What Is Zumper? Can This Platform Help Real Estate Investors?

Finding renters for your investment property can be challenging. It will take a lot of time and effort from you. Can Zumper help solve this issue?

Becoming a landlord has always been a dream of many an investor. The assurance of earning a consistent monthly income and eventually building wealth for your generation is convincing enough to invest in rental properties. 

Table of Contents

1. What Is Zumper?
2. What Can Zumper Do for Real Estate Investors?
3. Zumper Pricing Plans & Packages
4. Does Zumper Have Any Limitations?
5. How Can I Use Both Mashvisor and Zumper to Succeed in the Rental Business?

But what many people don’t realize is that owning and managing rental properties isn’t always all-rosy. There are many responsibilities and tasks that you must stay on top of. Finding tenants, screening them, collecting rent, bookkeeping, and tracking maintenance requests are some of them. And they can be an uphill task.

On the other hand, prospective tenants also face challenges. Sometimes, they have no avenue to search for rental properties, generate their screening reports, and submit their tenancy application to the property’s landlord.

Zumper tackles all these issues. In this article, we will look at what Zumper is. Then, we will discuss if it actually helps real estate investors. We will also take a look at other real estate platforms that may benefit investors. 

What Is Zumper?

Zumper is a real estate platform created for both investors and renters looking for properties to live in. This means investors can list their properties on the website for renters to find, and renters can search the site for properties that fit their wants and needs. This makes the process easier for both parties.

One of the main functions of Zumper is to make it easy for renters after they find a property they are interested in. Typically, there is a lot of paperwork needed for approval. Zumper rentals platform attempts to fix this. Renters are pre-approved before they even start looking.

In terms of landlords, or property investors, Zumper also helps them through the process of leasing their property. This is especially important for small or newbie landlords since Zumper gives them convenience throughout the entire rental process. They can market their rental properties to prospective tenants, find reliable tenants, and collect rental payments.

Zumper is the first end-to-end online rental property platform. Renters can find their desired rental properties, apply for a tenancy, book the apartment, and digitally pay their rent, all on one platform. 

Related: Top 7 Qualities of the Best Real Estate App for Property Investors

What Can Zumper Do for Real Estate Investors?

There are many features and purposes of the Zumper website. Their main goal is to make leasing a traditional rental property easy for both the renter and the landlord. The people behind Zumper do this by pre-approving renters from the start. 

Before renters start looking for properties or send their applications, the site requires them to complete the application process. It includes aspects like a credit check and a background check. Some landlords may require more information before leasing, which they could ask for on the platform. It could include annual or monthly income. Renters and landlords pay for the screening charges.

The purpose of this pre-qualified screening is that when a landlord receives an application, all the information is instantly there. It saves time for everyone in the end. Renters will hear back about their application quicker as they have already provided the landlord with the essential information. Then this makes it easier for landlords to approve applications and start making money in real estate.

Besides pre-approving applicants, Zumper rental lets landlords list their rental property on the website. It will help you find tenants quicker and more efficiently.

Zumper for Renters

Zumper has two primary target users: renters and landlords. We will take a closer look at what the site can do for each type of user. Even if you only plan to use the website as a landlord, it’s important to know how prospective tenants use the platform. As for renters, the platform makes it easy to find Zumper houses for rent. Users can search for different traditional rentals in any city. They can also message the landlords to ask questions about their property. 

As mentioned before, all users are pre-approved before they apply to rent a property. Zumper saves a “soft” credit score used in the application. It gives you an idea of the prospective tenant’s financial health. The site will also ask for other financial information, where they have previously lived, and what they do for a living. 

Renters Applications

Applications by renters on Zumper are free. While you may add a few more questions to your rental application, you cannot edit the existing information. Once they find a listing that works for them, renters can apply to rent the property securely through the website. 

Simply click the Check Availability button. It will open a box that allows you to send a quick inquiry message to the landlord or listing agent. The message is usually pre-written, but you can edit it to customize it.

Once you’ve submitted the inquiry, Zumper will ask the landlord or agent if they want to proceed with the application and carry out a crest check.

