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April 2008 Issue
RentGrow "In the Know"
Fine-Tune Your Applicant-Screening Process
Spring is finally in the air. And, no doubt, it's time to begin thinking about the increased leasing activity that comes with the summer and fall months. While we all welcome "busy seasons" from a business perspective, we also know that more work can lead to more stress. But it doesn't have to be like that if you have effective processes in place. Now is an ideal time to review your resident-screening practices and to apply changes that will maximize your time and keep you and your staff stress-free. Follow our tips below to accomplish these goals.
Prepare Your Leasing Staff
- Regardless of how many busy leasing periods your staff has survived, it still makes sense to review internal screening procedures, policies, and fair housing laws with staff members to make sure everyone is on the same page.
- Consider requesting refresher training from your applicant-screening provider for your staff. RentGrow offers online trainining that you and your staff can sign up for at your convenience--perfect for new hires as well as those who want to make sure they're up to speed on everything.
Implement Time Savers
- Remember, technology should save time. Take advantage of the interfaces between your property management system and your screening company. Many systems, like RentGrow's, integrate so that you only have to enter data once. Call your screening company for more information.
- Post important screening company contact names and numbers, such as your account manager, toll-free customer service numbers, etc., so that your staff knows who to call--fast.
- Make extra copies of regularly used forms, like "new screening request" forms, so that you can process requests quickly.
- Many online screening companies ask that you update your screening system usernames and/or passwords every 90 days. Go ahead and update them now. This way, you won't have to think about it while you're at your busiest. Keep in mind that RentGrow strongly recommends using personal passwords--not one per property. This is better for accountability and security.
- Don't sit on unanswered screening questions. Call your screening company right away when you have a question on things like a credit or criminal report so that you can get the lease completed. Many screening companies have online support. Shoot off a question via email while you give someone a tour (multi-task to save time!). At RentGrow, we're available via email and phone Monday-Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. EST.
Make Any Necessary Changes to Your Screening Criteria
- Review your occupancy rates vs. bad debt performance. Now is an ideal time to review the last six months of your property results and make any necessary criteria changes to achieve your leasing goals.
- Even if debt and occupancy are well balanced, have you reviewed your credit or criminal screening criteria recently? RentGrow offers free consulting services to review criteria and to make suggestions on how you might want to tweak it to fit your changing business objectives.
Add New Screening Features & Services Now
- Have you thought about adding criminal, landlord, and tenant eviction, or other background screening services to your screening process? Ask your screening company for service descriptions and pricing. Get these features up and running (and have your staff properly trained) before the onslaught of applications.
At RentGrow, we go through similar "let's see what we can do" steps since we will handle nearly 50 percent of our total applications in the coming months. Remember, the key is preparation--prepare now so that you and your staff can enjoy the increased business that the next six months bring in. Contact us today if you'd like to learn more about what we can do for you.
© 2008, RentGrow, Inc--Resident Screening Experts. For permission to reprint this article or to sign up to receive "In The Know," send an email to newsletter@rentgrow.com.
If you have additional questions about criminal screening policies or any other aspects of your resident screening strategy you can contact RentGrow at www.rentgrow.com,
1-800-RENTGROW (1-800-736-8476). |
