Credit Report Criteria Changes Affecting Real Estate Agents and Landlords

 

credit reports, tenant screening
Changes to credit reporting criteria impacting real estate agents and landlords

Effective July, 1 2017 there are going to be changes regarding credit report criteria.  They were announced by the  National Consumer Assistance Plan last year.

The changes now take data accuracy and quality into consideration and specifically address-

  • Medical debts won’t be reported until after a 180-day “waiting period” to allow insurance payments to be applied. The CRAs will also remove from credit reports previously reported medical collections that have been or are being paid by insurance.
  • Consistent standards will be reinforced by the credit bureaus to lenders and others that submit data for inclusion in a credit report (data furnishers).
  • Data furnishers will be prohibited from reporting authorized users without a date of birth and the CRAs will reject data that does not comply with this requirement.
  • The CRAs will eliminate the reporting of debts that did not arise from a contract or agreement by the consumer to pay, such as traffic tickets or fines.
  • A multi-company working group of the nationwide consumer credit reporting companies has been formed to regularly review and help ensure consistency and uniformity in the data submitted by data furnishers for inclusion in a consumer’s credit report.

Recently there have been a number of articles and announcements about these changes. What landlords and real estate agents using credit reports as part of their tenant screening need to know is that there should be only a minimal impact. And those changes should help clarify some information you are getting in your reports.

The new policy will require any record reported to a credit bureau to contain a name, social security number and/or birthdate, as well as an address. Tax liens and civil debt reports will likely be most impacted as SSNs are not included as a security precaution.

The accuracy of the reporting should be improved by matching records. As a result, reports with false positives should be reduced.

As I have mentioned in other postings, a credit report alone is not sufficient to adequately assess a rental applicant. Agents and landlords also need eviction and criminal reports. When you combine the three you get a much more robust view to make an informed decision.

TenantMagic provides comprehensive application and tenant screening at no cost to real estate agents, property managers and landlords. Applicants pay the fee.

Jay Apple is co-founder of TenantMagic, LLC  www.tenantmagic.net

Are your rental applicants using fake pay stubs?

Are your applicants using fake pay stubs?
Fake pay stubs are easy to get

In a previous post, I discussed the ease of getting a fake credit report and why you should always run your own screening reports for rental applicants. Credit reports are not the only fake documents that are readily available online. Fake pay stubs are also easily available for under $10.00.

https://www.realcheckstubs.com and https://fakepaystubonline.com are just 2 of many services that can be used.

It only takes a few minutes to generate a fake pay stub and they can look very authentic. If the rent is $1200 per month and you require a 3-1 income to rent ratio, no problem. The applicant can simply generate pay stubs showing income of $3600 per month or more regardless of what they make.

Income is obviously one of the more important requirements when considering a tenant. Lack of sufficient income will typically result non-payment of rent and ultimately in an eviction.

Fortunately there are a number of steps you can take to verify an applicant’s pay stub information.

  • Take a close look at the deduction amounts. Calculate them to see if they make sense and are in-line with the state where they work. City and state tax rates are readily accessible on line.
  • Ask for bank statements that correspond with the dates of the paystubs to see that the money was actually deposited into their account.
  • Look at eviction and credit reports to see if there are any anomalies.

Some resources suggest contacting employers to verify the income. I do not recommend this, as many employers will not provide that information. Some larger corporations that do, will outsource the service to a third party which can charge up to $25. With the steps I outlined you should be able to get verified income without the significant time and effort required to contact the employer.

The best way to incorporate these steps into your application process is to use a online rental application and background screening program. An applicant completing a TenantMagic application give permission for the agent or owner to ask for information such as bank statements in addition to the credit, eviction and criminal information pulled from the bureaus.

TenantMagic www.tenantmagic.net comprehensive application and tenant screening at no cost to offers real estate agents, property managers and landlords. Applicants pay the fee.

Jay Apple is co-founder of TenantMagic, LLC  www.tenantmagic.net

Technology-relevant lead generation for property managers and landlords

Use technology-relevant lead generation
Millennials hate voice mail

Technology-relevant lead generation is so important to effectively market your properties, especially to millennials.

Many owners and property managers I speak with are always looking for a reliable source for rental applicants.

A significant number of these applicants will likely be millennials. According to a cnbc article  http://www.cnbc.com/2016/09/09/millennials-will-be-renting-for-a-lot-longer.html, over 60% of people in the 25 to 34 age group, are renting their residences.

In addition to listing on sites such as  Craigslist or Zillow, many owners or managers place a “For Rent” sign out with a phone number of the owner or property manager.

“For Rent” signs will typically attract potential applicants that have a greater interest,  as they are making the effort to check out the property and the neighborhood.

The problem with the “For Rent” signs is that the phone is the method of contact. This brings up a number of issues.

Potential applicants often look at properties during evenings and week-ends when rental offices are closed and owners are not always available. Many applicants, especially millennials,  are adverse to calling and even a larger number refuse to leave a message. If they do leave a message (which is unlikely)  and you call them back, don’t even think of leaving them a voice message.

Millennials hate voicemails. They don’t like leaving voicemails and will typically send a text message instead. They also often avoid listening to voicemails that have been left for them by others. Here is a great column giving a millennial’s perspective on voicemails.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/bthesite/bs-b-0618-column-20150617-story.html

So, what is the best way to use “For Rent” signs? Use a text lead generation program for the signs. This is a good example of technology-relevant lead generation.

Full disclosure – TenantMagic has launched Rider Sign Leads www.ridersignleads.com. The program provides property managers and owners with a customizable code that can be placed on the “For Rent” sign riders, either in addition to or  replacing the phone number. When the prospective applicant texts the code to the number on the sign, they receive the rental details, owner/manager contact information and a link to the web listing of the property. The owner/manager receives the phone number of the prospect.

Technology is changing the way we shop, live and make decisions. It is imperative to make sure that your business can accommodate the tech tools that are being used by your target market.

Jay Apple is co-founder of TenantMagic, LLC  www.tenantmagic.net