ATLANTA, GA - First Advantage, a Symphony Technology Group (STG) company and the leading global provider of background screening analytics and identity solutions, and Neighborhood Pay Services (NPS), the leader in payment assurance for the rental housing industry, announced today a strategic partnership to include the NPS Rent Assurance® Rent From Payroll® solution at the point-of-lease for First Advantage clients.
Property owners and managers using the First Advantage flexible screening tool, Resident Advantage, can now offer NPS Rent Assurance as part of modified conditional lease offers to the estimated 30 percent of U.S. rental housing applicants with less than perfect credit. In exchange for a lower security deposit, or in lieu of a guarantor or co-signer, applicants agree to remove themselves from the rent payment process and have deposits for rent sent directly from their employer to NPS each time they are paid. In order to qualify, renters must initiate standard direct deposits from their employer payroll prior to signing a lease, giving property companies the ability to convert more applicants with reduced payment risk throughout the life of a lease.
“The ability to move in an additional one to two percent of applicants without any incremental marketing expense represents millions of dollars in potential income to participating property clients,” says David Carner, First Advantage senior vice president and general manager, resident solutions. “By adding rent from payroll to the suite of services we offer our property clients, we are now able to combine the quality applicant screening we’re known for with predictive payment insights on conditionally approved residents before rent payment issues arise. These data points are new to the rental housing industry and very exciting.”
Recent research from NPS shows that offering a rent from payroll option to conditionally approved prospects increases move-ins an average of 57 percent, reduces bad debt and “skips” by an average of 77 percent, and doubles the retention of conditionally approved residents.
“Over 60 percent of prospective residents walk away from lease offers that include security deposits they can’t afford, while those who stretch their savings to scrape together the additional money needed set themselves up to fail at some point during the lease,” says Richard A. Levitan, president of Neighborhood Pay Services. “Both scenarios are bad for business. By leveraging two proven solutions – Resident Advantage and NPS Rent Assurance – our property clients can move in more applicants who are assured from the ‘get-go’ to perform by linking rent to payroll, which also brings unparalleled payment protection throughout the entirety of a lease, ultimately resulting in increases in revenue and net operating income.”
To learn more about NPS Rent Assurance through First Advantage, visit www.fadv.com/resident or call (866) 400-3238.
About First Advantage: First Advantage offers a complete suite of resident screening solutions that help property owners and managers quickly turn qualified applicants into residents, while giving them the risk insight they need to protect their property from problem renters, thus avoiding both financial losses and potential liability. The First Advantage screening solutions support the full leasing lifecycle—from application and move-in through move-out and collections—to help mitigate risk, maximize revenue and optimize processes.
About NPS Rent Assurance: NPS Rent Assurance® is the originator of Rent From Payroll® and the only rent from payroll direct deposit platform providing the rental housing industry with a proven solution for building incremental occupancy with improved payment performance from conditionally approved and credit denied residents. NPS Rent Assurance is offered exclusively through rental leasing offices as a key component of conditional lease offers and a mechanism to automate work-out plans for existing residents who fall behind in their lease obligations.