Feature
by Matthew C. Sheridan
This past spring, the San Francisco Apartment Association launched a new and improved tenant credit-screening service that provides faster, more comprehensive assistance for members who run credit reports with SFAA.
For years, SFAA ran their credit screening reports through Credit Bureau Associates, a Bay Area company—in business for almost 70 years—specializing in credit reporting and collection services. Normally, just one SFAA staff member—most recently Ted Tallasee—would manage the entire operation: interacting with members, running reports and conveying the findings. Behind the scenes, however, SFAA was utilizing CBA's resources to generate credit reports for their members. Service was timely, rates were reasonable and the process was easy.
Beginning last summer, SFAA began offering members the ability to run reports over the internet—again through CBA—giving them instantaneous credit reports for their prospective tenants. That's right: immediate service, with no delays. The response to the web-based service has been very enthusiastic.
Now, SFAA has retained CBA to run their entire tenant screening service. Instead of one staff member to run reports, now there are 33 CBA credit-checking specialists on hand to handle credit inquiries. No more voice mail; no more busy signals. And the service is exceptional. Reports and callbacks are generated within 15 to 20 minutes, and the hours of operation have increased slightly (8 a.m. to 5 p.m., with web-based reports available anytime).
CBA's program of tenant screening is tailor-made for landlords in California. "It is a better system than what members will find elsewhere on the internet or from anybody else who has similar products to offer," explains Janan New, executive director of SFAA. New said the switch to CBA has been in the works for some time, with nearly all apartment associations throughout the state already outsourcing their tenant screening to a sole service provider.
Customer service and expertise has made CBA a favorite among the state's apartment associations. "Our highly trained staff is familiar with all aspects of the property management industry," comments Kathy Parsons, president of CBA. "We take care of our customers 24-7 and our goal is to provide superior service." Members can call or fax in a request, or just jump on the web. "We still give a verbal review, and if a member is unclear with something in the file, we are more than happy to explain it to them," Parsons says.
In addition to running credit reports, CBA specializes in tracking unlawful detainer actions (evictions), criminal searches and employment reports. The key to the company's success is the quality of the data they maintain. Once a week, unlawful-detainer data is downloaded from courthouses in the western United States, ensuring CBA's databases are current and up to date. (Please note: under California law, unlawful detainers in the state cannot be reported for 60 days after being filed.) Beginning July 1, CBA will begin offering members unlawful-detainer searches covering every state in the union. "We're excited to be providing tenant screening to SFAA members and look forward to providing credit expertise as needed," Parsons reports.
Some members have expressed concerns that the personal service offered by SFAA staff will be lost. Don't worry. "The SFAA staff is still there—we are still available to work with members on any concern they may have," relays New. The move to expand the credit reporting service has come with no additional charges to SFAA members and by using the service you support
SFAA by generating nondues revenue, which in turn keeps dues low. Prices could even drop a bit. "Moving to an online system can ultimately achieve better data, quicker, for less money," comments New, referring to the web-based service. "Eventually, the more people we have online, the lower we can price the product."
How It Works
By using CBA for credit check screening, the process remains very similar to using SFAA; the people and numbers may have changed, but the service remains the same.
New Service Agreement
The one big change is that members will have to sign a new "Service Agreement" between themselves and SFAA/CBA. The old service agreement is now void; and the new agreement simply codifies rules and regulations governing credit reporting between the parties involved and affirms compliance with the Fair Credit Report Act. The new agreement is listed on the opposite page and must be faxed into CBA at 800-479-4946 in order to use the new screening service.
Signed Application
Members must have a completed "Application to Rent," authorizing them to run a credit report from their prospective tenants. The form must be signed by the applicant—without it, a credit report cannot be processed.
Fax/Telephone Request
SFAA members can fax a request for tenant screening to 800-479-4946.
Necessary information includes: the member's SFAA number, name and reply fax number. Verbal requests can be made by calling 800-564-6440 with the same data required above, as well as the prospective tenant's data. CBA's manager for tenant screening is Jodi Bussert and can be reached at ext. 120. Call her directly if you have any problems.
Internet Set Up
For those SFAA members wishing to run reports over the web, please contact Sara Jennings at ext.150 to set up internet-based reporting.
Verbal Reports
After a report is generated, members can receive a verbal description of the results if they request it. CBA's service representative cannot make the decision of whether the tenant is qualified to rent to, but are glad to assist members in interpreting the results.
SFAA's new credit screening service is simple, cost effective and fast. The combined team of CBA and SFAA is guaranteed to deliver the quality service members have been receiving for years—only better!
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the viewpoint of SFAA or the San Francisco Apartment Magazine. Matthew C. Sheridan is the editor of the San Francisco Apartment Magazine and the East Bay's Rental Housing magazine. Copyright © 2006 by the San Francisco Apartment Magazine. All rights reserved.