In our latest real estate tech entrepreneur interview, we’re speaking with Igor Dzhebyan from andcards.
Who are you and what do you do?
Igor Dzhebyan, the CEO and Co-Founder of andcards — we provide technology that elevates a coworking brand.
What problem does your product/service solve?
Rising independent coworking networks strive to build strong brands. Mobile apps are an important touchpoint, often overlooked due to a lack of resources and know-how. andcards makes white-label mobile apps that reflect a coworking space’s brand, powers member engagement, and builds a unique online presence. Our software is used daily for meeting room bookings, membership benefit applications, and connecting to other members through a collaborative news feed.
What are you most excited about right now?
Scaling andcards workspace management technology around the world. Since our customers are mature coworking spaces that pay attention to their brand, the quality of their workplaces and interiors are simply jaw-dropping. It is really exciting to see how our customers adapt our technology to simplify management and improve the member experience. The emotions of coworking members make me feel proud of our work.
What’s next for you?
We just released andcards v4, allowing additional design customization to reflect the customer’s coworking brand. In 2020, we plan to focus on three key areas:
Further perfect the user experience of our product, making it even more minimalist, simple, and intuitive.
Enable even more customization, transcending a coworking space’s brand identity, so the app really feels like your own.
Cooperating with our partners, from CRMs, access control, billing and payments, through to marketing, to offer coworking spaces the flexibility of using professional tools for their business.
What’s a cause you’re passionate about and why?
Education. In my opinion, it is the greatest achievement of humankind that gave us enlightenment, modern science and technology, advancing our understanding of the universe and ourselves. Education brought us out of an eternal loop of poverty and Medieval superstition. It made us believe in ourselves, cultivating the entrepreneurial spirit–while allowing more freedom to travel the world, work remotely (often at coworking spaces), and be who we want to be. The new way of education and work enables social lifts, especially in underprivileged communities, improving the quality of life for hundreds of millions of people.
Thanks to Igor for sharing his story. If you’d like to connect, find him on LinkedIn here.
We’re constantly looking for great real estate tech entrepreneurs to feature. If that’s you, please read this post — then drop me a line (drew @ geekestatelabs dot com).
Robo-advisors have barely been around for 10 years, but in the past couple of years several have been steadily expanding their investment menus, and even offering valuable add-on services. One of the leaders in this regard is Wealthfront. The robo-advisor has been growing its investment capability in every direction but is now even offering financial planning. The platform now bills itself as offering High-Interest Cash, Financial Planning & Robo-Investing for Millennials. If you’re looking for more than just investing, Wealthfront has it. And as has become their trademark, it’s all available at a low cost.
What is Wealthfront?
Based in Palo Alto, California, and founded in 2011, Wealthfront has about $25 billion in assets under management. It’s the second-largest independent robo-advisor, after Betterment. And while dozens of robo-advisors have arrived in recent years, Wealthfront stands out as one of the very best. There isn’t any one thing Wealthfront does especially well, but many. And they’re adding to their menu of services all the time.
Their primary business of course is automated online investing. You can open an account with as little as $500, and the platform will design a portfolio for you, then manage it continuously. Your money will be invested in a globally diversified portfolio of ETFs–just like most other robo-advisors. But Wealthfront takes it a step further, and also adds real estate and natural resources.
Like other robo-advisors, Wealthfront uses Modern Portfolio Theory (MPT) in the creation of portfolios. They first determine your investment goals, time horizon, and risk tolerance, then build a portfolio designed to work within those parameters. MPT emphasizes proper asset allocation to both maximize returns, and minimize losses.
But in a major departure from other robo-advisors, Wealthfront now offers the ability to customize your portfolio and get access to a variety of investment methodologies and portfolios, including Smart Beta, Risk Parity and Stock-Level Tax-Loss Harvesting. And more recently, they’ve also stepped into the financial planning arena. They now offer several financial planning packages, customized to very specific needs, including retirement planning and college planning.
If you haven’t checked out Wealthfront in the past year or so, you definitely need to give it a second look. This is a robo-advisor platform where things are happening–fast!
How Wealthfront Works
When you sign up with Wealthfront, they first have you complete a questionnaire. Your answers will determine your investment goals, time horizon, and risk tolerance. A portfolio invested in multiple asset classes will be constructed, with an exchange-traded fund (ETF) representing each.
The advantage of ETFs is that they are low-cost, and enable the platform to expose your portfolio to literally hundreds of different companies in each asset class. With your portfolio invested in multiple asset classes, it will literally contain the stocks and bonds of thousands of companies and institutions, both here in the U.S. and abroad.
Wealthfront offers tax-loss harvesting on all portfolio levels. But they’ve also added portfolio options for larger investors, that include stocks as well as ETFs. The inclusion of stocks gives Wealthfront the ability to be more precise and aggressive with tax-loss harvesting.
Each portfolio also comes with periodic rebalancing, to maintain target asset allocations, as well as automatic dividend reinvestment. As is typical with robo-advisors, all you need to do is fund your account–Wealthfront handles 100% of the investment management for you.
More recently, Wealthfront has also added external account support. The platform can now incorporate investment accounts that are not directly managed by the robo-advisor. This will provide a high-altitude view of your entire financial situation, helping you explore what’s possible and providing guidance to optimize your finances.
And much like many large investment brokers, Wealthfront now offers a portfolio line of credit. It’s available only to investors with $25,000 or more in a taxable account, but if you qualify you can borrow money against your investment account and set your own repayment terms in the process
Wealthfront Features and Benefits
Minimum initial investment: $500
Account types offered: Individual and joint taxable accounts; traditional, Roth, rollover and SEP IRAs; trusts and 529 college accounts
Account access: Available in web and mobile apps. Compatible with Android devices (5.0 and up), and available for download at Google Play. Also compatible with iOS (11.0 and later) devices at The App Store. Compatible with iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices.
Account custodian: Account funds are held in a brokerage account in your name through Wealthfront Brokerage Corporation, which has partnered with RBC Correspondent Services for clearing functions, such as trade settlement. IRA accounts are held with Forge Trust.
Customer service: Available by phone and email, Monday through Friday, from 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Pacific time.
Wealthfront security: Your funds invested with Wealthfront are covered by SIPC, which insures your account against broker failure for up to $500,000 in cash and securities, including up to $250,000 in cash.
Wealthfront uses third-party providers to maintain secure, read-only links to your account. The providers specialize in tracking financial data, as well as employ robust, bank-grade security, and in general, they follow data protection best practices. In addition, Wealthfront does not store your account password.
Wealthfront Investment Methodology
For regular investment accounts, Wealthfront constructs portfolios from a combination of 10 different specific asset classes. This includes four stock funds, four bond funds, a real estate fund, and a natural resources fund.
Each portfolio will contain various allocations of each asset class, based on your investor profile as determined by your answers to the questionnaire. The one exception is municipal bonds. That allocation will appear only in taxable accounts. IRAs don’t include them since the accounts are already tax-sheltered.
Notice in the table below that most asset classes have two ETFs listed. This is part of Wealthfront’s tax-loss harvesting strategy. In each case, the two ETFs are very similar. To facilitate tax-loss harvesting, one fund position will be sold, then the second will be purchased at least 30 days later, to restore the asset class. (We’ll cover tax-loss harvesting in a bit more detail a little further down.)
The ETFs used for each asset class are as follows, as of December 29, 2018:
Specific Asset ClassGeneral Asset ClassPrimary ETFSecondary ETF
US Stocks
Stocks
Vanguard CRSP US Total Market Index (VTI)
Schwab DJ Broad US Market (SCHB)
Foreign Stocks
Stocks
Vanguard FTSE Developed All Cap ex-US Index (VEA)
Schwab FTSE Dev ex-US (SCHF)
Emerging Markets
Stocks
Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets All Cap China A Inclusion Index (VWO)
iShares MSCI EM (IEMG)
Real Estate
Real Estate
Vanguard MSCI US REIT (VNQ)
Schwab DJ REIT (SCHH)
Natural Resources
Natural Resources
State Street S&P Energy Select Sector Index (XLE)
Vanguard MSCI Energy (VDE)
US Government Bonds
Bonds
Vanguard Barclays Aggregate Bonds (BND)
Vanguard Barclays 5-10 Gov/Credit (BIV)
TIPS
Bonds
Schwab Barclays Capital US TIPS (SCHP)
Vanguard Barclays Capital US TIPS 0-5 Years (VTIP)
Municipal Bonds (taxable accounts only)
Bonds
Vanguard S&P National Municipal (VTEB)
State Street Barclays Capital Municipal (TFI)
Dividend Stocks
Bonds
Vanguard Dividend Achievers Select (VIG)
Schwab Dow Jones US Dividend 100 (SCHD)
Wealthfront’s historical returns are as follows (through 1/31/2019). But keep in mind these numbers are general. Since the portfolios designed for each investor are unique, your returns will vary.
Specialized Wealthfront Portfolios
As mentioned in the introduction, Wealthfront has rolled out several different investment options, in addition to its regular robo-advisor portfolios. Each represents a specific, and generally more specialized investment strategy, and is typically available to those with larger investment accounts.
Smart Beta: You’ll need at least $500,000 to be eligible for this portfolio. Smart beta departs from traditional index-based investing, which relies on market capitalization. For example, since Apple is one of the most highly capitalized S&P 500 stocks, it has a disproportionate weight in strict S&P 500 index funds. In a smart beta portfolio, the position in Apple will be reduced based on other factors.
In general, under smart beta, the weighing of stocks in the fund uses a variety of factors that are less dependent on market capitalization. There’s some evidence this investment methodology produces higher returns. This portfolio is available at no additional fee.
Wealthfront Risk Parity Fund: This is actually a mutual fund–the first offered by Wealthfront. It involves the use of leverage with some positions within the portfolio. It attempts to achieve higher long-term returns by equalizing the risk contributions of each asset class. It’s based on the Bridgewater Hedge Fund, and requires a minimum of $100,000, with an additional annual fee of 0.25% (0.50% total). This is the only Wealthfront portfolio that charges a fee over and above the regular advisory fee.
