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TenantAlert, a New Online Tenant Screening Service, Speeds Reviews and Lowers Risk With Unique Colorblind Scoring Systems

Thursday August 14, 11:25 am ET
Includes Industry's Most Thorough Credit & Background Checks

PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif., Aug. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Apartment owners and managers can now expedite and improve the tenant screening process with TenantAlert (www.TenantAlert.com ), a new Internet-based tenant screening service that instantly evaluates each prospective renter against national consumer credit data, criminal and eviction databases, two separate colorblind scoring systems designed to predict tenant reliability, and a variety of other criteria. The service saves time, significantly lowers landlords' risk because of its comprehensiveness, and costs as little as $9.95 per report.
" Traditional tenant screening may take several days and frequently miss key information that can help identify potentially undesirable tenants, and it can leave property owners and managers open to charges of discrimination," said Jeff Cronrod, President of Fidelity Information Corporation, which operates the TenantAlert service. "TenantAlert solves these problems with fast online results, the most thorough and wide-ranging credit and reference checks available today, and exclusive statistical tools to help manage risk."

All TenantAlert reports include consumer credit information from one or more of the three major credit bureaus -- Experian, Equifax or Transunion. Registered TenantAlert clients also have free access to information on delinquent payment histories, property damage, chronic violations, criminal activity, and other types of disturbances reported to the Delinquent Tenant Cooperative. Registered users also can instantly report delinquent tenants to the three bureaus and the Delinquent Tenant Cooperative.

In addition, TenantAlert offers packages with various options that include:

• An exclusive colorblind MatchMaker scoring system that enables landlords to establish their preferred tenant profile based on more than 20 different parameters. The system evaluates each applicant according to those criteria and instantly returns a "recommend" or "not recommend."
• A credit-based TenantAlert Predictor Score (TAPS) that automatically evaluates the credit information provided by the credit bureaus and translates it into a numerical score indicating the financial risk of renting to that particular applicant.
• Eviction/public record checks against all available nationwide databases covering money judgments, possession-only judgments, skips, and property damage claims as well as eviction filings.
• National criminal background searches, including checks of sexual offender and terrorist databases as well as cross-checking of personal information for criminal record verification.
• Fraud detection and personal information verification, ranging from comparison of information provided by the applicant against that provided on credit reports, to social security number verification, national address history, and bankruptcy searches.
• Credit grantor names and addresses, giving property owners immediate access to all of a prospective tenant's creditors for additional information.

All account usage data is available online at any time, enabling property owners to search account activity by date, tenant name or building name in order to compare it to their credit card bills, calculate their rental traffic, or evaluate a manager's performance.

TenantAlert also has established strategic alliances with TenantMail (www.TenantMail.com ) and Rent Recovery Service (www.ABadTenant.com ) for a complete tenant management solution. TenantMail helps ensure timely rent payments by automatically invoicing tenants every month. Rent Recovery Service offers programs for recouping delinquent rent, including a unique flat-fee system that significantly lowers the cost of pursuing delinquent tenants by eliminating contingency fees.

For more information on TenantAlert's online tenant screening service, visit www.TenantAlert.com .

Security is an easy sell in real estate web management
Bill Archambeault
Journal Staff

Web-based systems appear to be growing in popularity in the real estate industry, as ...

"In these changing times, and with a closed-building philosophy and security concerns, having that information for your tenants online and being able to update it is very important," Childs said. "Having information is power. We're trying to give property managers as much information as possible so they can make decisions based on information and not on gut reactions."

Security is also a growing business for Fidelity Information Corp. (no relation to the local financial giant). The Los Angeles-based company's TenantAlert screens potential residential tenants for suspected terrorists, sex offenders and other criminals, in addition to more routine reviews of a person's eviction history and credit.

The company already operates in Boston, but has targeted the city as one of its prime sites for expansion.

"It's an important metropolitan market for us," said president Jeff Cronrod. "It's one of maybe eight cities on the top of our list. We already have a good presence for a West Coast company, and we definitely want to expand it."

Last call for likely sites

In Massachusetts' ...

... for land sites include city sewer and water service, zoning for laboratory, R&D or manufacturing, natural gas, power for at least 30 watts per square foot (and more for manufacturing uses) and parking for three cars per 1,000 square feet of space (unless there is access to public transportation).

BILL ARCHAMBEAULT is the real estate reporter for the Boston Business Journal. He can be reached by e-mail at BArchambeault@bizjournals.com.