All Forum Posts by: Jeremiah Stephen

At first thought you would think a previous landlord's reference would be worthwhile but in many cases if the tenant is moving there is a reason and the previous landlord may WANT them out and would be willing to do WHATEVER e.g. say anything to get them to agree to move, right?

Now consider this, what if all of us landlords worked together and we were able to fill this gap around the notice to quit? (This is a document which is posted to begin the eviction process. An eviction is the process where landlords file the appropriate documents with the court and ultimately creates a searchable paper trail on the tenant.)

If the landlord never files the paperwork with the court to begin the eviction process because the tenant moves out or abandons the property, then there is no record of any issue between the landlord and the tenant.

As a consumer reporting agency, like the one I represent for example we allow landlords to work together to keep tenants accountable by allowing landlords to report positive and adverse tenant information. By working together and abiding by the FCRA we fill the gap between the notice to quit and an eviction.

Please understand this is no "blackball" list, those are illegal. We collect positive and adverse information because those with a positive track record deserve to have their info reported as well. E.g. what if they have no credit or just started a new job etc. but they have a great rental history record with a company like Tenant Watch which indicates and reports this type of information? They rented well for the past 2 landlords. Would this third party provider of info add any value and help you in the process of making an informed decision to rent to them?

Using all the different types of information we have access to including but not limited to a credit report is crucial to connecting all the dots of an applicant's past and which allows you to paint a picture of who you might be renting to. Our goal is to strive to provide as much valuable and current information as possible to make an informed decisions. You combine criminal, sex offender, credit, eviction and our tenant watch report along with employment history etc. and now you have a good set of data which you can use to cross reference and connect the dots to validate anything your applicants tell you on their application.

This research or use of historical information to make an informed decision is crucial to helping us all identify the type of tenant(s) we are looking for to rent our properties.

Hope this helps and I did try to keep it short but this was the best I could do.

Jeremiah Stephen

people keep mentioning signing an authorization form.  If people are completing a rental application, your rental application should have language indicating their release of information to you.  This is why I recommend working with a company who is interested in building relationships to partner to provide forms to support your ventures. We use www.tenantwatch.net

Jeremiah Stephen

Andy, I am a representative of Tenant Watch (since smart move was allowed to make mention of their representative) and I would suggest you find a company who will work with you around deciding the types of tools and or services you need, want and desire.  

So many of these reply's have people providing you with their input and or experiences but rarely do I see anything about people's experiences working directly with a company versus just setting up their account online account to pull data etc.  How should you use that data, what are the rules, where do I go to get additional answers....

I would suggest you find a company where they come along side you, the client to ensure the client is getting their needs met. This industry is data driven and there are big and little companies pushing their data turning it into information to help you make decision but so many times on this site it appears people are trying to figure out what it is they need?  

So, I would find a company in the business who is all about "all" of the businesses of real estate.  Find a One Stop Shop because there is so much more to real estate investing than how to get access to a background check.  That's the easy part.

Jeremiah Stephen

Kimberly, Lenzy is right on the money as I am the owner of a CRA Consumer Reporting Agency (check my profile) and using credit is one of the only ways you can legally discriminate against someone however, like Lenzy mentioned, you have to be consistent across the board with your criteria.  So, set your criteria keep it consistent avoid changing the criteria for one person because you like something about them when you just rejected someone with similar results.  This will open the door to problems.

Jeremiah Stephen

Suggestion, might try listing your rooms on AIRBNB as a way to further expand your market to keeping rooms rented etc or capturing higher rates for the rooms.  I would be interested in discussing your tenant screening process.  

Jeremiah Stephen 

First of all, I would suggest you understand the landlord tenant act for your area.  Regarding the background check you do, I would think you should know as much about the applicant as possible. It doesn't mean your going to refuse them it allows you to have a clear picture of who you are dealing with as you enter the relationship.  You are building a community in the neighborhood and I don't know anyone interested in living in an area where anyone with a pulse can move in to the neighborhood. If they know you know about their past the accountability may help them?

Scott, thanks for the response. I sometimes get too passionate about my issues with TU. I am passionate entrepreneur and sometimes get too excited when I run into the provider of my credit reports competing with me in the background check industry. The only issue that seems apparent to me as a member of BP is that many people are sheep and they follow the lead without understanding what they might be using when a company like yours promotes them as a partner. I would like the opportunity to partner with BP as a partner in the industry who understands what investors need versus just being a large, deep pocketed repository who doesn’t work in the industry with these other investors. I would ask you as an investor to support your fellow investors as we all work together to accomplish our investing goals. Would you be open to allow us the opportunity to bid on the partnership you currently have in place?

thanks for the response and I appreciate your support as we all work to invest in our businesses!

Regards,

Jeremiah Stephen

Welcome to BP There are some awesome resources who respond on this site.  I am trying to work with BP to build on the sponsored services they promote so be sure to check out each person and the companies they represent as they are proving to be involved in the forums versus just a sponsored link of BP.

Let us know how we can help!

Jeremiah

What qualifies BP to recommend & what does BP know about the background check industry?

Should BP promote other background check companies on their site?  

Only promoting a single source for background checks CONFLICTS with BP's site philosophy of bringing the masses together to support each other. Does or SHOULD BP benefit from promoting MySmartMove background checks? 

Is this a conflict of interest?

Why does everyone automatically trust BP's recommendation of this service provider?

 That is understandable and I commend you for taking the leap, however this leap needs to be calculated and well thought out as there are professional tenants out there looking to take advantage of landlords who need some schooling (hard knox is the school's name) and the judges generally hold the landlords to a higher standard as they are the business owner.  just like as a realtor I am held to a higher standard than the general public.  Well, if we all are ready to assist so keep up the hard work and remember to find a company who offers all the services you are going to need this way you can build a relationship versus just being a customer.  I think of an applicant as a blank canvas and as I use my tool box to paint I begin with a black and white painting.  The more tools I use the more my painting comes to life e.g. now a color painting.  As I develop my process of screning out applicants I begin painting HD pictures because now I can use all the tools in my toolbox to validate and extract info out of my potential applicant. here's a good example.  using the credit report to validate previous address they might use as previous references, or spellings of their last names which you would validate with a possible criminal history so if they have multiple spellings of their name, it doesn't always indicate a spotted past but it allows you the indicators to be aware of and checkout.  An ounce of cure is better than a pound of remedy...is that how that goes?  So, as you complete all the reference checks, criminal histories, credit, evictions, and FBI search lists you now know the due diligence is complete and you can now validate your in person meeting and if you feel comfortable as you converse with them.  Living in and screening your tenants as a neighbor will give you a great experience on the environment you want to create for your other tenants as well as for the neighborhood.  Should other landlords be so thoughtful as well, as to create better communities by screening their applicants the same way.  Hold tenants accountable and create better neighborhoods for us all!

Regards,

Jeremiah Stephen