Socially responsible investing (SRI): Wealthfront just recently began to offer a specific SRI portfolio option. Once you sign up, you’ll be able to customize your portfolio and add socially responsible ETFs.
Sector-specific ETFs: If you want to invest in a particular portion of the market, such as technology or healthcare, Wealthfront gives you the option to build a portfolio that focuses on certain industries to portions of the stock market.
Customized Wealthfront Portfolios:
Wealthfront also lets investors build their own portfolios, which is somewhat uncommon among robo-advisors.
Most robo-advisors will build your portfolio automatically based on your risk tolerance and goals. If you like that service, Wealthfront can do it. However, more hands-on investors are free to make tweaks to the automatically designed portfolio by adding or removing ETFs.
You can also build a portfolio entirely from scratch if you’d rather. You can choose which ETFs to invest in and how much you want to invest in them. You can then let Wealthfront handle things like rebalancing and tax-loss harvesting while maintaining the portfolio you desire.
Wealthfront Tax-loss Harvesting
If there’s one investment category where Wealthfront stands above other robo-advisors, it’s tax-loss harvesting. Not only do they offer it on all regular taxable accounts (but not IRAs, since they’re already tax-sheltered), but they also offer specialized portfolios that take it to an even higher degree.
Wealthfront starts with a tax location strategy. That involves holding interest and dividend-earning asset classes in IRA accounts, where the predictable returns will be sheltered from income tax. Capital appreciation assets, like stocks, are held in taxable accounts, where they can get the benefit of lower long-term capital gains tax rates.
But for larger portfolios, Wealthfront offers Stock-level Tax-Loss Harvesting. Three specialized portfolios are available, using a mix of both ETFs and individual stocks. The purpose of the stocks is to provide more specific tax-loss harvesting opportunities. For example, it may be more advantageous to sell a handful of stocks to generate tax losses, than to close out an entire ETF.
Given that Wealthfront puts such heavy emphasis on tax-loss harvesting, it’s not surprising they’ve published one of the most respected white papers on the subject on the internet. If you want to know more about this topic, it’s well worth a read. The paper concludes that tax-loss harvesting can significantly increase the return on investment of a typical portfolio.
US Direct Indexing
US Direct Indexing is an enhanced level of tax-loss harvesting that Wealthfront offers to people with account balances exceeding $100,000.
Instead of building a portfolio of ETFs, Wealthfront will use your money to directly purchase shares in 100, 500, or 1,000 US companies. By buying shares in so many companies, Wealthfront can emulate an index fund in your portfolio while owning individual shares in the businesses.
Owning individual shares in hundreds of companies makes tax-loss harvesting easier as it lets Wealthfront’s algorithm trade based on movements in individual stocks rather than in funds. This can increase the number of tax losses that Wealthfront harvests each year, reducing your income tax bill.
Other Wealthfront Features
Wealthfront Cash Account
Wealthfront offers acash account where you can safely and securely store your money for anything–emergencies, a down payment for a home, or to later invest. By working with what they call Program Banks, Wealthfront has quadrupled the normal FDIC insurance on this account, so you’re protected for up to $5 million.
There’s also no market risk since it’s not an investment account and the money isn’t being invested anywhere. You can make as many transfers in and out of the account as you’d like, and it only takes $1 to start.
So what’s the catch?
There really isn’t one. Wealthfront will skim a little off the top to make some money before giving you an industry-leading 4.30% APY, but other than that, you’re just giving them more financial data. Since we’re doing this all the time with technology anyway, it shouldn’t make that big of a difference.
I see no downside, especially if you’re already a client of Wealthfront.
They’re really making a play to be your all-in-one financial services provider, too.
A new feature, just launched, is the ability to use your cash account as a checking account. This includes the ability to access your paycheck up to two days early when you set up a direct deposit. Additionally, you can invest in the market within minutes using your Wealthfront Cash account. Put the two together and you give yourself the ability to invest more than 100 days more in the market. The account also allows you to auto-pay bills and use apps like Venmo and PayPal to send money to friends or family. Account-holders also get a debit card to make purchases and get cash from ATMs. And you can use the account to organize your cash into savings buckets – like an emergency fund, down payment on a house, or other large purchase – and use Wealthfront’s Self-Driving Money offering to automate your savings into those buckets.
If you have cash that’s getting rusty in a traditional bank account and you want to earn more, the Wealthfront Cash Accountis a great place to keep it.
Read more about the cash account in our Wealthfront Cash Account full review.
Wealthfront Portfolio Line of Credit
This feature is available if you have at least $25,000 in your Wealthfront account. It allows you to borrow up to 30% of your account value, and currently charges interest rates between 3.15% and 4.40% APR depending on account size. You can make repayments on your own timetable, since you’re essentially borrowing from yourself. And since the credit line is secured by your account, you don’t need to credit qualify to access it.
Wealthfront Free Financial Planning
This is Wealthfront’s entry into financial planning. But like everything else with Wealthfront, this is an automated service. There are no in-person meetings or phone calls with a certified financial planner. Instead, technology is used to help you explore your financial goals, and to provide guidance to help you reach them. And since the service is technology-based, there is no fee for using it.
The service can be used to help you plan for homeownership, college, early retirement, or even to help you plan to take some time off to travel, like an entire year!
Simply choose your financial objective, enter your financial information, and Wealthfront will direct you on how to plan and prepare.
Self-Driving Money
One of the biggest and largely unrecognized obstacles for most investors is something known as cash drag. That’s when you have too much of your portfolio sitting in cash, which may earn interest, but it doesn’t provide the investment returns you can get in a diversified investment portfolio.
Wealthfront has addressed the cash drag dilemma with their newly released Self-Driving Money features. It’s a free service offered by the robo-advisor that essentially automates your savings strategy. It does this by automatically moving excess cash to help meet your goals, including into investment accounts where it will earn higher returns. And in the process, it eliminates the need to make manual cash transfers, and the judgment needed to decide exactly when to make that happen.
Our vision of Self-Driving Money is going to be a complete game-changer for people’s finances, said Chris Hutchins, Head of Financial Automation at Wealthfront. We want to completely remove the burden of managing your money so you can focus on your career, your family or whatever is most important to you.
You can take advantage of Self-Driving Money from the Wealthfront Cash Account. You’ll set a maximum balance for the connected account, which should be an amount that’s more than you expect to spend or withdraw on a monthly basis.
How It Works
When Wealthfront determines you’re over your maximum balance by at least $100 it will schedule an automatic transfer of the excess cash based on your goals. For example, you can tell Wealthfront you want to save $10,000 in an emergency fund, then max out your Roth IRA, then put the rest toward saving for a down payment on a house. Once you set the strategy, Wealthfront will automate the rest.
And before it happens, you’ll receive an email alert, then always have 24 hours to cancel the transfer if you need to cover unexpected expenses. You’ll also be able to turn on and off your Self-Driving Money plan at any time.
It’s usually possible to set up automated transfers from external accounts into most investment accounts. But what sets Wealthfront apart is the fact that it will make those transfers automatically. They will make sure you always have enough cash to pay your bills, then automatically transfer any excess into your savings buckets or investment accounts to improve the return on your money.
The strategy is designed to optimize your money across spending, savings, and investments, and to make it all flow with no effort on your part. You can simply have your paycheck direct deposited into your external checking account or Wealthfront Cash Account, cover your expected monthly spending, then have excess funds automatically transferred into the Wealthfront account of your choice.
By delivering on its Self-Driving Money vision, Wealthfront is taking the robo-advisor concept to a whole new level. Not only do you not need to concern yourself with managing your investments, but now even funding those investments will happen automatically. The result will be near complete freedom from the financial stresses that plague so many individuals.
Wealthfront Fees
Wealthfront has a single fee structure of just 0.25% per year for their advisory fee. That means you can have a $100,000 portfolio managed for just $250, or only a little bit more than $20 per month.
The one exception is the Wealthfront Risk Parity Fund, which has a total fee of 0.50% per year.
How to Sign Up with Wealthfront
To open an account with Wealthfront, you’ll need to be at least 18 years old, and a U.S. citizen.
You’ll need to provide the following information:
Your name
Address
Email address
Social Security number
Date of birth
Citizenship/residency status
Employment status
As is the case with all investment accounts, you’ll also be required to supply documentation verifying your identity. This is usually accomplished by supplying a driver’s license or other state-issued identification.
As mentioned earlier, you complete a questionnaire that will be used to determine your investment goals, time horizon, and risk tolerance. Your portfolio will be based on your answers to that questionnaire, and will be presented to you upon completion of the questionnaire.
For funding, you can use ACH transfers from a linked bank account. You will also have the option to schedule recurring deposits, on a weekly, biweekly, or monthly basis. The platform can even enable you to set up dollar-cost averaging deposits.
If you already have a brokerage account with another company, Wealthfront makes it easy to transfer your funds to your new account. If you’re invested in ETFs that Wealthfront supports, Wealthfront will assist with an in-kind transfer.
That means that you won’t have to sell your shares before transferring funds, which lets you avoid capital gains taxes that would be triggered by a sale.
Wealthfront Alternatives
Wealthfront’s closest competitor, and the robo-advisor that offers the most comparable services, is Betterment. They also have an annual advisory fee of 0.25%, but require no minimum initial investment. That could make it the perfect robo-advisor for someone with no money, who plans to fund their account with monthly deposits. Read the full Betterment review here.
Related: Wealthfront vs. Betterment
Another alternative is M1. Also a robo-advisor, M1 enables you to invest your money in what they call “pies”. These are miniature investment portfolios comprised of both stocks and ETFs. You can invest in existing pies, or create and populate pies of your own design. Once you invest in one or more pies, the platform will automatically manage it going forward. What’s more, M1 is free to use. Read more about M1 here.
Related: Wealthfront vs. Vanguard
Read More: The Best Robo Advisors – Find out which one matches your investment needs.
