Everything you need to know
With a traditional deposit, the resident pays a large sum in advance, before there’s any actual reason for charging such an amount. With an Obligo Billing Authorization, residents only pay if their property manager submits a charge.
- It’s usually the same size
- It’s as good as cash from the property manager’s perspective
- It gives the resident an incentive to take good care of the apartment, because it’s the resident who is required to pay if there’s a charge.
- It enjoys the same legal protection. Residents should not be charged for fair wear and tear, and residents can dispute charges exactly like they would with a cash deposit (e.g. small claims court)
Obligo will always require confirmation from the property manager that the lease has ended before releasing the authorization. Charges are typically made after the lease-end date, because it naturally takes some time to assess the condition of the property before deciding on the final charged amount. Obligo gives notices, reminders and phone calls to owners and managers in order to make sure that billing authorizations are released in a reasonable amount of time.
Yes. First, Obligo will perform basic KYC (Know Your Customer) and AML (Anti Money Laundering) protocols, to ensure the legitimacy of the property manager and the associated legal entities.
In addition, Obligo will need to to know the property manager’s resident screening criteria, as well as the property manager’s deposit deduction history, to make sure that they meet the Obligo standards.
To qualify for an Obligo billing authorization, residents will first need to meet the individual property manager’s screening criteria.
In addition to meeting those criteria, Obligo will require that the resident provides authorization to one or more billing methods. Obligo typically requires both a credit card (not debit) and a US bank account. Obligo will connect to these billing methods and run a series of tests to make sure that sufficient funds are available on them. In certain cases, Obligo will also run a credit check for additional screening.
It’s easy to edit the billing authorization’s size, lease-start and lease-end dates. Some changes, such as an increase in billing authorization’s size, would naturally require the resident’s consent.
As a policy, Obligo does not take sides in disputes and plays no role in assessing the correctness or fairness of each charge. However, Obligo believes it is essential that residents have a fair chance to dispute unreasonable charges.
While Obligo always pays the property manager for charges right away, residents who intend to dispute charges may ask for their repayment to be deferred. Obligo’s intention is to provide sufficient time for residents to either discuss the charge with their property manager or to formally dispute the charge.
Residents have the legal right to dispute a charge and they may do so in accordance to local laws and practices, just like they would have been able to do with a normal deposit. In most states this can be done by filing a claim through a small claims court.
Above all, Obligo encourages the property manager and resident to communicate before any charge is made.
Obligo charges a monthly fee for each active billing authorization. The monthly fee depends on the size of the billing authorization, as well as on the risk profile of the property owner.
Obligo can charge this cost from the property manager, the resident, or a combination of both, depending on how the property manager wishes to set up the service.
Please contact our partnership team to inquire about our pricing.
Obligo is audited by Ernst & Young and is backed by strong creditors who provide the credit facilities which backstop the residents’ obligations. Contact Us to learn more about how our owners and managers are secured.
No. Obligo is not an insurance product or surety bond – we’re the only security deposit alternative whose model utilizes bank-issued Letters of Credit from Wells Fargo to provide landlords and tenants with security, flexibility and ease of transaction.