Tenant Screening for Landlords, Owners and Managers - Page 8 of 14

Tenant Screening Customer Service – The TenantMagic Advantage

Let your business stand out with superior customer service

In my previous post I wrote about how TenantMagic stands above its competitors by providing superior tenant screening customer service. Here is a link to a Forbes article http://bit.ly/2sTWAD1 that supports our strategy, that customer service is a great differentiator.

In this post I will give you a recent example.

TenantMagic’s tenant screening customer service is available 7 days a week. We know that our agents and landlords don’t work Monday through Friday from 9am to 5pm and neither do we. We see much of our activity after 5pm and on weekends. One of our competitors brags about having their customer service available Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 7:00 pm. TenantMagic’s live phone customer service is available from 8:00 am to 9:00pm Monday through Friday and 9:00 am to 5:00 pm on Saturdays and Sundays.

This past Saturday, I received a call from a woman in her 70’s who needed help to complete the online rental application and tenant screening for her and her husband. Neither were what you would call computer savvy.

She called asking for assistance, as she was somewhat unsure about entering personal information into an online application. She asked if we could stay on the with her while she entered her information which we did not only for her, but for her husband too.

In less than a half hour both applications were completed and the agent received their applications and screening reports. They were very thankful not only for the assistance, but that it was provided on a Saturday morning. The property they were applying to was in demand and they needed to get their application in as quickly as possible.

TenantMagic’s development team has worked with our customer service team to make the user experience as easy as possible. We see that we are successful more than 95% of the time based on the number of customer service calls we receive compared to the number of applications that are completed.

We often hear back from the agents and landlords of the 5% that needed the assistance, thanking us. They appreciate that their vacancy will be filled in a timely manner. This has resulted not only in repeat business but great referrals.

Tenant Screening Services – Why TenantMagic Works Best

The TenantMagic staff conducted a competitive analysis of tenant screening services providers to see how TenantMagic compares. We found many services that offer the same type of reports – credit, criminal, eviction, and sex offender. We then took a further dive to see how TenantMagic was different.

The tenant screening services we selected offered similar reports. We excluded companies that only provided credit reports and enterprise property management systems that had tenant screening as a part of a suite of services.

Overall, we found that the other tenant screening services focused strictly on the reports, where TenantMagic handles the entire application and screening process along with providing customer service to the applicants every step along the way.

We interviewed dozens of real estate agents and landlords when we were developing TenantMagic five years ago. The time it took to get prospects through the application process was the one pain that was consistently articulated by both agent and landlords.

It starts with the handling the calls and setting up appointments. Then there is the time it takes to collect the completed applications (usually paper), application fees, run a background report and make a selection.

The biggest headaches came from applicants that were:

No shows
Just looking
Went through the application process but didn’t meet basic income qualifications

If a background report was used by the agent and landlord it usually consisted of a credit report, which alone is not sufficient to determine the quality of a potential renter.

What we found was that TenantMagic is the only tenant screening program that addresses the entire application process from the inquiry to providing the notification to applicants that were both accepted or declined.

The agent or landlord simply enters the applicant’s email into the system and TenantMagic handles the rest. This includes all customer service during the application process for the applicant. If there is a problem, the applicant is instructed to contact TenantMagic, not the agent or landlord.

The agent or landlord gets a completed application with the screening reports and a rental recommendation based on income and credit history requirements. The completed application and reports are available minutes after being submitted by the applicant.

As an added benefit, TenantMagic is free to agents and landlords. The applicant pays the fee.

By using TenantMagic, agents and landlords can stop wasting time with unqualified rental applicants and focus on their primary business. And that is why TenantMagic is the tenant screening service that works best for not only agents and landlords but applicants too.

Successfully Dealing With a Late-paying Tenant Without an Eviction

I was speaking with a landlord recently about getting good tenants and what to do with late-paying tenants while avoiding the eviction process. Jack has been in the business for close to 20 years and has a couple of dozen properties.

He explained his very effective method to deal with late paying tenants.

After conducting the background screening but before the lease is signed, Jack sits down with the applicant and clearly reviews the rules regarding rent payment.

They are-

1. Rent is due on the 1^st

2. If the payment is not received by the 1^st of the month there is a $50 late payment.

3. If the rent and late payment is not received by the 3^rd of the month they will a receive a 3-Day Notice.

4. There are no exceptions.

A 3-day notice advises tenants that they are being asked to leave or that an eviction action will be brought against them. They are also advised to seek legal assistance if they have any questions or concerns. (This landlord’s properties are in Ohio and laws do vary from state to state, so please check with your attorney or state’s landlord tenant laws) You can also check out https://www.rocketlawyer.com to see a sample and learn more.

Once the 3-day notice is delivered, he calls the tenant and tells them, “You are more than 3 days late with your rent and I want you out as I warned you about this before you signed the lease.”

Jack then makes the tenant the following offer, “If you are out by the week-end I will pay you $250. If you agree I will meet you at the property with your check. If the property is clean and in good shape, I will give you the check in exchange for the keys. If you do not agree, I will immediately start the eviction proceedings.”

Over the years, he had only one tenant that declined this offer.

He knows his ex-tenant is probably at a bar buying drinks with his new-found money bragging about getting over on his landlord. But Jack is the one that has come out ahead.

Jack has avoided paying the costs associated with filing the eviction. The property was left clean and in good condition, which would be very unlikely if the tenant was evicted. And he has the security deposit, which covers the cost of the payment and some of the lost rent.

Jack spends very little time chasing down the rent from late-paying tenants by being very clear about the rules before the lease is signed and strictly adhering to them.

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

Please note that this post relates to an approach to dealing with late paying tenants and is not meant to be considered legal advice.