Wealthfront Pros and Cons
Investment options: Wealthfront offers more investment options than just about any other robo-advisor, particularly for investors with at least $100,000.
Reasonably priced: The annual fee of 0.25% is extremely reasonable, especially when you consider the degree of sophistication offered by Wealthfront’s investment methodology.
Tax-loss harvesting: This is available on all accounts, and Wealthfront is probably better at this investment strategy than any other robo-advisor.
Portfolio credit line: Gives you the ability to borrow against your portfolio with ease, and represents a form of margin investing.
Financial planning feature: The financial planning service is free to use and is available to all investors.
Limited access for smaller investors: Some of the more advanced investment portfolios and services are available only to investors with $100,000 or more to invest.
$500 minimum initial investment: It’s a minor issue, though some competitors require no funds to open an account.
FAQs
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Should You Sign Up for Wealthfront?
In a word, absolutely! Wealthfront is one of the very top robo-advisors, and you can’t go wrong with this one. Not only do they offer far more services than most other robo-advisors, but they also allow you to grow along the way. For example, as your account increases in value, you can take advantage of more sophisticated investment strategies, including advanced tax-loss harvesting.
That Wealthfront offers its portfolio line of credit and free financial planning services only makes the platform a bit more attractive, But the real benefit is the actual investment service. Wealthfront’s investment service comes extremely close to that of traditional human investment advisors, but at only a fraction of the annual cost.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) this week announced a package of regulatory and administrative waivers that will allow the use of HUD funding to assist with the recovery of Maui after the island endured a series of devastating wildfires. The waivers come as thousands of government-backed mortgages on the island have been impacted by the disaster, according to data released by the office of Hawaii Gov. Josh Green (D).
Based on the data, 5,200 mortgages serviced by Freddie Mac,9,800 mortgages serviced by Fannie Mae and 2,400 mortgages serviced by Ginnie Mae on Maui have all been impacted by the fires. Additionally, 1,300 Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgages including two public housing and two senior living buildings have been impacted, as well as 927 U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) mortgages.
However, this data only provides a partial picture. The governor’s office said that the Lāhainā and Kula areas are “still being assessed.” Lāhainā, a popular tourist destination on the island, was the town most affected by the spread of the wildfires. Most of the structures in the town were destroyed.
HUD’s waiver package aims to accomplish five key goals in assistance for Maui, including suspending the community development block grant (CDBG) public services cap to provide additional support services related to the effects of the disaster on individuals and families, which will allow for HUD funds to pay for food, water and “other emergency needs,” HUD said.
The funds will also allow for new housing construction with CDBG funding in declared-disaster areas, and provide flexibility in HOME tenant-based rental assistance requirements “to reduce burden for those seeking assistance.” The HOME local matching contribution requirements will also be waived in an effort to provide “greater flexibility in the entities that can expeditiously provide housing to displaced persons and repair properties damaged by the disaster.”
Finally, the waivers will allow for an extension of time so that “individuals can receive temporary assistance, including CDBG emergency grant payments and ESG rental assistance.”
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has also been active in the conversation since Americans will typically aim to find ways to donate money, clothing or other materials to the disaster area in the immediate aftermath and beyond. CFPB warns that some bad actors typically aim to take advantage of these inclinations.
“It’s natural to want to lend a hand to others who have been affected by an emergency,” CFPB said in an announcement distributed on Friday. “You can share our tips for sending financial support to others, including fast facts about mobile apps. And, refer to our tips for avoiding scams and fraud that can entrap people trying to help.”
Life has gotten a lot more convenient over the past decade thanks to our friend the Internet.
Today, we can shop for clothes, groceries, and just about anything else online, do our banking with text messages and smartphones, or hail a ride home with the touch of a button.
But one area that still needs improvement is real estate, including the notoriously chaotic mortgage world where paperwork continues to be beyond burdensome in the digital age.
Remember when MBA chief David Stevens claimed that the average mortgage file had grown to more than 500 pages?
Well, hopefully the smart guys and gals up in Silicon Valley have a solution for that as well.
Say Hello to Opendoor, the Instant Home Buyer
Opendoor is one of the biggest iBuyers of residential real estate
They want to help you sell your home quickly with the push of a button
Instead of having to clean it, list it, show it, and wait for the offers to come in
And make it easier to acquire a new home while getting rid of your old one
A group of San Francisco-based tech disruptors (that’s the buzzword these days) have big plans to make selling your home a lot easier and faster.
Their company, called Opendoor, has one mission. To make it easy to sell your home. To quote them exactly, their tagline appears to be, “The easiest way to sell your home.”
Note the word easy; nowhere on their one page website do they say highest price. Or anything to do with price for that matter. Just that you’ll receive an “instant offer” online and be able to close in 3 days. Wow.
Simply put, they want to bring liquidity to real estate, similar I suppose to how stocks are bought and sold within milliseconds online.
That’s the draw of buying stock. You can unload it whenever you want and get your hands on the cash for other needs with minimal delay.
One of the major downsides to real estate as an investment (or in general) is that it’s extremely illiquid.
If you own a piece of property and want to dispose of it, you’ll need to hire a real estate agent, create a listing, spruce up the place, let people tour the property, and hopefully land a suitable offer.
The process, if you’re lucky, will only take a month. More realistically, it’ll take a few months from start to finish, barring the recent home buying frenzy that has probably given every homeowner unrealistic expectations on selling timelines.
It Might Make Sense to Use Opendoor If You Must Sell Quickly
Like most convenient services there is a price that must be paid
Opendoor may make sense if you have to sell your home quickly for some reason
But there’s always a cost to doing things easier
And that could mean a significantly lower offer price for your home
To be clear, Opendoor doesn’t plan to replace real estate agents or reinvent the entire process. At least, not just yet.
They simply want to provide a quicker way to sell when you don’t have time to go through the entire process, whether because you’re relocating for a job or simply because you need capital this week, not three months from now.
Perhaps you’re having trouble keeping up with mortgage payments and just want to avoid foreclosure. There are plenty of reasons why homeowners may want to sell immediately.
Apparently there’s some algorithm that determines an appropriate selling price, similar to how Zillow provides you with a Zestimate.
So far they’ve snagged $9.95 million in funding, though the lead is from Opendoor co-founder Keith Rabois of Khosla Ventures.
Other notable individuals involved with Opendoor include PayPal co-founder Max Levchin, former YouTube and Facebook CFO Gideon Yu, Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman, and Facebook vice president Dan Rose.
With that group of investors, it’s certainly going to get interesting in a hurry.
How Selling a Home with Opendoor Works
You request an offer to sell your home
A “home expert” prepares an offer based on market data in 24 hours
You review the offer and sign if you accept it
They provide a free home assessment to determine repair costs
You choose a closing day and they buy your home
Opendoor basically takes the guess work and uncertainty out of selling a home by just agreeing to buy it from you for a certain market-driven price.
That makes them an iBuyer, or instant buyer, of homes, as opposed to a maybe-buyer who takes 30-45 days to close on your home, assuming they get to the finish line.
Instead of having to find a real estate agent, clean it, list it, stage it, hold open houses, and wait and hope that it sells for the price you want/need, they’ll buy it for you in a matter of days.
All you need to do is request a free, no-obligation offer by entering your address and telling them about your home.
If your home qualifies, a local market expert will prepare your offer in just 24 hours, relying on your property’s unique features and market data.
The offer is good for five days, but you can proceed whenever you’d like. It can also be refreshed at any time after that period.
Assuming you accept, it will be subject to an in-person inspection to determine if repairs are necessary.
If they are, you can make them yourself or leave it up to Opendoor, in which case the costs will be deducted from your sales proceeds.
You get to choose your closing date as well, between 14 and 60 days, whether you want to unload it quickly or at a later date (and changes can be made free of charge).
That can come in handy if you need a quick sale, perhaps to avoid a contingent purchase. Or if you need cash fast from the sale of your home.
But they’re happy to let you stick around a while too. This flexibility is one of the main perks of iBuying, especially if you’re acquiring a new home.
Opendoor Pricing and Fees
Despite the enormous convenience, Opendoor claims to save you money too, with the average service charge around 7.1% of the sales price versus a 7-10% cost if you go the traditional route.
You can see a breakdown above of what a traditional sale might cost versus selling to Opendoor.
Of course, what’s the sale price in both scenarios? If they’re the same, great. If the one with Opendoor is significantly lower, the math changes quickly.
These head-to-head comparisons always seem to feature the same sales price, which probably isn’t a reality.
Another key factor is repair costs. Will Opendoor hold you accountable for thousands in repairs, or will they go relatively easy? I guess it depends on the property in question.
Regardless, you do have to factor in some “cost” for the time and effort saved by not having to list yourself.
And as they point out, there is a cost to owning two homes at once, assuming you’re not benefiting from it.
Opendoor Versus the Competition
Not all iBuyers are created equal, despite there being several of them nowadays like Zillow Offers and Offerpad.
Opendoor points out the subtle, but important differences in their offerings versus the competition.
Notably, they allow you to cancel your home sale at any time for any reason, which apparently isn’t the case with Offerpad.
They also allow a 14-day “Late Checkout” if you need to stay in your home a bit longer before you move into your new abode.
However, my guess is all these companies will make adjustments over time to match up with the others.
So ultimately it will probably come down to pricing if you shop different iBuyers at the same time.
Buying an Opendoor Home
Opendoor sells the homes it buys shortly after refurbishing them
So you can search their listings on their website/app
And then buy a home directly from them too
With or without your own real estate agent
If you happen to be a home buyer, you can purchase an Opendoor property.
After all, if Opendoor is buying properties from home sellers, they’ve got to unload them on the other side.
They provide some benefits to buyers as well, including the ability to view an Opendoor home via the Opendoor Homes mobile app.
You can actually open the door so to speak by unlocking it with the app. Or at least getting the code to the lockbox. And each home is open daily from 6am to 9pm, so there’s always a convenient time to visit.
Once you’re ready to make an offer, you can do so via the Opendoor app or their website, and it only takes 48 hours or so to hear back.
