Do you have a question about Screening? The FAQs listed below answer your most commonly answered questions. Don’t see your question listed below? Email our Customer Support team at help@getaptly.com with your question. Be sure to include screenshots/screen recordings to expedite your request.
Screening Management Setup
What are Applicant Caps?
If your team decides to enable an application cap for each property, the applicant cap only applies to completed applications. This means that if there is a cap of five applications, any incomplete applications (those lacking information or payment) will not count. Only complete individual and household applications where all required information and fees are collected will fill one of the applicant cap spots.
Additionally, denied or canceled applications will not count toward the application cap for a listed property. For example, if three completed applications are run through screening and one is denied afterward due to credit, the new cap will change from two open spots to three.
Can we change the order of the sections? For example, can we move the Application Criteria to be completed before the emergency contact?
Not today. The current order maximizes completion and safeguards against fraudulent applicants.
Can we have multiple places to initial on the Application Criteria section of the Application?
No. The application itself has two locations to initial.
- At the beginning is intended for company-specific terms (for example, if the app fee is non-refundable, minimum requirements for accepting, etc)
- At the end - designed to cover Aptly terms for background screening.
Can we create a scoring model using the custom questionnaire answers?
You can add custom scoring conditions, but they are separate from the questions asked on the application. When an applicant responds to a custom question in the application it does not automatically update the Applicant Quality Score. Custom questions are calculated manually. See: Using Applicant Quality Scoring
Can we do promo codes to waive an application fee?
Yes. You can create coupon codes in Screening Management settings. Codes can expire after a specified time or never expire.
Is it possible to provide property-specific "disclosures" for flooding, radon, and lead as an early stage in the application process?
Yes. You can include these disclosures in a Communication Template. You can add these disclosures to individual properties as custom fields on the card. Then, using merge fields that are shared with the applicant at the beginning of the process, you can add them to a communication template.
Applications
Non-US Addresses & Screening
To run credit, criminal, and/ or eviction reports, the resident must have a valid United States address. If the potential resident does not have a legal previous United States address, then screening cannot be completed.
How long does it take for a Credit Freeze to Lift?
Credit Freezes will need to be lifted before you will be able to successfully call the Credit Report. Once a Credit Freeze is removed or lifted, please allow at least one full hour before requesting the Credit Results. If you experience an issue past that full hour, please reach out to help@getaptly.com with details including the name of the applicant, the application URL, and when the Credit freeze was reported lifted by the applicant as well as your request.
My Applicants are having a technical issue. How are they supported?
Aptly Screening provides in-application chat support to your applicants to assist with any technical or base questions. Our team actively monitors the queue and will work with the applicants. Should the issue be better suited for your Property Management team (such as specific property questions), we will direct the applicant to you for further assistance.
Can we submit applications for applicants who are unable to do it themselves?
There is an option to create a manual application in Aptly, but certain features (such as Bank Connect and ID Verification) are not supported there. Alternatively, the PMC can create a co-applicant on the app and invite them. In this case, the PMC could fill out most of the info on behalf of the applicant, but the applicant would still need to create an account, review the data, and sign. This flow would allow the applicant to do ID & Bank Connect.
Can we require the applicant to scroll the full length of the Application Criteria and/or the Agree/Submit?
Not today.
My applicant does not have a Social Security Number. Can we screen them?
Post Screening
What does “Description Not Provided by Source” mean in the Criminal results?
Occasionally, criminal background checks will return with results that do not disclose what the offers or charge was. These will show like this due to being incorrectly added by the courts.
There are two options to determine this information:
- Ask the applicant themselves about the charges.
- Ask Aptly to send a research request; we will work with the provider to do so
Why do the Criminal Results say “Details are pending, please check back later?”
There is a backup check for data needed by the provider. We automatically check every 12 hours to see if the results are in.