them plenty of time to pay-as-agreed and build their credit. 

Finally, you can charge what you want for each tenant. Maybe Section 8 tenants (or tenants protected under the CARES Act) get it for free. Maybe the ones who push back hard get a pass. This service is so cheap you can afford to give it away (to some) when you feel it's appropriate to do so. Every tenant does NOT have to sign anything or pay anything. See our videos for more explanation. 

A: Absolutely!  One of the benefits of Credhub is "you get to decide WHO you charge, HOW MUCH to charge and WHEN to charge your tenants. The cost of this service to you is so cheap that many managers GIVE THE SERVICE AWAY TO SOME GROUPS like Section 8 tenants, co-signers, tenants protected under the CARES ACT and grumpy old men. You can make such a big spread on your paying tenants it will more than make up for those you discount the price to, or give away. You get to decide. You have total freedom to charge who you want and how much.

Many managers create categories of tenants to segment the package of benefits they offer and charge different prices. Watch attorney Monica Gilory video on this topic on the Enrollment page.

A: Most definitely. The requirements are different. They have to prove ownership and self management but that should be easy.

A: The same as it does for married couples. Every adult on the lease pays for the service and everyone's credit is built up (or brought down) as reporting is done. All payers benefit (or suffer) depending on their payment history.

See our special video on HOW TO DO TIERED PRICING FOR MULTIPLE ROOMMATES.

A: Yes. As long as YOU are paying the monthly fee ($3) Credhub will keep reporting their outstanding balance. This opens up a new opportunity for a post move-out collections business which we have lots of experience in. Post move-out collections is a specialty of Crown not Credhub. Get the Credhub system implemented and contact us for more on post move-out collections. See the Initiate a Conversation on this page for more on Post Move Out Collections.