They say it generally takes 20-30 days to close, similar to a traditional home purchase, and they require you to be pre-approved for a mortgage before making an offer.
If you have a buying agent, you can use them and Opendoor will pay them a commission. But it might affect your sales price.
Lastly, there’s a 30-day satisfaction guarantee if you don’t love your home, they’ll buy it back.
Update: They also recently launched a trade-in program where you can sell your home and get a new one all through their company.
Where Opendoor Is Currently Available
At the moment, Opendoor is available in the following metros/cities:
Asheville, NC
Atlanta, GA
Austin, TX
Boise, ID
Charlotte, NC
Columbia, SC
Dallas Fort-Worth, TX
Deltona, FL
Denver, CO
Greensboro, Winston-Salem and High Point, NC
Houston, TX
Jacksonville, FL
Killeen, TX
Knoxville, TN (and Chattanooga)
Lakeland, FL
Las Vegas, NV
Los Angeles, CA
Miami, FL (including Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach)
Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN
Nashville, TN
Ogden, UT
Oklahoma City, OK
Orlando, FL
Ormond Beach, FL
Oxnard, CA
Phoenix, AZ
Portland, OR
Prescott, AZ
Provo, UT
Raleigh-Durham, NC
Reno, NV
Riverside, CA
Rochester, MN
Sacramento, CA
Salt Lake City, UT
San Antonio, TX
San Diego, CA
Sarasota, FL
Tampa, FL
Thousand Oaks, CA
Tucson, AZ
Ventura, CA
Winter Haven, FL
Their hope is to offer the service nationwide at some point in the near future, and they have plans to expand to additional metros this year.
Opendoor’s Mortgage Division
You might be able to finance an Opendoor home with an Opendoor home loan
If buying in the states of Arizona or Texas
The company provides a 1% credit for closing costs
And the ability to get pre-qualified quickly
The company has since introduced a financing arm known as “Opendoor Mortgage” that provides financing for buyers of Opendoor homes. It’s only available in Arizona and Texas at the moment though.
The name has since been changed to Opendoor Home Loans.
They claim to offer competitive mortgage rates and the ability to get pre-qualified in under 30 minutes. And if everything happens under one roof, they might be able to close faster.
So it seems they’re trying to make it a one-stop shop, which makes sense because time is of the essence and you can’t have a third-party lender slowing things down.
At the moment, they have a promotion where a buyer can get a so-called “ultimate mortgage.” I’m not exactly sure what that means, but it does come with 1% off the purchase price in the way of a credit for closing costs.
This could make Opendoor Mortgage more competitive than other lenders assuming the mortgage rates and lender costs are comparable.
Opendoor Acquires Open Listings
In September 2018, Opendoor acquired Open Listings, a discount real estate brokerage that connects home buyers with local real estate agents.
It’s different in that agents and their services are on-demand, as needed. So a home buyer can control as much or as little of the process as they wish.
And in exchange for that hands-off approach, home buyers who use Open Listings get up to 50% of the typical buyer agent’s commission back.
So instead of the typical 2.5% commission, only 1.25% is paid via the sales price and the other 1.25% is returned to the buyer either via reduced closing costs or via check in the mail.
The company has already refunded over $8 million to homeowners whose collective purchases exceeded $1 billion.
Open Listings was launched just three years ago in Los Angeles, part of Y Combinator, with a simple goal of making buying a home easier and more affordable.
The merger aims to create an end-to-end solution for buying, selling, and trading in homes, the first of its kind in the industry.
Opendoor and Redfin Partnership
In July 2019, Opendoor announced a partnership with competitor Redfin.
While it sounds like an odd marriage, given the existence of a very similar RedfinNow product, it opens up some new markets for Redfin.
The agreement will allow home sellers in the cities of Phoenix and Atlanta to request an Opendoor offer through Redfin’s website or mobile apps, as seen in the screenshot above.
Currently, RedfinNow isn’t available in those markets, so perhaps it a free test-run.
Well, Redfin will actually make a profit if a customer decides to sell to Opendoor, and they’ll be able to see demand for iBuying in those cities.
Opendoor’s home listings will also appear on Redfin’s website and mobile apps.
In mid-June 2021, the company announced that it had reached the 100,000-transaction milestone.
Read more: Is Google about to replace your real estate agent?
These seven back-to-school savings tips will have your kids ready for another year without busting your budget.
July 28, 2023
New backpacks, calculators, shoes, musical instruments, and books—the shopping list for school supplies seems to get longer each year. It’s no wonder that families with children in elementary through high school planned to spend an average of $890.07—an all-time high—on back-to-school shopping, according to a 2023 National Retail Federation Report.
Clearly, back-to-school season can put a major dent in your budget. So how can you save money on back-to-school shopping?
Fear not. Tiffany Morrison, a personal finance writer, says there are ways to save money that can help ease the financial sting: “Back-to-school shopping can be done without breaking the bank.”
Here are seven tips for saving money this back-to-school season:
1. Plan ahead
The last thing that most parents and caregivers may want to think about during summer break is the next school year. But Morrison says it pays to plan ahead to stay in front of your back-to-school finances.
“Having a plan when it comes to school supplies and new shoes can help you not go over budget,” says Morrison, a mother of two high schoolers.
After all, no one wants to start a new school year in debt.
As soon as you can, Morrison says to make a list of the items your kids may need for the upcoming school year. Think about school supplies, backpacks, shoes, a first-day outfit, other clothes your kids may have outgrown—or anything they might need for extracurricular activities. Be as specific as you can, keeping in mind that your child’s school may not release its school supply list until just weeks before school starts—or sometimes even after it starts.
“Knowing exactly what you’re looking for ahead of time is a big help,” she says. “This way, you aren’t overbuying, which is easy to do when you aren’t prepared and don’t have a plan.”
After building a list, research prices. How much do those must-have shoes cost? How much extra is a backpack with wheels? Tallying up the numbers might reveal that back-to-school shopping will be more expensive than you anticipated. But don’t stress. There are a variety of back-to-school savings tips and clever ways to save money that can help you make it more affordable.
For starters—and in the spirit of preparedness—Morrison recommends setting up a back-to-school savings challenge for yourself.
“This involves setting aside a small amount of money, every paycheck, for a few months,” she says. “That way you’re prepared and not stressed about breaking the bank when that time comes.”
Where should you store those savings for back-to-school shopping? A high-yield online savings account allows your money to grow each month thanks to compound interest. It’s safe and easy to access, and you can even use multiple savings accounts to stay organized as you save toward different goals.
2. Look for midsummer deals
Once you have a list, Morrison recommends mapping out which stores have the items. Back-to-school shopping tips like this help you streamline and prioritize securing those midsummer deals so you don’t miss them.
“A lot of stores start having sales on school uniform clothing and school supplies beginning around July,” Morrison says. She adds that you can also find deals in the end-of-season clearance sections of stores.
“I also check to see which stores have any coupons available,” Morrison says. “And don’t forget to check the mobile apps associated with each store. Sometimes they offer extra savings.”
3. Stock up on back-to-school staples throughout the year
Some school supplies are timeless, and they need to be regularly replaced. Things like notebooks, folders, glue, markers, crayons, pens, and pencils always need to be restocked before the next school year.
For that reason, Morrison says that a great way to save money is to spread out your school-supply shopping throughout the year. By jumping on sales when you see them, you can check off a good chunk of your back-to-school shopping before the summer even begins—and at a fraction of the cost.
Another back-to-school savings tip from Morrison? Sift through the supplies your kids bring home on the last day of school. You may find unused plastic folders or spiral notebooks that can be saved for the upcoming year. You can also stow away items with a longer shelf life, like scissors, rulers, calculators, and protractors, so they stay in good condition.
4. Start meal planning
Morrison saves the most money of all on meals and snacks for her kids. That’s why, when it comes to tips on saving money this back-to-school season, meal planning is her biggest focus.
That doesn’t mean planning every lunch down to the last grape. Instead, Morrison likes to plan her kids’ breakfast, lunch, and dinner around their school and activity schedules.
For example, she says if there’s a busy week of school concerts and soccer games, you might be tempted to make an unplanned detour to the drive-thru on the way home. Instead, Morrison recommends always having an easy-to-prepare meal available for when things get hectic. “A simple sandwich with chips and veggies can go a long way,” she says.
To become a better meal planner, Morrison recommends practicing over the summer so you’ll be prepared when the school year is in full swing.
5. Take advantage of tax-free shopping days
Hitting the stores during tax-free shopping days is a lesser-known tip for saving money this back-to-school season. The downside? Only some states offer them, and they can include residency and product restrictions, so do your research before crossing any state lines for back-to-school shopping.
Tax-free shopping days may be a great way to save money, Morrison says. But she also notes that shops and stores may be busier on those days. One tip: Arrive at stores early to beat the crowds and take advantage of those tax-free back-to-school savings without too much stress or having to deal with sparse inventory.
Morrison notes that not all states offer sales tax holidays—and of those that do, some only reduce a portion of the tax. And be sure to check which items are eligible for the sales tax holiday before planning your back-to-school shopping.
6. Involve your kids in scouting out back-to-school savings
Implementing back-to-school savings tips doesn’t need to be the sole responsibility of parents. Teaching your kids about money and getting them involved in the family budget can help them understand the importance of saving money on back-to-school shopping. In the short term, they’ll feel like part of the team in making smart money decisions. And in the long term, they’ll file away life lessons for managing their own money.
Morrison recommends getting younger kids involved in the savings challenge. Whether they have an allowance or not, you can give them a “bonus” and have them deposit it in a back-to-school savings jar. They’ll see their jar fill up over the summer and can enjoy buying a few back-to-school items with the money.
Older kids can help save money as well. Morrison gives her kids a budget for their clothes and shoes. “If they want something more expensive, they have to help with the difference. They’ll usually stay within budget if they want to save their money.”
7. Make smart saving part of the family
“The older they get, the more expensive they get,” Morrison says. When healthy financial habits are part of your family culture, you can help your kids grow up with the confidence and know-how to make smart money decisions. That will help you manage your back-to-school spending, but it will also set them up for financial success in the long run.
