All Forum Posts by: Stephen White

John D, the turnaround time is about an hour on the data. Since we make phone calls too, the verification portion of the reports typically take about a day, depending on the response time. If a landlord or employer answers on the first attempt it'll be faster than if we need to leave messages and follow up. But this is all we do, so we're good at handling that communication and getting faster response times. 

The RentPrep reports are different than Smartmove or others because we put more emphasis on the data that actually relates to a renter. By nature, renters have lower credit scores, so we put less emphasis on the credit itself. We're looking for tangible/track-able evidence of the type of renter they are, good or bad. This is found in evictions, judgments, liens, bankruptcies, criminal records and direct communication with those who have rented to them in the past. A credit report can't tell you if they received numerous noise complaints from neighbors, or if a forceable entry detainer needed to be filed to get them to pay the rent and narrowly avoid eviction. 

Think of sites like Cozy and Builium being like Uber. They're connectors putting you in touch with a driver (Transunion, Experian, Equifax). They don't actually drive anything themselves, they just make it convenient to find a driver and give you the platform to access them. So if credit reports are the biggest metric you're using to make decisions, it doesn't really matter where you go to get them, they're all coming from 1 of 3 possible sources. 

But if you accept the idea that good tenants don't always have good credit, or a bad tenant can certainly have good credit, there's more to look at than just a credit report. 

Different strokes for different folks. One isn't better than the rest, it comes down to your personal screening criteria and what you want to know about a prospective renter. 

It's true John D. Call the RentPrep office and you'll get a live Screener with no hold time. Our Screeners hand-search multiple record sources versus using an instant database that's known for inaccuracies and missing information. Especially eviction records.  

Smartmove is good too, just as I'm sure other screening companies are for the most part. The majority are just reselling Smartmove or Experian anyway, so it really comes down to the customer experience. Do you want the tenant involved or not? What level of service and support do you need? Is accuracy worth a turn around time versus instant? These questions will help you decide which is best for you. 

Louie, I'm not sure if you're asking about RentPrep specifically, but I'll answer the best I can. 

When dealing with out of state applicants, sometimes having an online application can improve completion rate, as well as streamline your process. 

And even something simple like making your PDF application a fill-able form that can be completed electronically, saved and emailed to you easily will certainly help. 

If you're asking specifically in relation to RentPrep, I'd recommend either setting up an online application with us, or have the applicant submit the completed application to us directly. Just remember, we only need the application if you're ordering the Platinum reports that include us making the phone calls and verifying past landlords and employment. By us having the application on-hand it speeds up our service when the landlord/employer requires the signature to release the applicants information. 

If the issue you're having is getting the completed application back from the applicant, and you don't want to set up an online application because this is not a frequent issue, you can always gather the necessary information by phone (name, address, etc.) and only have them complete an authorization page to send to you or us directly. 

If the issue is them having the capability of actually sending you anything (whether its the full application or just the authorization page) I would suggest asking them to take a photo of the authorization with their smartphone and emailing it to you. If done correctly, the smartphone picture can turnout better than most faxes or scans anyway. 

Hopefully this helps. Please feel free to follow up if I missed the mark on this.

Great points @Alex Hamilton about verifying current and previous landlords. We run into those situations where the current landlord is not always truthful. And the previous landlord can provide information about how the unit was left and report damages, whereas the current landlord has no idea yet. 

And RentPrep does title and tax searches on properties, but not on every verification. If the Screener finds something that looks out of place (ie. mismatched numbers on application vs verification, phone number don't match, etc.) or "smells a rat", they'll dig deeper, which sometimes includes a property search. So we'll do the additional searches, but as part of a protocol, not standard operating procedure. 

Although there is a lot of value in the Screener's experience, I get there's chance for something to slip through. I've thought about running a property search on every verification before a call is made, but there are too many situations that tend to open cans of worms. For example, if the name on the title or deed does not match the provided name, however the provided name IS the right person. Sounds far fetched, but we often run into situations where the owner is not the person who manages the rental. And that means there is a back-story to be found. This creates a new problem of verifying that relationship before you can move on and investigate any further into the applicant. We'll see the verification process through every rabbit hole, but only when necessary. 

So for us, it makes sense to run additional searches as needed, when needed. Not to say that running every property search on every verification wouldn't be great in the end, but it wouldn't be cost or time effective for us. Yes, we rely on a fallible humans to make decisions on what a rat actually smells like, but this is what they do day in and day out. So they have pretty good noses.

@Tracy D.  I totally get where you're coming from, but if you had the choice to teach a bad tenant a lesson or save thousands in damage to your property, which would you choose? Principle can get very expensive for landlords. I see Cash for Keys as a smart alternative to save money and frustration, not reward bad behavior. And if future landlords were smart and cared about their property, they'd call you to verify previous residency, which would be your chance to slam the tenant and tell all. See, you can have your cake and eat it too :)

I've owned a screening company for the past 9 years and have worked with well over 100k landlords in that time. Honestly, I've seen Cash for Keys work WAY more often than not. And by "work" I mean get the bad tenants out faster, and less cost than an eviction. I would also say that the damages are reduced compared to what they'd be in a typical eviction situation where the tenant has no incentive to leave the unit clean. 

