Verify tenant income with Rentec direct

Income verification just got so much easier for Rentec Direct clients looking for more detailed tenant screening options.  When ordering your tenant credit, criminal, and eviction reports you can now easily include an automated income verification report.  

The income verification report feature provides you a quick and easy way to prove your applicant’s net income. The data comes directly from your rental applicant’s bank account, the most reliable source for verifying income.

Why automate income verification?

As a landlord myself, my first thought when we researched adding this report to our system was:  “We don’t need this, applicants simply provide us a copy of their pay stub and that proves their income.”  I was wrong.

As I thought about it a bit more, I came to realize there were some flaws in my initial reaction.  In an ever-increasing electronic world, most tenants don’t have their most recent pay stubs nicely folded up in their back pocket when they apply for a property.  They usually have to go ask their employer for copies, and this can take time, which means longer vacancies or lost tenants.

Second, and perhaps more important; my ten-year-old could, in about five minutes, fabricate a pay stub on his computer showing he makes any -amount he desires per month.  If my ten-year-old can do this, so can any applicant. As such, copies of pay stubs are no longer a reliable method of proving income because they can so easily be fabricated.  Don’t believe it? Just Google “fake pay stubs” and be astonished how easy it is for a tenant to make one.

If you currently require tenants to bring in pay stubs, you are taking the time to verify their employment.  If you ask for bank statements, you are reviewing dozens, or maybe hundreds, of line items to determine what the tenant’s actual income may be.  And the forms are different from each and every applicant, making it really cumbersome to quickly get the info you need. Either way, traditional methods are slow, and often error-prone and cost you a lot of staff time.

Another great benefit: these automated income verification reports also include irregular income deposits. These include bonuses, tax returns and things like tips-based income. Finally, there is an easy way for applicants who earn income from tips to substantiate their reported income.

With automated income verification, powered by The Closing Docs and Rentec Direct, you simply check a box during your screening package selection, enter the tenant’s email address, and that’s it!  The tenant can quickly complete the process in a matter of minutes either in your office, on their mobile phone, or at home.

How Does it Work?

Income verification is very easy from both your perspective and the tenants.  Here are the details:

  1. When you are choosing a tenant screening package, check the box for Automated Income Verification and enter your tenant’s email address.  Your tenant will receive an email a few seconds later with a link to verify their income.
  2. Your tenant can use their computer or mobile device to securely login to their bank account where their employment net income is deposited.
  3. Once logged in, the system will generate a report summarizing all deposits as well as identify their employer, in an easy to read report that shows monthly and annual net income figures.  The tenant will review the report for accuracy, and they can add an explanatory statement if they wish, but they cannot change the contents of the report.
  4. A copy of their automated income verification report will be available for you to view next to your other tenant screening reports.

Click here to view a sample report

 

What does it it cost?

As a Rentec Direct client, you will automatically receive access to wholesale rates for all tenant screening products.  Your wholesale access includes substantial discounts on credit, criminal, eviction, and now also automated income verification.  The retail rate for automated income verification is about $10, but Rentec Direct clients will see and be charged the wholesale discounted price when ordering this report in the software. Most landlords and property managers choose to pass along the tenant screening costs to their applicants in the form of an application fee. 

To run new tenant screening reports, login to your account and select Reports, Tenant Screening.  On the package selection page, your discounted rate for automated income verification will be shown.

Also, you only pay for reports that are completed by the tenant.  If your tenant doesn’t complete the process, or in the small chance that their bank isn’t supported, you’ll automatically receive a credit for the cost of the report.


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