Even during summer break, saving doesn’t need to stop. Finding inexpensive activities for kids can keep the momentum going from one school year to the next—and help you budget more for back-to-school essentials.
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Most checking accounts pay no interest on balances. They cede that perk to savings accounts, which are designed to hold funds you don’t need to pay this month’s bills.
Interest checking accounts are different. Though they rarely yield as much as high-yield savings accounts, they make it worth your while to keep a checking cushion.
Ally Interest Checking is one such account. It has a bunch of other notable perks that make it more than suitable for everyday use as your primary checking account too. Read on to see if those outweigh its downsides.
What Is Ally Interest Checking?
Also known as the Ally Spending account, Ally Interest Checking is a free checking account that yields 0.10% APY on balances up to $15,000 and 0.25% APY on balances above that amount.
Ally Bank is an online-only bank with no branches, but Ally Interest Checking has more than 43,000 fee-free ATMs in its network and a robust mobile app that can replace the in-person banking experience for the vast majority of users. Other notable account features include built-in spending buckets that can help with budgeting, two layers of overdraft protection with no out-of-pocket fees, and an early direct deposit feature that can get you paid up to two days early.
Ally Interest Checking is one of several Ally Bank deposit accounts. The bank also has a high-yield savings account, money market account, and several different CDs. Other Ally financial accounts and services include a commission-free online brokerage, an auto lending department, and a home loan department that makes primary and secondary home loans.
What Sets Ally Interest Checking Apart?
Ally Interest Checking stands out from similar checking accounts for several reasons:
Overdraft protection with no fees. Ally Bank offers two layers of overdraft protection. Neither charge any fees; the bank eliminated overdraft fees entirely in 2021. That’s quite rare in the banking industry.
Big fee-free ATM network for an online bank. Ally Interest Checking has more than 40,000 fee-free ATMs in its network. You can find them all over the United States, so it shouldn’t matter too much where you live or travel.
Spending buckets for easy budgeting. You can create up to 30 spending buckets to categorize your monthly expenses. All bucketed funds remain in your checking account, but the buckets help you budget and see where you’re spending too much.
Powerful mobile app. The Ally Bank app is better than the average mobile banking app. With a fast, easy-to-use interface and clutch features like mobile check deposit and rapid person-to-person payments, it easily stands in for Ally’s standard online banking dashboard when you’re on the go.
Key Features of Ally Interest Checking
Ally Interest Checking has all the features you’d expect from a full-service online bank, plus some legitimately notable perks not found everywhere else.
Account Fees & Minimums
This account has no monthly or annual maintenance fee. There’s no minimum opening deposit and no ongoing minimum balance requirement either.
Account Yield
Ally Interest Checking has a two-tiered yield system. The yield is 0.10% APY on balances up to $15,000 and 0.25% APY on balances above that amount.
ATM Access
Ally Interest Checking has more than 43,000 fee-free ATMs in its network. You can withdraw cash without a surcharge anywhere you see the Allpoint logo.
Spending Buckets
Ally Interest Checking allows you to create up to 30 individual spending buckets to manage distinct pools of cash within your account. You can use the buckets for anything you want (and customize their names accordingly), but Ally really emphasizes how useful they can be for budgeting.
You can move cash into and between buckets instantly with the Ally mobile app or online account dashboard. All bucketed funds remain in your checking account, but you can choose which buckets to pull from for external transfers or bill payments.
Overdraft Protection
Ally Interest Checking has two overlapping layers of overdraft protection. Neither has any fees:
Overdraft Transfer Service: This feature pulls from a linked Ally Bank savings account to cover negative-balance transactions. Ally rounds up the transferred amount to the nearest $100, so a $75 overdraft would trigger a $100 savings transfer.
CoverDraft: This feature provides up to $250 in coverage for negative balances. Your account can remain overdrawn until the next deposit hits.
Even with complimentary overdraft protection, Ally reserves the right to decline specific transactions that would result in a negative balance and may revoke overdraft privileges if you frequently overdraw your account.
Early Direct Deposit
If your employer or government benefits provider qualifies, and most do, you can get your paycheck up to two days early with Ally Interest Checking. If your paycheck normally arrives on Friday, the money hits your account on Wednesday.
Paper Checks
You can order standard paper checks for your Ally Interest Checking account as often as you’d like with no order fees. Personalized checks may carry a design fee.
Mobile Features
Ally Bank has a comprehensive, user-friendly mobile app that can do just about anything the standard online banking interface can. It’s well-reviewed and has relatively few complaints from verified users, most centering on apparent glitches that may be user error.
Notable capabilities include:
Mobile check deposit
One-time and recurring bill payments
Person-to-person transfers through Zelle
Spending bucket management
Check reorders
Deposit Insurance
Ally Interest Checking comes with federal deposit insurance up to the standard FDIC limit of $250,000.
Pros & Cons
Ally Interest Checking has more advantages than disadvantages overall.
No maintenance fees or minimum balance requirements
No overdraft fees
Spending buckets to help with budgeting
Big fee-free ATM network
Below-average interest rate
No account opening bonus or spending rewards
No physical branches
Pros
Ally Interest Checking is almost entirely fee-free and has lots of user-friendly features.
No maintenance fees. This account has no monthly or annual maintenance fee. You pay nothing to keep your account active, no matter how much or how little you use it.
No minimums. This account has no minimum opening deposit or ongoing balance requirement. Since you don’t have to worry about keeping a certain amount in it, it’s useful as a low-balance secondary checking account.
No overdraft fees. Ally Bank charges no overdraft fees on this account. You have access to two overlapping overdraft protection plans, one that draws from your linked savings account and one that draws from deposits to the account.
Large network of fee-free ATMs. Ally Bank’s ATM network has more than 40,000 fee-free machines located in every state and major metropolitan area.
Comprehensive mobile app. Ally Bank has one of the best mobile apps of any online bank, which is pretty high praise. It’s easy to use and can replicate all the functionality of the standard online interface.
Spending buckets make it easy to manage your budget. You can set up as many as 30 spending buckets to manage recurring expenses, short-term goals, and other aspects of your household budget. It’s much easier than using a spreadsheet or third-party budgeting software.
Get paid up to two days early. Most employers and benefits providers qualify for early payday. If you normally get paid on Friday, you’ll get your paycheck on Wednesday instead.
Cons
Ally Interest Checking isn’t as generous as some competing interest checking accounts and isn’t appropriate for people who prefer in-person banking.
Lower interest than some comparable accounts. This account’s yield tops out at 0.25% APY, and you need to have at least $15,000 in the account to earn at that rate. Otherwise, your yield is just 0.10% APY. Both rates are less generous than some otherwise similar interest checking accounts.
No account opening bonus. This account has no account opening bonus for new users. Some competitors offer bonuses worth hundreds of dollars when you complete qualifying activities after sign-up.
No debit card rewards. Ally Interest Checking has no spending rewards program. You can’t earn cash back on debit card purchases with this account, as you can with many other bank accounts.
No physical branches. Ally Bank is an online-only bank with no physical branches. Its desktop and mobile interfaces are robust enough that you’ll probably never feel the need to visit a branch, but it’s not appropriate if you like having a branch network as a fallback.
How Ally Interest Checking Stacks Up
Ally Interest Checking competes against quite a few interest-bearing checking accounts. One of its closest cousins is Quontic High Interest Checking. Before applying for either, see how they compare.
Ally Interest Checking
Quontic High Interest Checking
Maintenance Fee
$0
$0
Minimum to Open
$0
$100
Minimum Ongoing
$0
$50
Maximum Yield
0.25% APY
1.10% APY
Qualifying Activities?
Not, but maximum yield requires $15,000 daily balance
Yes, 10 debit card transactions per month
Debit Card Rewards?
No
No
ATM Network
43,000+ locations
90,000+ locations
Ally Interest Checking is a better fit for occasional users and users with low account balances, thanks to its total lack of minimum balance requirements and transaction requirements to earn interest. But Quontic High Interest Checking has a higher maximum interest rate if you’re able to clear the monthly transaction hurdle.
Final Word
Ally Interest Checking is a straightforward checking account with a decent but not really notable yield and tons of user-friendly features. If you’ve struggled to get a handle on your budget in the past, occasionally overdraw your account, or silently curse your current bank every time you open its mobile app, give it a closer look.
Just don’t expect any miracles. Ally Interest Checking is less generous than some competing accounts, so you need to decide whether the perks and usability justify the below-average return on your balances and spending.
The Verdict
Our rating
Ally Interest Checking
Ally Interest Checking is a simple checking account that’s refreshingly user-friendly. Its spending bucket feature makes it easy to get (and keep) control over your budget, and it has a relatively large fee-free ATM network for an online bank. Its mobile app is better than average too. But with a low yield and no spending rewards, it’s not as generous as it could be.
Editorial Note:
The editorial content on this page is not provided by any bank, credit card issuer, airline, or hotel chain, and has not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of the bank, credit card issuer, airline, or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
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Brian Martucci writes about credit cards, banking, insurance, travel, and more. When he’s not investigating time- and money-saving strategies for Money Crashers readers, you can find him exploring his favorite trails or sampling a new cuisine. Reach him on Twitter @Brian_Martucci.
Whether you got a new job and are looking for somewhere to stash your paycheck, or are just looking for a new bank that better meets your needs, you may have spent some time considering where to open up a bank account.
While there are many private banking options to choose from, not all of them effectively meet customers’ needs. Many Americans are interested in consumer-friendly banks that are accessible and have low or no fees, while others look for banks that have local roots or more ethical behavior than bigger nationwide banks. Still, other Americans are unbanked, meaning that they don’t have access to any checking or savings accounts with a bank or credit union.
What’s Ahead:
What is public banking?
Representatives Rashida Tlaib and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have recently introduced legislation that could provide a promising alternative to traditional banks.
The Public Banking Act would establish a grant program that would allow for the formation of state and locally administered banks. While this act wouldn’t establish new public banks in and of itself, it would make it easier for public banks to form and to become insured by the FDIC.
