Background Screening

A special message sent to RSI from one of our clients! It sounds like a great event. Good morning Friends, Vendors and Associates: I hope this letter finds you all well! The reason for contacting you is I'm helping my brother with the marketing of his new foundation which helps people of both genders for expenses and treatment for individuals with breast, ovary, prostate or testicular cancer. I know this may be late in getting this information to you but would like to ask if you could forward this information to the rest of the company. It would help with others learning about this organization, and having the opportunity to come to the inaugural gala next weekend. My brother, Dr. Kelly Lennon MD., has two practices, one in Littleton and another in Castle Rock. He has served on the board of both Swedish and Littleton Hospitals. Please take a moment to read about the benefits of Pink & Blue United below. Any correspondence of passing the information along will ...

Dear RSI Client, On June 25, 2011, the Social Security Administration (SSA) changed the way Social Security Numbers (SSN) are assigned. This change is known as "randomization." What is Randomization? The SSA traditionally assigned nine-digit SSNs in a particular pattern. Specifically, the first three digits indicated the state in which the consumer resided at the time the SSN was issued, and digits four - five indicated the year the SSN was issued. Effective June 25th, the SSA changed its SSN assignment methodology to a randomized process. SSN randomization will affect the SSN assignment process in the following ways: • Elimination of the geographical significance of the first three digits and any association with specific states. • Elimination of any association with the number's date of issuance. • Previously unassigned area numbers will be introduced for assignment, excluding area numbers 000, 666 and 900-999. Now you know.

Greetings Apartment Industry Advocates! This is the second in a series of monthly communications to members of the Apartment Industry Mobilization Service (AIMS) to help you advocate for the apartment industry. This information will focus on our federal policy initiatives, the legislative process, important committees, key members of the House and Senate, and briefing materials. We hope you find this valuable and invite you to suggest other topics to cover. This month our focus is a call to action! Now is the time to make your voice heard by meeting face to face with your members of Congress when they are in recess in August. Many NAA members cannot travel to Washington, D.C., in March for the annual Capitol Conference lobby day. This is your opportunity to make your voice heard for nothing more than a little time and the cost of gas. You may not think that your involvement will make a difference. Or, you may think you don’t have time even to set up a meeting – and even if you ...

Any changes that negatively affect the consumer require an Adverse Action letter to be sent to the applicant. The adverse action or declination letter must contain the following information: the name and address of the consumer reporting agency that issued the report; a statement that the consumer reporting agency did not make the decision to take adverse action; notice of the consumer's rights to obtain a free copy of the report within 60 days of the adverse action and the consumer's rights to dispute the accuracy and completeness of the information with the consumer reporting agency. FCRA Section 603(k). Rental Services, Inc. provides an "adverse action" or “declination letter” by selecting the DISCLOSURES & FORMS option at the bottom of the report results screen. You can also find a generic "adverse action" or consumer “declination letter” on the RSI website that can be modified to fit your needs.

I wanted to remind all RSI clients that you have a responsibility to comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). When requesting a background check you are required to have a permissible purpose. For the rental industry, that means that you can only obtain a consumer credit report in connection with screening a prospective applicant. Other permissible purposes exist and can be found in Section 604 of the FCRA.

As someone who has family living in Joplin, Missouri I wanted to pass on this email I received from the National Apartment Association. Apartment residents are among the thousands affected by the widespread devastation in Joplin, Mo., following the recent killer tornados. Hundreds -- if not thousands of residents -- have been left without homes, whether apartments or houses. Many are in survival and recovery modes. NAA affiliates and member companies have immediately stepped into action. NAA now calls on you for your support. This has been a devastating tornado season for a number of our affiliates – but this is the first request that the apartment industry has received for immediate help. Becky Weaver, CPM, Vice President of the American Residential Group in Tulsa, Okla., has been in touch with “the few people we have been able to reach” in Joplin. Because they are not sure yet what they need, Becky recommends that NAA members donate to the American Red Cross. It has opened a s...

Your property is up for lease again and you’re looking for a new way to market it. Have you thought about a QR code? If you look around you will see more and more companies using a white box with black symbols in their ads. This new fad is taking off with many in the multi-family housing industry. What is a QR code? The QR code is a two dimensional bar code that holds information. Using a smart phone with a downloaded scanning app you can open up links to video, maps, photos and more. The QR code is mystery waiting to be solved by those reading your ad. Imagine someone looking at your ad for an apartment and in the corner is your QR code. If the person looking at your ad is curious enough to pull out their smart phone and scan your code, they could then have access to a video tour of your rental, a coupon for $100 off their first months rent or anything else you can imagine. Once they click on the QR code your prospective renter is now invested in your advertisement. The odds incre...