In the digital age, it's sometimes easy to catch yourself wondering how we ever got along without the kinds of technologies we take for granted these days. Imagine trying to run your rental business without cell phones, text messages, and emails. Even for those of us who did just that, doesn't the process now seem like a lot of unnecessary effort and frustration?

 

In just a few years, I suspect that's the way most people will think of the tenant screening process. That's because, after you've used the new Rent Perfect system for verifying and background checking new renters, going back to so-called "instant" background checks – or worse, using phone calls and faxes – will seem about as convenient as churning your own butter.

 

There are two important reasons for this. The first has to do with the utilization of technology itself. By making rental applications compatible with email, tablets, and secure mobile technology, Rent Perfect makes the approval process more convenient than ever. Consider the steps involved in finding and clearing a new tenant with Rent Perfect:

 

  • First, you get the renter to say "I'll take it" in the same ways you always have.

 

  • But then, instead of beginning lots of paperwork, photocopying, and following up, you simply get the potential renter’s email address and have an application sent directly to them in seconds.

 

  • Once they have entered in their info and paid the application fee – something they can do on the spot directly from a smartphone or tablet – the investigative process begins.

 

  • Immediately, Landlords receive a full credit bureau with score, an instant criminal history, and address verification.  These reports allow you to instantly know who you are dealing with; but we always recommend waiting for our Investigators Overview Report which verifies thousands more court jurisdictions and validates the instant results to make sure they are accurate.

 

  • In just a few short hours, you receive the results of our Investigator Overview Report, complete with a rental recommendation that's tailored to the credit, eviction, and criminal history tolerances that you have set.

 

  • Once you found the right qualified renter, a few more clicks of the button will send them the lease to sign right online.  This way you will always have your signed lease right on your phone tablet or desktop.

 

  • For your protection, applicants receive discount rates on renters insurance starting at under $5 per month.  This insurance is offered through our partner Real Protect and acquiring this insurance through our system is easy and the landlord is automatically included as an additional insured.

 

  • Lastly, what better way to get paid then to have rent placed in your bank account directly. No more bounced checks or excuses. No more chasing down your tenants for that check or waiting for the mail person to arrive.  Just simply set up your account and look for payment notifications each month.

 

And just like that, the process is completed. At no point were you required to look through handwritten applications, dig through endless amounts of paperwork, or spend part of your day faxing, phone calling, and making copies. For this alone, rental property owners and managers will be dying to integrate Rent Perfect as quickly as possible.

 

However, there is still the second reason that the platform is almost guaranteed to be a hit within the rental community. Rent Perfect isn't just a convenient technological tool, it's also a different standard for evaluating new tenants.

 

Because so-called "instant" background checks just compare names and Social Security numbers to widely available databases, they tend to miss lots and lots of important details. And, even in cases where they wouldn't, known criminals know how to beat them. That can lead to serious risks, costs, and liabilities if you end up renting to known felons with extensive criminal histories.

 

Rent Perfect, on the other hand, backs their product with live, trained investigators who know how to "read between the lines" when it comes to tenant applications. They look for missing data, inconsistencies, and other red flags – and even perform personal research themselves to make sure you're getting the whole picture. 

 

In addition to standard criminal checks, they also look through databases for things like credit history as well as whether or not the applicant has ever been sued for eviction. Going into this extra layer of detail only adds a couple of hours to the application process, but it could end up saving you thousands in unpaid rent, legal costs, and working hours later.

 

There are a lot of things we use to run our rental businesses in today's world that we could no longer imagine having to work without. It's a good bet that Rent Perfect is about to become the next one. Where has it been all our lives?

 

About the Author

David Pickron has been a licensed private investigator for over 20 years, specializing in tenant screening for real estate investment owners and property management companies. His company, Rent Perfect, an Investigative Screening Company, helps clients onboard tenants from the initial background check to leasing and payment collection. You can learn more by visiting www.rentperfect.com or calling 1-877-922-2547.

Comments & Upvotes