These public banks would operate as nonprofits, and wouldn’t charge any monthly maintenance fees or require minimum deposits. That would make them accessible to citizens who find themselves shut out of the current banking system.
Since they wouldn’t be as focused on turning a profit as traditional banks, public banks could also provide lower interest rates for small businesses and public infrastructure projects, investing in local communities and cutting out Wall Street middlemen.
How does public banking work?
Public banking would function as a public service, like post offices or fire departments. In fact, in many countries, public banking is often directly tied to the postal system. The United States even had its own postal banking system from 1911 to 1966.
Today, there is one public bank operating in the United States, the Bank of North Dakota.
Unlike privately owned banks, public banks aren’t beholden to shareholders or required to turn a profit at the expense of ordinary consumers. Instead, these banks are able to charge lower fees and lend money at lower rates to local consumers and businesses.
Public banks can receive deposits from local and state governments in the form of tax revenue and other government income, and can also partner with existing local banks to fund a variety of projects.
How public banking could affect your finances
For many people, banking with a public bank would be pretty similar to banking with a traditional for-profit bank. Some of the potential benefits of public banking could include providing access to banking for more Americans, investing in local and community projects, and effectively delivering relief funds and government payments.
Helping unbanked and underbanked Americans
As of 2019, approximately 7.1 million American households were unbanked, meaning that no member of the household had a checking or savings account with a bank or credit union. For many Americans, high minimum deposit requirements prevent them from opening an account, while others cite excessive fees and a lack of trust in private financial institutions as reasons why they do not have a bank account. When money is tight, these Americans often rely on alternative services, like payday loans or pawn shops, with high fees and punishing interest rates.
Public banks would charge no monthly maintenance fees and have low or no minimum deposit requirements, making them accessible to many Americans who currently fall through the cracks of the private banking system. Public banking would also provide an alternative for Americans who have bank accounts but are currently dissatisfied with their bank or unable to qualify for other financial products.
Investing in local communities
Because public banks would not be compelled to pursue sky-high profits, they could offer loans at low interest rates to fund local businesses and public infrastructure. These could include projects like affordable housing and renewable energy. Some public banks, like the Bank of North Dakota, also offer low-interest loans to students and other specific groups.
Public banks would cut out the middleman and keep funds local, instead of profiting national banks, executives, and shareholders.
Effectively distribute relief funds
During the pandemic, millions of Americans were eligible for relief funds and stimulus checks to help them weather the turbulent economic times. While some Americans were able to receive funds directly to their bank account through direct deposit, others were mailed paper checks they had to cash, often accompanied by high check-cashing fees. Still, other Americans waited weeks or months for their funds to arrive, during a time when money was tight.
Public banks would be one way to easily and effectively distribute funds to Americans, without relying on private institutions. They would expand access for Americans without bank accounts and would prevent predatory services from taking a chunk out of much-needed relief funds.
Better for the environment
Another way public banks would operate differently than private banks is in their effect on the environment. The Public Banking Act would prohibit public banks from investing in fossil fuel projects, and would instead provide public banks with the capability to issue low-interest loans for environmentally-friendly projects.
This puts public banks in stark contrast to private banking behemoths, who have invested over 2.7 trillion dollars in fossil fuels since 2016, according to a report from the Rainforest Action Network.
A public alternative to big banks
Public banks wouldn’t replace big banks; instead, they’d provide an alternative for consumers dissatisfied with the status quo. This would give Americans the ability to choose between for-profit banks and local, community-driven public banks.
In some cases, public banks could even partner with existing local banks to more effectively distribute funds. Public banking wouldn’t solve all of the financial industry’s problems, but it could provide a more ethical alternative to the current options.
Drawbacks of public banking
While public banks attempt to solve many of the problems of the current banking system, they’re not entirely without flaws. Some potential drawbacks to public banks include potential lack of oversight and insufficient funds, as well as the inherent risk that all banks, public or private, face when it comes to lending money that may not be paid back.
Alternatives to public banking
For now, public banks still aren’t an option for the vast majority of Americans. However, there are some banking options that beat the competition when it comes to consumer-friendly policies, low fees, and ethical behavior.
Credit unions
Credit unions share some similarities to public banks in that they aren’t beholden to shareholders and executives, and often have local roots and programs that benefit the community. Like public banks, credit unions are not for profit, but instead of being owned and operated by local or state governments, credit unions are cooperative institutions owned by members.
Credit unions also often feature lower fees and rates than for-profit banks. Some federal credit unions even offer Payday Alternative Loans, which allow cash-strapped consumers to borrow money at lower rates than predatory payday loans.
Low-fee banks
In recent years, consumer-friendly, low-fee banks have proliferated as an alternative to big banks with exorbitant rates and fees. Many of these banks primarily operate as online banks, with simple websites and mobile apps designed to make navigating the banking process easier for consumers.
Ethical banks
Many big banks make harmful investments in areas like fossil fuels and for-profit prisons. While these investments are good for a bank’s bottom line, informed consumers may be interested in more ethical alternatives.
Companies like Aspiration, Amalgamated Bank, and Beneficial State Bank are B Corp certified, which means that they meet high standards for social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability.
Some banks, like Sunrise Banks and First Green Bank, are members of the Global Alliance for Banking Values, which is a network of banks around the world that are committed to community investments and driving positive change.
Still, other banks are designated as Community Development Financial Institutions, or CDFI. These banks are dedicated to providing banking access for low-income and marginalized individuals and communities. Banks like City First Bank of DC, Southern Bancorp, and VCC Bank are all CDFIs.
Summary
While the Public Banking Act is still only a bill, it represents a promising alternative to traditional banking for millions of Americans. This piece of legislation would also complement other related policy proposals, such as postal banking and the Green New Deal. In the meantime, there are still a variety of banking options with low fees and ethical investment practices for consumers who qualify.
Open a BMO Harris Premier™ Account online and get a $500 cash bonus when you have a total of at least $7,500 in qualifying direct deposits within the first 90 days of account opening. Expires 9/15. Conditions Apply.
Choosing a checking account can be an overwhelming process. Between online banks operating nationwide and brick-and-mortar banks and credit unions serving your home region, there are hundreds if not thousands of legitimate institutions to choose from. Many offer more than one checking account option, sometimes several.
Not Truist. Though it’s one of the biggest banks in the United States, it offers just one main consumer checking account: Truist One Checking.
Having just one choice with Truist certainly simplifies the decision. But Truist One is a bit more complicated than your average checking account, so don’t rush to open one until you understand all its ins and outs.
What Is Truist One Checking?
Truist One Checking is a consumer checking account from Truist, formerly known as SunTrust Bank. It has a $12 monthly maintenance fee that’s relatively easy to waive with a qualifying monthly direct deposit, minimum balance, or other linked Truist accounts.
Truist One’s perks vary based on how much you have in all eligible Truist checking, savings, investment, and other qualifying accounts. As your combined balance increases or decreases, Truist automatically moves you between benefit levels. Notable perks of higher benefit levels include substantial rewards bonuses on linked Truist credit cards, ATM fee waivers, and maintenance fee waivers on linked accounts.
What Sets Truist One Checking Apart?
Truist One Checking stands out for several reasons:
Relatively easy maintenance fee waivers. You can waive this account’s monthly maintenance fee with a combined balance as low as $500 or a modest monthly direct deposit.
Legitimately valuable benefits as your combined balance increases. Once your balance exceeds $10,000, the perks really add up here.
Free, limited overdraft protection for eligible account holders. Even if you don’t have a sizable balance, you get free overdraft protection for negative balances up to $100.
No maintenance fee on your linked savings account. As long as your Truist One Checking account remains open, you pay no monthly fee on your linked Truist Savings account.
Key Features of Truist One Checking
Truist One has a standard set of checking account features, from a low minimum opening deposit requirement to a monthly maintenance fee with multiple ways to waive. However, its loyalty levels and associated benefits add some complexity.
Account Minimums
The minimum to open an account is $50. Once open, you don’t have to maintain a minimum balance, though one of the waiver options for the monthly maintenance fee involves keeping a $500 balance in eligible Truist accounts.
Account Fees & Waiver Requirements
Truist One has a $12 monthly maintenance fee. There are five ways to waive it in any given statement cycle:
Receive at least $500 in qualifying direct deposits into your account
Maintain a balance of at least $500 in eligible linked Truist deposit and investment accounts as of the last business day of the statement period
Have a personal Truist credit card, loan, or mortgage, excluding Lightstream personal loans
Have a linked small-business checking account with Truist
Be a student under age 25
ATM Access
Truist has a network of about 3,000 branded ATMs offering fee-free withdrawals. Withdrawal fees and other transaction fees may apply outside this network.
Free Linked Savings Account
Truist One comes with a complimentary Truist Savings account, which normally carries a $5 monthly maintenance fee. However, this isn’t much of a benefit because Truist Savings yields basically nothing (.01% APY on all balances).
First Book of Paper Checks Free
You get a free 10-pack of paper checks when you open your Truist One account. Reorder fees depend on your loyalty level.
Overdraft Protection
Truist One comes with complimentary overdraft protection, known as Negative Balance Buffer, for negative balances up to $100. Truist generally declines transactions that would result in an overdraft greater than $100.
To qualify, your account must be open for at least 35 days, be funded and have a positive balance at the time of approval, and receive at least one direct deposit totaling $100 per month for two consecutive months. Moving forward, you must receive at least one direct deposit totaling $100 each month to remain qualified.
Loyalty Levels & Benefits
As a Truist One account holder, you’re automatically assigned to one of five benefit levels based on the total combined value of all eligible Truist accounts. Eligible accounts include checking, savings, CD, and investment accounts.
Level 1 (up to $9,999.99): This level comes with all the standard features of Truist One. Other notable benefits include a 10% rewards bonus on a linked Truist credit card spending and a $25 discount on Truist’s annual safe deposit box fee.
