E-Screening Helps Property Managers by Kate Kemp
Need some property management relief? The National Tenant Network recently released a new product called e-screening. In five seconds, landlords can view and print out tenant performance reports (lease violations), eviction records, retail credit and criminal background checks. How does it work? The tenant database consists of twenty years of tenant behaviors. “We gathered all civil court records dealing with landlord/tenant disputes,” explains Edward F. Byczynski, President and General Counsel of NTN. “Our employees gather disputes daily and add them to our database. Also, every time a landlord signs up for our services, we get a listing of all current tenants and we screen them free of charge.” NTN then adds this list to their national database. Under the fair housing laws, landlords are required to screen every applicant the same way. Once NTN screens their current tenants, landlords can legally screen every new applicant using the e-screening system. All a landlord is required to do is fill in a few blanks on their e-screening site. “When you go to site, you’re going to put in the applicant’s name, social, previous and current address. From that you can get a tenant performance (lease violation) report, eviction record, and a retail credit and criminal background check all within 5 seconds.” says Edward. So how does NTN differ from other Property Management services? “Other companies don’t give (managers) the documentation to show how their decision was made.” Edward points out. For example, if an applicant comes along and fills out an application and he gets rejected, most programs will simply print out a rejection letter. The rejection is typically based on credit history. “The NTN e-screening service focuses on whether or not (an applicant) will be a good tenant... not whether or not he’s a good credit risk.“ says Edward. According to the NTN web site, “without the eviction data and resident history data, many applicants will slip through similar systems that have chosen not to include this important information.” The reports are all printable for landlord and tenant records. Under the 1997 revision to the credit reporting act, the applicant has a right to have a copy of the report upon which the decision is based. By obtaining the report, tenants can see exactly why they were rejected on the spot. This helps tenants learn what they need to do before another complex will accept them. “We are not an internet startup company,” Edward explains, “We have a lot of data and a lot of practices that have developed over the 20 years. This provides a solid foundation,” he says, “If you don’t have a property management background like NTN’s founders have, I don’t think you truly understand the nature of the industry...and our understanding is built in to everything we provide to the property management industry. We’re not bankers coming along to tell managers how to do their job.” Since the company began in 1980, NTN has opened twenty offices in twenty states, and plans to open four more every year. For more information, please visit the National Tenant Network and e-screening web sites. | 