Having said that, I can certainly see the argument against Cash for Keys holding some weight. But not for some of the reasons mentioned in this post. 

The idea that every bad tenant will now extort you because they know you pay tenants to leave is crazy. I hear it all the time and it simply doesn't happen. There's no way to make that info public where the masses of tenants would find out. And the idea that the tenant's will ask for Cash for Keys is just as crazy. Unless the tenant has been paid to leave in the past, they wouldn't know it was an option. And if your screening is on-point, you'd know about that previous Cash for Keys experience when you talk to the previous landlord and wouldn't rent to them in the first place. Tenants contact me all the time from our blog asking about Cash for Keys thinking that it's a government program they can apply to. Trust me when I say that 99.9% of tenants have no idea what Cash for Keys is. I promise that. 

The only reason I can see Cash for Keys being bad is the fact that the eviction won't be filed and the tenant potentially gets away with no record of the problems they caused you. But there is even a way around this. If you file the Forcible Entry and Detainer, but do NOT follow through with the actual eviction, the record WILL show up in civil record searches. It won't be an eviction, but it's enough information to raise serious questions for the next landlord. So if you're ever in this situation, the proper steps would be - issue the 3 day notice, then immediately file for the Forcible Entry Detainer, even if you do not execute and plan to use Cash for Keys. 

I think @Eric S. said it best.. focus on numbers not pride. Principle can get very expensive for landlords.

Hey @Beverly Mims, I can answer your questions about RentPrep and how we verify our information. But I will also give you some direction on how to perform better verifications yourself, if you want to continue the screening yourself. 

Yes, we do have actual FCRA Certified Screeners that compile every report. And yes, they do make verification phone calls to landlords and employers on your behalf.

Of course, like every landlord, we run into people who lie on their rental applications. They list friends, family and anyone who will lie for them, and pose as landlords to get past the screening process. The biggest advantage that we have on our side to spot these situations is experience. We perform over 50,000 verifications per month for the past 9 years, and have literally heard EVERY story and lie you can imagine. 

Whether you use RentPrep, or do the verifications yourself, here is our "secret sauce" for spotting a scam.

The first line of defense is a simple round of questions that often catches the lies. We ask very obvious questions that every landlord should be able to answer, but most "friends" cannot. We ask to confirm the rental address, monthly rent amount, move-in/move-out dates, etc. The most common answer we get from a friend posing as a landlord who is only prepared to say the applicant was a great tenant is "I'm driving and I don't have the rental address info sitting in front of me". But as you can imagine, EVERY landlord knows their rental addresses. If you're talking to a representative from a large property management company, I get that they might not know every address off the top of their head, but a private landlord who owns a handful of properties does. And if you are calling a large property management company or a larger landlord, they likely will not verify any info over the phone anyway. Most will request a fax or email of the verification form that can be filled out, along with the proof of consent (signed rental application). 

The next line of defense is verifying the information provided on the application. By running a simple google search on the phone number or address provided is a good start for landlords performing the verifications themselves. Screening companies like RentPrep have the advantage of accessing databases that can quickly confirm the provided information, but most of the information we gather can be found by any landlord, it's just time consuming. Whether it's contacting a county assessor office to confirm property ownership, or reverse searching a phone number, it's basic research. Aside from a deeper phone number database than what's available publicly, the only thing we can access that landlords cannot is a relationship chart that shows us potential relationships between people. So by them having the same address at some point, or sharing a phone number etc., the database connects dots to suggest possible relationships. 

Like any landlord, no screening company has a magic wand that can detect false information on an application. Good old fashion leg-work and experience can certainly reduce the risks, it's just a matter of following the steps through on every single application. Hopefully this helps, let me know if I can be of any other help and I'm happy to do so.

Good to hear Jerry, thanks for sharing! 

And "Consumer Credit Hobbyist" intrigued me so I checked out your website. Awesome side gig! Perfect for landlords who love to organize and track numbers.

Glad to hear that RentPrep is working for you @Byron Bohlsen!

@Joel Katsmafeel free to reach out if you have any screening questions, I'm happy to help however I can. If you prefer a phone call, our Screeners are available 9am-7pm M-Th and 9am-5pm Fridays to take your call and answer any questions. No wait times, or call backs - you'll get right through to an FCRA Certified Screener.

We'll help whether you use our service or not. There are a lot of choices when it comes to screening companies, and of course some will fit your needs better than others. So we'll quickly figure out what you need and point you in the right direction. 

If Smartmove ends up being the right fit for you, Sara Jackson will take good care of you. She was our rep at one point and always followed through, so hang on to her info she's a great resource at TU.

I completely agree with @Steven E. about going with the gut feeling. I found that the perfect formula for tenant screening is 2 parts data, and 1 part gut feeling. You shouldn't disregard your gut entirely, just don't rely on only that. EVER! I've heard so many stories like Steven's about the bad tenant who drives a nice car and "seemed" like a good person at the time. 

And @Lu Carter, contrary to what most would think, I would take the out of state license into consideration. For the same reason I tell landlords to search traffic records and find those that repeatedly get ticketed for simple things - like no registration or driving without vehicle insurance. Good screening should give you insight into the person's character, and being irresponsible with simple things like updating documents should raise valid concerns for landlords.