Level 2 ($10,000 to $24,999.99): Notable benefits include a 20% credit card rewards bonus, 50% check reorder discount, one out-of-network ATM fee reimbursement per month, and an additional Truist One checking account (which is useful if you want to set up a custodial or joint account for a minor).
Level 3 ($25,000 to $49,999.99): Notable benefits include a 30% credit card rewards bonus, free check reorders, three out-of-network ATM fee reimbursements per month, and two additional Truist One checking accounts.
Level 4 ($50,000 to $99,999.99): Perks include a 40% credit card rewards bonus, free check reorders, five out-of-network ATM fee reimbursements per month, and three additional Truist One accounts.
Level Premier ($100,000 and above): Perks include a 50% credit card rewards bonus, free check reorders, and unlimited out-of-network ATM fee reimbursements.
Mobile Features
Truist has very well-reviewed mobile apps for Android and iOS. They’re comprehensive and user-friendly, allowing you to do pretty much anything you can using Truist’s standard online dashboard. Mobile check deposit is a big plus.
Deposit Insurance
This account comes with federal deposit insurance up to the standard FDIC limit of $250,000.
Pros & Cons
Truist One Checking has some clear advantages for active users, but it’s not perfect.
Pros
Truist One Checking has some potentially valuable perks, especially if you have substantial balances across all linked Truist accounts.
Valuable benefits with higher balances. Truist One’s benefits really add up as your balance increases. If you have at least $25,000 deposited across linked Truist bank and investment accounts, Truist One is much more generous than comparable accounts.
Complimentary overdraft protection. All Truist One account holders enjoy complimentary overdraft protection for negative balances up to $100. That’s a rare perk for a big bank.
First book of paper checks free. This account comes with a free book of paper checks, an increasingly rare perk in the new paperless banking normal.
Relatively easy to waive the monthly maintenance fee. Truist One does have a monthly maintenance fee, but an abundance of reasonable waiver requirements means it’s easy for most account holders to avoid.
Cons
Truist One Checking has some notable access issues, including a relatively small ATM network and a large but highly regional branch footprint.
Small ATM network. Truist One has only a few thousand ATMs in its network, which is fewer than most banks of its size.
Branches aren’t available nationwide. Truist’s branches cluster in the eastern U.S., especially the southeast. If you live outside this area, you might have trouble banking in person.
Poor yields on linked savings account. Truist makes a big deal of its linked savings account, but you can do better with literally hundreds of other choices elsewhere.
How Truist One Checking Stacks Up
Truist One Checking has a lot in common with Chase Total Checking, another popular checking account from a well-known big bank. Before applying for either, see how the two compare.
Truist One
Chase Total Checking
Monthly Fee
$12
$12
Waiver Options
Yes, relatively easy
Yes, more difficult
ATM Network
3,000+ machines
15,000+ machines
Branches
About 2,200
About 4,600
Loyalty Levels
Yes
No
Truist One’s advantages over Chase Total Checking include its relatively easy monthly fee waiver options and its generous loyalty perks. If you have a Truist credit card and significant balances across all linked Truist accounts, Truist One is the better choice. But Chase Total Checking is superior if you’re looking for a big branch and ATM network.
Final Word
Truist One Checking is one of the better big-bank checking accounts around, thanks in large part to its easy-to-achieve monthly fee waivers. It’s also a strong choice for account holders with sizable (and growing) balances. The more you have in your linked Truist accounts, the more generous this particular account becomes.
That said, Truist One Checking isn’t the best choice for people who prefer online banking but feel like giving traditional banks another shot. For that, look to a bank with an even broader ATM and branch footprint, like Chase or Bank of America.
The Verdict
Our rating
Truist One Checking
Truist One Checking is a full-service deposit account for people who hope and expect their balances to grow over time. It’s relatively easy to waive the monthly maintenance fee, and benefits start to pile up as your combined balance passes the $10,000 mark. But Truist has some important branch and ATM access limitations to keep in mind.
Editorial Note:
The editorial content on this page is not provided by any bank, credit card issuer, airline, or hotel chain, and has not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of the bank, credit card issuer, airline, or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
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Brian Martucci writes about credit cards, banking, insurance, travel, and more. When he’s not investigating time- and money-saving strategies for Money Crashers readers, you can find him exploring his favorite trails or sampling a new cuisine. Reach him on Twitter @Brian_Martucci.
Banking
5 Best Checking Accounts for Seniors – Rates for 2023
Banks don’t market checking accounts to older adults quite as vigorously as they do to students, small-business owners, or general audiences, but senior-friendly checking accounts are more common than you might imagine. Which checking accounts offer the best fit for seniors? Here are our picks.
Open a BMO Harris Premier™ Account online and get a $500 cash bonus when you have a total of at least $7,500 in qualifying direct deposits within the first 90 days of account opening. Expires 9/15. Conditions Apply.
If you’re nearing retirement or already there and aren’t particularly happy with your current bank, TD Bank 60 Plus Checking is built for you. It’s one of the few checking accounts specifically marketed to older Americans, with increasingly rare features like free paper checks, free paper statements, and discounts on TD loans (including for second homes).
TD Bank 60 Plus Checking isn’t appropriate if you live outside TD’s home region, which extends up and down the East Coast. Before opening an account, make sure you understand its other potential downsides as well.
What Is TD Bank 60 Plus Checking?
TD Bank 60 Plus Checking is a checking account built for users over age 60. It has a $10 monthly maintenance fee that’s waived with a balance of $250 or more. It also has a nominal yield on balances, though your balance has to be quite substantial for interest to pile up.
Other notable features of TD Bank 60 Plus Checking include free paper checks and statements, optional overdraft protection with no overdraft fees, and a 0.25% rate discount on eligible TD home loans and other credit products. This account has some high-tech features too, including contactless debit cards, rapid person-to-person transfers through Zelle, and a robust mobile app.
What Sets TD Bank 60 Plus Checking Apart?
TD Bank 60 Plus Checking has some features and capabilities worth noting at any age:
No opening or ongoing balance requirements. There’s no minimum balance to open or maintain this account. However, yoo need to maintain a $250 minimum daily balance to waive the maintenance fee.
Easy to waive the maintenance fee. The $10 monthly maintenance fee is relatively easy to waive, even if this isn’t your primary checking account. Just keep $250 in the account at all times.
Free paper checks and statements. This account comes with unlimited free paper checks and paper statements. Both are rare in the banking world these days, so this is a perk for users who prefer to keep checks on hand and physically handle their transaction records.
Rate discounts on eligible TD loans. Eligible TD personal and home equity loans qualify for 0.25% rate discounts as long as you keep this account open and in good standing.
Key Features of TD Bank 60 Plus Checking
TD Bank 60 Plus Checking has all the core features you’d expect from a traditional bank account, plus some add-ons that might pique your interest.
Account Fees & Requirements
This account has a $10 monthly maintenance fee. It’s waived as long as you maintain a daily balance of at least $250 in the account.
Account Yield
This account yields 0.01% APY on all balances. This rate hasn’t changed in years, even as savings account yields have skyrocketed, and as a result isn’t particularly notable.
ATM Access
TD Bank has several thousand ATMs up and down the East Coast. These machines charge no withdrawal fees, but there’s a $3 withdrawal fee (plus any third-party fees TD can’t control) for out-of-network withdrawals.
Paper Checks & Statements
This account comes with free paper checks and paper statements. There’s no limit to the number of free check reorders you can make, and you won’t pay a surcharge if you elect to receive paper statements instead of electronic ones.
Free Money Orders
TD Bank 60 Plus Checking waives customary fees on money orders picked up at TD Bank branch locations. This is a significant and rare perk if you routinely use money orders instead of personal checks for larger transactions.
Savings-Linked Overdraft Protection
If you have a TD Bank savings account, you can link it to your 60 Plus Checking account and pull from it to cover transactions that would normally result in negative balances. There’s no fee for this optional service.
If you don’t have a TD Bank savings account or don’t opt into free overdraft protection, the overdraft fee is $35 per occurrence (limit three per day).
Loan Discounts
You automatically receive a 0.25% interest rate discount on eligible TD loans with this account, including unsecured personal loans and home equity products. However, primary mortgages aren’t eligible.
Mobile Features
TD Bank has a mobile-responsive website and mobile apps for Android and iOS. Notable mobile features include:
Mobile check deposit
Digital bill payments
Person-to-person transfers through Zelle
Personalized account alerts
Credit and debit card controls, including one-touch card lock if your card is misplaced or stolen
Deposit Insurance
This account comes with FDIC insurance up to the current limit of $250,000. Should TD Bank fail, you’ll be reimbursed for account balances up to that amount.
Pros & Cons
TD Bank 60 Plus Checking is an above-average checking account designed specifically for older users. It has some noteworthy drawbacks though.
Pros
TD Bank 60 Plus Checking has some simple benefits that are in increasingly short supply elsewhere in the banking world.
Easy to waive the monthly maintenance fee. This account has a $10 monthly maintenance fee, but it’s waived with a $250 minimum daily balance. That’s no problem for most prospective account holders.
Free paper checks and statements. This account comes with free paper checks and statements. These simple perks are difficult to find in similar accounts.
Free money orders and bank checks. TD Bank charges no fees for money orders and bank checks drawn from a 60 Plus Checking account. Many other banks tack on small but annoying fees to these products.
Complimentary overdraft protection with a linked savings account. Link your TD Bank savings account and never again worry about overdrawing your account. There’s no fee for the privilege either.
Interest rate discounts on eligible TD Bank loans. Eligible TD Bank personal loans and home equity products qualify for a 0.25% interest rate discount, which can add up to hundreds or thousands of dollars over the life of a longer-term loan.
Cons
Though there’s more to like than dislike here, 60 Plus Checking falls short on key measures of accessibility and return on investment.
Not available nationwide. TD Bank has branches and ATMs across much of the eastern United States, but it’s more or less absent elsewhere and doesn’t accept applications from states outside its home territory.
Poor yield. TD Bank plays up this account’s yield, but it’s not much to write home about: just 0.01% APY on all balances. That’s only slightly better than nothing.
