BiggerPockets

BiggerPockets Partners with TransUnion to Provide Tenant Screening & Credit Checks

In an effort to serve our members, BiggerPockets now offers tenant screening services in concert with the credit bureau TransUnion, via BiggerPockets.MySmartMove.com.

For only $20, landlords get:
- Credit-based leasing recommendation/security deposit recommendation
- National criminal report (including 50 state sex offender and OFAC/terrorist searches)
- Renter fraud warnings
- Automated renter identity verification

For an additional $5, the landlord may also receive:
- Immediate access to a credit report (a complete report formatted for readability while still keeping the renter's personal data private)
- Viewable credit score
- Renter fraud warnings
- Detailed rental address history

Learn more about SmartMove on our tenant screening page or by visiting the training videos.

Good luck!

Josh, That's a fantastic deal! How do you make application to provide the authorization to pull credit? How long will that take? I bet it's a credit card on line thing...that's a great service, another thing that sets BP above other sites! Thanks, Bill

@Bienes - Thanks! I know you'll find it to be a great tool.

@Bill - Thanks! Here's more information that should answer your questions:

There's no lengthy enrollment process. You don't have to provide documentation or wait for approval. Just create an account and consent to the electronic agreements, then conduct your screening on an as-needed basis.

Once you create an account, all you need to get started is your potential tenant's email address.

Simply log on and send the potential tenant an electronic request from the site. Once the applicant securely verifies his or her identity, TransUnion delivers a comprehensive, reliable screening recommendation and results to your BiggerPockets.SmartMove account instantly.

@Eliott - For the standard $20, you will get renter fraud warnings, and for an additional $5 you'll get a detailed rental address history amongst other things.

NOTE: Here are some training videos to help you get a better feel for the product.

That's a great question, Marc, and frankly, I don't know the answer, but will call on Monday to find out how to handle potential tenants who don't have internet.

That said, I've had section 8 tenants and know many others who work with low income tenants, and when needed, these people can access the internet.

Consider this:

Here is some data from the Pew Internet Project:

In a national survey between November 30 and December 27, 2009, we find:

74% of American adults (ages 18 and older) use the internet -- a slight drop from our survey in April 2009, which did not include Spanish interviews. At that time we found that 79% of English-speaking adults use the internet.

60% of American adults use broadband connections at home

Additionally, almost 100% of libraries provide internet access on their computers, according to the American Library Association

Finally, according to Forrester Research, 17% of US adults use a smartphone.

I didn't raise these issues to argue anything -- frankly, I was just curious about internet usage because of your inquiry.

That said, if there isn't an offline option for this product (which admittedly, I didn't see as an issue until now), I suppose all I can do is to see about pointing out how to do it in another manner.

Lets wait and see what we find out before moving in that direction.

Hey folks -
I wanted to let everyone know that we've had a few people sign up and use this great tenant screening product, and the feedback on its usefulness has been all positive.

I encourage all of you who have begun to use it to let everyone know what you think!

Thanks,
Josh

Charles,

I tested this service out with one of my employees. We will be using it from on with our rentals. It gives an opinion on whether or not you should rent to the person, and a fairly detailed report of their credit and public records.

My report did miss some public records, including a criminal record, but I'd imagine that each local handles these things differently, so it can't be perfect.

We let the tenants pay directly, so it's $25 for them, nothing for us. If they don't have a credit card, we'll pay for the service, but it becomes $30 so we get a $5 service fee.

Thanks for setting this up Josh, I look forward to using it with actual applicants. It looks to be a great tool.

I used this service on Saturday as my original service now needs you to have a biz lic. and documentation to do credit checks.

Results were quick and new tenants said it was easy and they liked they could pay for it directly and it was only $25.
They used it from their Iphones.

My only recommendation is having an option where you can download the credit results in a PDF file.

I used it a few months ago. It works great. Simple and easy. I have recommended it others that have asked who I use.

You fill out the information (name and address of prop) you want them to see.

Friends:

What if the tenant screening recommends "Accept" but, you want to reject based on your "gut check" after meeting the potential tenant? Once the recommendation is accept, are you legally bound to accept them? I am a bit nervous using this.

Also, will the tenant knows the recommendation?

thanks,