Zillow Rental Manager

What Is Zillow Rental Manager?

Zillow Rental Manager - a rental management platform - can help manage rental properties via property advertising, as well as renter communication, and tenant screening. It also offers lease signing and rent collection. Besides creating rental listings, landlords can add property details and images and also set a monthly rent price before publishing the property to prospective renters. Additionally, Zillow Rental Manager facilitates online rent payments, alongside utilities payments with security deposit collection.

What Is Zillow Rental Manager Best For?

Zillow Rental Manager's defining strength is listing reach. For instance, managers can post a single listing through the platform, which is then syndicated automatically to Trulia and HotPads as well. Independent landlords - with one to three properties - who require maximum tenant exposure are the recommended candidates for this platform.

How Much Does Zillow Rental Manager Cost?

Investment in Zillow Rental Manager starts at $39.99 one-time fee when upgraded to Premium Listings that comes with premium benefits for your listing up to 90 days, while basic rental listing comes for free. Rental Applications and Tenant Screening costs $0 for landlords, but renters have to pay a $35 application fee that covers both the application as well as screening reports.

In addition, the following extra costs are applied:

• Credit Card Payments - 2.95% (charged to the tenant)
• Debit Card Payments - $4.95-$9.95 (charged to the tenant)

Zillow Rental Manager is often described by reviewers as a cost-effective option. The core listing and rental-management tools are free, which is a differentiator for platforms that charge a monthly fee just to begin. However, if a listing requires more exposure than the free tier provides, the paid options to boost it can add up.

Disclaimer: The pricing is subject to change.

Zillow Rental Manager Integrations

Zillow Rental Manager hasn’t disclosed integrations information publicly.

How Does Zillow Rental Manager Work?

Landlords manage a rental through Zillow Rental Manager in roughly this order after logging in:

• Create the listing — property details, photos, and monthly rent — then publish it to prospective renters
• Field inquiries and communicate directly with prospective tenants inside Rental Manager
• Open applications on the listing, or send a private application invitation to a specific renter
• Review the application alongside screening results. This includes credit, background, eviction history, and income verification
• Set up the lease by starting a new agreement (or upload an existing one), and add digital fields, before routing it for electronic signature
• Invite the tenant to pay rent, utilities, or the security deposit online via ACH, credit, or debit
• Track payment history and pull lease documents from Rental Manager as needed

Who Is Zillow Rental Manager For?

The platform suits the needs of several industries and sectors, including:

• Hospitality
• Real estate
• Healthcare
• Food and beverage
• Project management

Zillow Rental Manager Use Cases

We analyzed the software capabilities as well as its reviews and found numerous scenarios where it fits well:

Independent Landlords That Are Listing A Rental For The First Time

First-time landlords typically don't know where to start. They are faced with a long process of writing the listing that reaches renters, before screening applicants, and drafting a lease, followed by the somewhat overwhelming process of figuring out how to collect rent. Zillow Rental Manager can help. Its Rent Zestimate gives a starting rent estimate before the listing goes live, though landlords should treat it as a reference point because local comps still matter.

Landlords Who Need Renter Exposure Without Paying For Ads

A listing posted on a single site only reaches that site's audience. Zillow Rental Manager syndicates one listing to Zillow, Trulia, and HotPads automatically with no separate posting or login per site involved.  Landlords that struggle with low advertising budget can especially benefit from this Zillow Rental Manager feature.

Landlords That Want Applicants To Cover Screening Costs

If landlords want credit, background and eviction reports but don’t want to pay per-application screening costs, Zillow has a solution: Applicants pay the $35 screening fee, and when it’s done, the report goes into the landlord’s account. For 30 days, applicants can share the same report with other participating Zillow listings. This can reduce repeat requests for renters applying to multiple places.

Landlords That Are Moving Past Check/Cash Rent Collection

Collection of rent through different means (check or cash) essentially leads to numerous errors, ranging from lost payments to no real record-keeping. This is where Zillow Rental Manager can help. Its ACH rent collection includes auto-pay setup and payment history, and the best part: it’s free. In addition, its Fast Payments option can quickly transfer funds to a landlord's account.

Is Zillow Rental Manager Right For You?

Are you an independent landlord – with one to a few properties - and need to conduct the entire rental process but don’t want to pay a hefty monthly subscription? If that’s the case, then Zillow Rental Manager is worth evaluating. Rental operations that rely on advertising vacancies, as well as applications review alongside rent collection, can benefit from it. Some features - accounting, maintenance management, or multi-property portfolio reporting - are outside of its primary purview, it is less appropriate for managers that need them.

Still not sure about Zillow Rental Manager? Contact our support team at (661) 384-7070 for further guidance.