Zumper also has a tool available to its users called the Zumper average rent tool. Basically, this tool lets them calculate how much rent they can afford in the location they wish to live in. This makes it easy for renters to know their budget before they begin to browse through available listings. 

Zumper attempts to make the entire process of finding and leasing a property as easy as possible for renters by pre-approving them for Zumper listings and offering properties on the site for users to look at.

Zumper for Landlords and Investors

While Zumper is beneficial for renters, it also provides various benefits for landlords. Let’s break down some of its features for landlords and investors.

Advertising Services

The listing process on Zumper is similar to many other rental property listing platforms. You can list your apartment, condo, rooms, or single-family property on the site for free. Once you’ve listed your property, Zumper will advertise your property on Facebook Marketplace, Walk Score, and PadMapper. However, you’ll have to upgrade to a paid plan to access these advertising services.

You can also add a YouTube video tour of your rental property. However, you’ll need to be subscribed to their Signature Virtual package to provide a virtual 3D tour of your property.

Zumper also has a package for landlords who want to advertise their multifamily homes on their platform. The multifamily advertising package uses PowerLeads AI, virtual tour integration and featured placement.

Tenant Screening

Zumper provides free tenant screening for landlords powered by TransUnion. The tenant screening feature includes:

• Credit report, including a ResidentScore
• Criminal history check
• Eviction background

Tenants screening services are free for landlords. Once a tenant generates screening reports, they need to pay a $30 standard fee to send the reports to the property’s landlord or agent.

Landlords can also adjust the screening fee and receive the difference between the custom screen fee and the standard $30 for every potential tenant applying for their property. 

Landlords can request tenants to send them the screening documents in two ways:

• Through the application link sent to them through text or email
• By sending a screening documents request via email (Zumper will send the email on their behalf)

Once the tenant has shared the requested documents with the landlord, the landlord is notified via email, regardless of the preferred method for the screening documents. The credit and background documents expire 30 days after the tenants generate and share them with the landlord.

Rent Collection

Zumper offers landlords a free rent collection tool along with an AutoPay feature. Landlords can create rental payment schedules, track overdue payments, and get an insight into past and upcoming payments. 

The best thing is that the app automatically sends payment reminders to the tenants to help them pay their rent on time. Landlords don’t have to worry about sending reminders whenever the due date is near.

Besides, bank transfers (ACH) are free. Tenants can make payments using their debit card, Apple Pay, or credit card for a flat fee of 2.95%. Landlords will receive the rental payments in their bank accounts 24 hours after the tenant makes the payment.

Other than the rent, a landlord can collect deposits and fees using Zumper with custom fees such as:

• Security deposit
• Late fees
• Utilities
• Pet deposit

Related: 10 Tenant Management Tips for Property Managers

Zumper Pricing Plans & Packages

So, how much do you have to pay to access the above features and services? Let’s look at the platform’s packages:

Free 

Landlords and property managers with less than ten rental properties can post their properties on Zumper for free. It utilizes Facebook Marketplace, PadMapper, and WalkScore to advertise the property listings. However, the ads do not get promoted or displayed at the top position.

This free package has some limitations when it comes to posting in the US and Canada. In some metropolitan areas in these countries, landlords are limited to five free listings per account. For additional properties, you’ll have to pay $20 per listing. These listings are only active for 45 days, after which they automatically unpublish.

Multifamily Promoted

Once a landlord is beyond the free package (owns more than ten properties), they can now subscribe to the multifamily promoted plan. This package promotes properties on Facebook Marketplace, PadMapper, and WalkScore, just like the free plan.

In addition, Zumper includes its lead delivery engine, PowerLeads AI, run by artificial intelligence and predictive analytics. Zumper claims that this tool delivers five times more intelligence on leads. The platform also says these leads are twice as likely to convert to leases. It has a Power Prospect indicator that identifies prospective tenants likely to lease.

However, there’s not so much information about Zumper’s PowerLeads AI tool on the internet. It’s hard to substantiate their claims.