Small ATM network. TD Bank only has a few thousand ATMs in its network. If you don’t live near a TD Bank branch, there’s probably no TD Bank ATM in your neighborhood either.
No account opening bonus. TD Bank 60 Plus Checking has no bonus offer for new account holders. That’s a drawback relative to two other popular TD Bank accounts that do have account opening promotions: Beyond Checking and Convenience Checking.
How TD Bank 60 Plus Checking Stacks Up
Before you apply for a 60 Plus Checking account, make sure it’s the right fit for you. You might find a superior alternative without going too far in TD Bank’s Beyond Checking account. See how the two compare.
60 Plus Checking
Beyond Checking
Minimum Deposit
$0
$0
Monthly Fee
$10
$25
Monthly Fee Waiver
$250 minimum balance
Multiple options, but more difficult
Free Checks
Yes
Yes
Paper Statements
Yes
Yes
Out-of-Network ATM Fees
Not waived
Waived with $2,500 balance
Overdraft Protection
Yes, via savings account
Yes, via savings account plus two non-savings fee reimbursements per year
TD Bank 60 Plus Checking and TD Bank Beyond Checking have a lot in common, but Beyond Checking is more generous overall. The main reason to stick with 60 Plus Checking is it’s much easier to waive the monthly maintenance fee with a qualifying balance.
Final Word
TD Bank 60 Plus Checking goes the extra mile to accommodate older users who appreciate little (but important) things like free paper checks, free money orders, and discounts on home equity loans. There’s nothing groundbreaking about it, but that’s fine: It covers a lot of bases and does what it promises.
That said, there are even better checking account options for discerning older customers. And you might not have to look far: TD Bank Beyond Checking has an even more generous lineup of perks, albeit with a harder-to-waive monthly maintenance fee.
The Verdict
Our rating
TD Bank 60 Plus Checking
TD Bank 60 Plus Checking is one of the few checking accounts designed specifically for older users. With low minimums, an easy-to-waive maintenance fee, and complimentary paper checks along with access to more than 1,000 TD Bank branches and several thousand ATMs, it’s flexible and easy to use. Just don’t put too much stock in the promise of interest — the rate is near zero.
Editorial Note:
The editorial content on this page is not provided by any bank, credit card issuer, airline, or hotel chain, and has not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of the bank, credit card issuer, airline, or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
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Brian Martucci writes about credit cards, banking, insurance, travel, and more. When he’s not investigating time- and money-saving strategies for Money Crashers readers, you can find him exploring his favorite trails or sampling a new cuisine. Reach him on Twitter @Brian_Martucci.
When the time comes to find a new apartment, searching for the right place at the right price can take up a good deal of your free time. With millions of rental properties across the U.S. to choose from, how do apartment seekers know they’re finding the best options out there from the sheer number available? You may fear missing out on good options just because you don’t know the best places to look for apartments.
But, if you know the right places to search for apartments, you will find the cream of the crop.
Where to look for apartment listings, from rental websites to word of mouth
Thanks to the convenience and accessibility of the internet, you can search for your next apartment anytime, anywhere. But, there are plenty of other excellent places to look for apartments that fit your price range and lifestyle.
Internet search
Nowadays, the internet is our go-to for pretty much everything. That makes it the best place to look for apartments.
Using any internet search engine, do a keyword search for “apartments in [your city].” Add descriptors like the size of the unit or amenities like pet-friendliness or having air conditioning.
Use the search filters to look for the most updated listings, and voila! Scroll through the search results to see what catches your eye and branch out from there.
Apartment rental sites like Rent.
Apart from a straightforward internet search, using apartment search sites like Rent. is one of the best tools in the apartment hunters’ arsenal. These easy-to-use sites show renters tons of rental options within a certain area, with customizable options to hone your search.
Starting with the home page, type in the name of the city or place you’re looking to rent. The site directs you to a listing page full of available apartments and units. As landlords and property managers can post listings directly, you have easy, instant access to hundreds of units all in one place.
The best rental websites also have map views for more precise apartment hunting. The map view feature allows you to zoom in or out to focus on specific areas or expand your search radius.
But, the apartment finder site often has hundreds of units to scroll through. How do you hone your search? On a banner near the top of the page, you’ll find multiple-choice fields. These allow you to customize your search. You can look for apartments by price range, unit size, square footage or amenities. You can also search by disability access or income-restricted housing.
Highlighting the amenities that are the most important to you is one of the best ways to weed out undesirable apartments or focus on luxury properties. For pet owners in search of dog-or-cat-friendly units, there’s an option for that. You can also search by whether or not it includes utilities, if units come with air conditioning or if the complex has parking. Once you update the search filters with your filtered options, you can do price comparisons and compare the best features.
Apartment search mobile apps
If you’re always out and about, many apartment finder websites now have rental apps, allowing you to search for apartments on the go.
Simply download the app, put in your search criteria and let the hunt continue no matter where you are.
Community gathering places
Go analog by checking the notice boards at community spaces. Libraries, gyms, parks, grocery stores and other gathering places often have notice boards for local events, businesses and even available apartments. Smaller landlords in your community sometimes post adverts looking for new tenants. This is also a great way to find short-term rentals.
If you’re in a new city, searching these boards is another way to learn more about your new home and connect with the community.
Real estate websites
Real estate websites aren’t just for buying anymore. Many now have separate sections for rentals, offering similar customizable search features.
Since lots of people don’t realize they can look for apartment rentals on a real estate website, that gives you an edge. You may find that the site offers new listings unavailable elsewhere online, giving you a step up in applying first.
Online neighborhood groups
If you’re seeking rentals within a specific neighborhood, see if the area has an online group you can join. Social media sites like Facebook have neighborhood community groups where residents can interact.
Whether you’re new to the area or a long-term local, add a post asking if there are any available apartment rentals. Just be sure to not give away too much personal information.
Property management companies
Large management companies often have their own website where they share available listings in their buildings. If there’s a particular operator you’re interested in renting from, go to the managing company’s website to see if they have anything posted.
Apartment complex websites
If there’s a particular apartment complex you’re interested in living in, you can look directly at their website, as well. Along with photos and information about the unit size and square footage, the listings will include how much rent is for different-sized apartments.
Newer apartment buildings will often have multiple units available and sometimes, have special deals to celebrate their opening.
Ask your landlord or property manager
If you’re happy with your current landlord and living situation but are looking to upgrade your apartment size, ask the landlord or property manager if they have any other units available.
Sometimes, landlords and property managers own or operate multiple apartment buildings. If you’ve had a good experience renting from them in your current unit, ask if they have similar apartments or other buildings you can look at.
Rental brokers
Like a real estate broker, a rental broker holds your hand and guides you through the apartment search process. Taking your list of requirements, they look through all the available search options to bring you a curated list. They can direct you to listings you may otherwise have missed, narrow down your options and ultimately help you save money.
With them doing all the grunt work, working with a rental broker is also useful if you’re in a time crunch or moving from far away and can only do video tours.
Unlike real estate brokers, though, rental brokers can earn compensation from landlords or management companies for bringing them new tenants in the form of referral fees. If the broker comes well-recommended, you’ll know that they only partner with respectable, top-quality landlords.
Ask friends and family
Who can you trust more to give you honest advice or feedback than your loved ones?
Whether you’re moving cities or moving neighborhoods, ask family and friends in the area if they know of any apartments available for rent. You trust their word and they can direct you to some good finds.
Tour prospective neighborhoods
If you have a specific neighborhood in mind you’d like to live in, scope it out in person to see if you find any “For Rent” signs. Exploring a neighborhood in person also gives you a better sense if you’ll be happy there or not. You can also check if it has all the amenities you need like nearby schools or public transportation.
Reading neighborhood guides in magazines and websites will also give you a good sense of what the area has to offer. These informational guides give you an overview of the area, with practical information, such as its walk score and if public transit is nearby. But, it’ll also list fun benefits of living in the area, like cool restaurants, stores and neighborhood activities.
What to look for in a new apartment
Every renter’s needs are different, so what exactly you need in an apartment varies by person. But there are some things all worthwhile apartments should have in common. You don’t want to pay rent for a unit that’s in bad condition or unsafe to live in.
Here’s what to look for in each apartment you visit during your search:
The entire unit is clean and in good condition, with no mold, mildew, water stains, peeling wallpaper or other signs of neglect
The appliances function properly (stove, fridge, oven, etc.)
Water runs properly in the showers, sinks and toilets, and hot and cold water options work
The electrical outlets work
All doors and windows properly close and lock
Functional heater and AC
Check for signs of rodent infestation like chew marks or droppings
How to stay organized during your apartment search
As you look through all the apartment search sites during your apartment hunt, you need to keep track of all the rental listings you like. Otherwise, you could forget where you found that one listing that was just right and miss out on applying in time.
As you find apartments that catch your eye, save listings in your bookmark tab. You can also organize them in a spreadsheet or word document with direct links for easy access.
This can also help you weed out duplicate listings if landlords list properties in multiple places, as well as share your finds with your roommates or live-in partners.
When should you start looking for your next apartment?
It’s a good rule of thumb to start your apartment search one to two months before your expected move-in date.
There are several reasons for this. First, you’ll need to give notice that you’re leaving your current apartment. Some landlords require that you give notice 30 days before vacating, others require 60 days. Check the terms of your lease agreement to know exactly when you need to notify your landlord that you’re leaving.
Secondly, you don’t want to start your apartment search too soon. If you find a unit you like but your move-in date is too far away, the landlord may not hold the apartment for you. A couple of months gives you ample time to search and apply for your new home.
Be prepared when you find the best apartment for you
Good, well-priced apartments go fast in today’s competitive rental market. As you’re searching for your new apartment, it’s a good idea to have all the documents and information you need to apply ready to go. That way, as soon as you find an apartment you like, you can apply instantly and start the process.
Using the best apartment rental sites gives you an edge in the apartment hunt
Giving you the most listings in rental markets all over America, Rent. helps you find the best apartment for you with ease.