In times of uncertainty there are 3 questions as a landlord or property manager you should be able to answer. How can I best serve my tenants and owners during social distancing protocols? How can I lower the risk of non-payments /evictions during times of high unemployment rates? And, how to identify if prospective tenants will need additional income or security deposits to be able to fulfill their financial obligations?
Below are 3 ways in which you can ensure you’re placing tenants correctly and to ensure everyone's safety during these unprecedented times.
1. Screen Prospective Tenants to Help Lower Non-Payment / Eviction Risks
RentGrade Pro Package, our RentScreener Team will manually screen the prospective tenant(s) and then provide you with a RentReport containing a RentGrade A, B, C, or F (Financial Risk Factor), Income to Rent Ratio, National Eviction Report, and National Criminal Report from TransUnion. A RentGrade is a tenant risk solution score that predicts the likelihood that a tenant will pay their rent on time and fulfill the financial obligations of their lease.
For more information about our RentGrade product please visit http://www.rentscreener.com/rentgrade.
Our RentGrade Pro Package is for smaller landlords, property owners, or property managers that cannot access tenant credit scores without a financial audit, and a site inspection from one of the credit bureaus. Our RentScreener Team has already passed all compliance and guidelines with the credit bureau TransUnion. We use our standing with the TransUnion to obtain this information and pass it on to you in the form of a RentGrade report.
We utilize TransUnion’s ResidentScore®, which is a credit scoring model that is specific to the property management industry. This credit scoring model is “...TransUnion’s analysis of more than 500,000 actual resident records, ResidentScore will help you score potential tenants with more precision than a traditional credit score.”
“TransUnion's scoring model (ResidentScore) is created specifically for the Multi-Family industry. This means it is predictive of bad outcomes like delinquencies, bad debt, skips, and evictions. We update our scoring model every couple of years since market conditions change.Similar to FICO or Vantage, TransUnion's ResidentScore is in a range of 350 to 850. While ResidentScore will not completely align with the more common FICO or Vantage score, there will naturally be some correlation.” TransUnion’s ResidentScore®
Our RentGrade takes the ResidentScore into consideration and remits back to you a 49-point range of the prospective tenants credit score. Our RentScreener Team will also verify Name, SSN, and Address History as well as attach any criminal or eviction records if found.
Sample RentReport of our RentGrade Product
2. Identify If Prospective Tenants Will Require Additional Income / Security Deposits
With RentGrade Pro Package you will have the ability to customize your RentScreener Application from our easy-to-use Application Template. We have multiple fields and sections within our Application Template where you can require prospective tenants to fill out information related to additional sources of income, rent, ability to pay rent, and deposits. When you receive your RentReport with our RentGrade, you will also be able to review the Monthly Income to Monthly Rent Ratio.
The Monthly Income to Monthly Rent Ratio is not included in the RentGrade algorithm, but it will allow you to identify if applicant(s) will be able to uphold their financial obligations, leases, rent, etc. We always recommend to the smaller landlords, property owners, or property managers that you are verifying income with pay stubs, or other legally binding documents.
Within your RentScreener Application Template you have a Document Section, in which prospective tenants can upload required documents such as, paystubs, driver license, bank statement, tax returns, etc. This will allow you to verify income and hopefully be able to get a better understanding if this applicant(s) will require additional income or security deposits to be able to rent the property.
3. Online Rental Application Means Contactless Applicant Screening
RentScreener is a software service built for Property Managers and/or Landlords to use for their online rental application and applicant screening integrations. This means there is no need for in-person applications or paper applications. Simply invite an applicant(s) to apply directly through your RentScreener Account. Enter the applicant(s) name, email and a message will be sent to them with a link to your specific RentScreener Application. Once your RentGrade Pro Account goes Live, we will also provide you with a specific application URL to be implemented onto your website.
Once you have received your RentReport from our RentScreener Team you will be able to review the RentGrade, and make an informed decision about your prospective tenant(s). Our system will allow you to alert your applicant(s) if the status of their application has been changed. The feature is called our Change Status Feature. You will be able to alert a prospective tenant if their application was approved, declined, contingent, needs more information, or was withdrawn. RentScreener’s whole application and screening process is streamlined for you so there will be no need to have in-person contact.
In conclusion, by utilizing our RentGrade Pro Screening Package, you will be able to predict the risk of a non-payment or evictions, you will be able to identify if the prospective tenant(s) will need additional income or security deposits to be able to secure a lease, and most importantly, keep the screening process contactless by transferring your screening online.
If you have any questions about our RentGrade Pro package or services, please contact us by email Help@rentscreener.com or by phone 1.800.921.3638.