The multifamily promoted package has other enhancements, including:

• Featured listing placement on Zumper search results to boost visibility and generate more leads
• Virtual property tour integration with platforms such as Matterport 3D tours
• Badges to help your listing stand out
• Filtering system to help tenants easily discover your property

Instarent

Landlords under this plan pay 2% of their monthly rent.  Here are the features they get to enjoy:

• Featured placement for their listings on search results
• Coverage worth $500 in case of property damage
• Up to $300 in legal fees in case of tenant eviction
• Rent guarantee with a limit of $5000 (covers lost rent for up to one year)
• No-vacancy guarantee of $250 (if your property doesn’t get a tenant within 45 days)
• Tenant screening features include credit checks, eviction background, income verification, and criminal history with TransUnion SmartMove. The tenant pays for this.
• Bank deposits as quickly as 24 hours after the tenant initiates rent payments
• Pricing analysis
• Digital document signing with DocuSign

Signature Virtual Package

This plan is designed to help landlords advertise their listings in 3D. Landlords under this plan enjoy the following:

• 12 months featured placement on Zumper network sites and Facebook Marketplace
• Unlimited access to Matterport 3D tours. Landlords can use this feature on any advertising platform they wish
• Virtual tours of existing rentals and interior amenities
• 2D schematic floor plans 
• High-resolution property photos

Does Zumper Have Any Limitations?

The Zumper platform has many benefits for both landlords and renters. We’ve seen that it’s the only end-to-end platform for the entire rental process. It helps landlords make money on their investment properties. You can list your properties on the website to make them easy for renters to find. Additionally, the website helps you with the entire leasing process. 

Is Zumper legit? Yes, it is. Several users can attest to its authenticity as a rental platform. However, this isn’t to say that Zumper doesn’t have its limitations. Some of these potential downsides include:

Leases and E-Signings

Zumper’s pricing plans offer digital lease signing features in partnership with DocuSign. They also have a customizable lease. It can be great since you don’t have to download the lease, sign it, scan, and then upload it again. 

But there’s one minor issue; it seems like they don’t have lawyer-reviewed leases customized to each of the 50 states’ laws and regulations. It can be a potential hazard should you go against your state’s property laws.

Maintenance Request Tracking

Zumper also doesn’t have any feature to allow landlords to track their maintenance requests. This means you must have your own maintenance request tracking system or use other tools, such as TenantCloud, with built-on maintenance tracking features.

Financial Tracking and Reporting

Zumper is an excellent tool since it allows landlords to request, receive, and record rental payments and deposits. But it doesn’t have a financial tracking and reporting feature. Landlords don’t have a way to stay on top of their property expenses.

Many property management software solutions allow landlords to enter their property expenses manually. But Zumper doesn’t have this feature. You’ll have to use other solutions for bookkeeping and tracking finances.

Mobile App

The Zumper app is available on both Apple Store and Google Play Store. Renters can install the app on their mobile devices to search for available rental properties, contact landlords and agents, and submit applications.

However, the mobile app is only helpful for people searching and applying for rental properties. Landlords and listing agents can’t post their rentals using the mobile app.

Property Search and Analysis

Zumper has its benefits and functionalities for landlords and agents. But there’s one crucial market they don’t cater to; potential investors. Besides, some landlords on the platform may also be looking to invest in more properties and diversify their portfolios.

Zumper doesn’t really offer any resources to help you find investment properties. Additionally, there is no way to see how profitable those potential properties can be, considering crucial ROI metrics. 

This is why we recommend using Mashvisor with Zumper for the best real estate investing experience. 

How Can I Use Both Mashvisor and Zumper to Succeed in the Rental Business?

While Zumper lets you list your properties and find renters, there isn’t much on the website to help you find investment properties. Mashvisor is a real estate investing platform that offers plenty of tools and resources for every step of the investing process. This is why we recommend using both websites.

Mashvisor uses data from reliable sources to help investors make complicated real estate decisions. It gathers data from sites such as Airbnb and the MLS. Then, our unique algorithm runs it through to produce the most accurate data for your real estate decisions.

We offer tools to help you find great investment opportunities. After using Mashvisor to find investment properties that you know will be profitable, you can create a Zumper listing and get that property leased. Below are some of our most useful tools for finding investment properties.

Related: Invest in Long-Term Rental Properties: A Secure Investment Option

Real Estate Heatmap

If you need help finding an ideal location for a traditional rental property, use our Real Estate Heatmap tool. Here, you can conduct a neighborhood analysis to zero in on areas with the highest return on investment. 

To determine which neighborhoods will be profitable, we focus on real estate metrics. This data helps to prove a location will generate profit. Some key data we provide to make this prediction is median property price, cash on cash return, average rental income, and traditional occupancy rate.

Once you have found a location that you think will be successful, you need to find a property.

Property Finder

Only go out to buy investment properties once you already know where you wish to invest. You can find available listings in any US city using our Property Finder tool. Instead of going back and forth from different websites or going through the local newspapers, our tool offers all of this information in one spot.

It is extremely easy to use this tool. We offer filters you can alter to locate properties that match your wants and needs. It makes finding your perfect property quick, rather than spending hours searching the housing market.

Once you put in your specific requirements for a property, we will show you the top-producing listings in that area. Below are some of the filters you can use to find an investment property:

• Budget
• Location (you can search multiple places in a single search)
• Rental strategy (in this case, Traditional rental)
• Number of bedrooms
• Number of bathrooms

All of these filters are run through our algorithms to produce an available listing with the highest rate of return.

Investment Property Calculator

Once you have found both a property and a location that you are happy with, it is a good idea to ensure that the property will be successful in that location’s housing market. Mashvisor offers the Investment Property Calculator tool to provide data on your specific property.

Even if your location and property have great potential, there are always additional aspects to keep in mind. For example, even though a particular city has extremely successful Airbnb rentals, it might have different results from traditional rentals. Or, different types of properties may perform contrastingly. For example, apartments could be successful in the same location that single-family houses constantly fail in.

Our traditional property calculator takes all of this information into consideration. First, we provide income and cost estimates that you can fine-tune. This is essential when generating passive income from your investment property. Using your specific property information, we provide pre-calculated data such as interest rate, property tax, and intended maintenance and repair fees.

Additionally, this tool offers a comprehensive rental strategy. Basically, this compares how your property will perform as a traditional rental vs an Airbnb. This helps you determine the best strategy for your rental property. To determine which will perform better, we compare the data for both approaches. Below are some key metrics to look at for this comparison:

• Cap rate
• Cash on cash return
• Cash flow
• Rental income
• Occupancy rate

Real Estate Agent Directory

After you have determined that the investment property of your interest has the potential for success, it is time to purchase that property. We always suggest using an agent when purchasing any property as they can help not only get the best deal but also with any additional questions you may have. To find an agent in any location in the US, use our Real Estate Agent Directory.

Here, you can search through the agents’ profiles in your investment property’s location. You can read through their bios to see where they hold their licenses and find their contact information. We also provide the following details on agents:

• Specialty areas
• Their available listings
• Licenses 
• Off-market listings

To get access to our real estate investment tools, click here to sign up for a 7-day free trial of Mashvisor today.

What’s Next?

After you have used Mashvisor’s tools to find your perfect traditional rental property, then you can list it on Zumper. On Zumper, you can find renters for your property and get it leased quickly.

As already mentioned, landlords benefit from Zumper as all of their applicants are pre-qualified. It means finding a renter will be easy and quick. There is no need to determine how qualified a renter is on your own time. Zumper can help save you time and money.

To Recap

Zumper is a real estate platform used by investors and renters to find and list traditional rental properties. Landlords can upload their properties and find people to lease their listings. As all users are pre-qualified, they can save a lot of time finding reliable renters.

Renters can use Zumper to search for rental properties and send in their applications to the landlords. All users are pre-qualified before they apply for leases. 

Though Zumper is excellent for those services, we recommend landlords use Mashvisor before Zumper to find their investment properties. Our tools and services make finding a successful property easy.

Book your demo today to see what our tools can do for you.