As property managers, we understand that your time is valuable and that efficiency is key to success. That's why we've integrated a powerful feature into Aptly known as Applicant Quality – a game-changer in the realm of property management CRM and workflow automation.
Applicant Quality is designed to streamline your tenant selection process by leveraging data-driven insights to evaluate and score rental applications. This intelligent, customizable system allows you to make informed decisions swiftly, saving you time and ensuring that you choose the most qualified tenants for your properties.
In this article, you will learn how to:
- Set up an applicant quality scope
- Utilize applicant quality scores
How to Set Up an Applicant Quality Profile
You can create as many applicant quality profiles as your team desires. Each profile contains a scope which includes all properties that are applicable to a certain set of criteria. You can have a scope for all units or perhaps you have a special unit that has more rigorous applicant requirements.
- To set up a new scoring profile, you’ll head to Settings > Screening Management > Applicant Quality.
- Click Add New Scoring Profile.
- Confirm that you have reviewed the Fair Housing requirements and click Next.
- Click Add Criteria and select all criteria that you want to use in this profile.
- Add a Profile Name.
- Select Target Properties. This scoring profile will apply to the selected target properties.
Target Properties | Description |
All Units | Scoring will apply to all available units. |
Selected Units | Select all units that this scoring profile will apply to. |
Custom Condition | Select a saved filter on the Units board to apply the scoring profile to. |
- Now, you’ll need to add in the total possible points for each criteria. Insert the total possible points that can be awarded for meeting the criteria. The sky’s the limit! The overall score (total points) will automatically adjust as you add or remove points.
- Once you’ve adjusted all points, you can adjust your scale.
- Make sure that you’ve added a Profile name, toggled the profile to Active, and selected your Target Properties. Then, click Save.
Your applicant scoring profile is now ready to use. The applicant score will only apply to future applications. You can manually update the score on any previous applications by clicking the refresh icon on the application.
Available Scoring Criteria
Criteria | Description |
Accounts in Poor Standing | Does an applicant have any accounts in poor standing on their Credit Report?
Poor standing accounts are any that:
- the tradeline is included in Bankruptcy;
- the tradeline has an account rating of 60, 90. or 120+ days past due, Wage earner or similar plan, Repossession, Voluntary surrender, Payment after repossession, Charged off as bad debt, Collection account, or Payment after charge off/collection;
- or the tradeline is marked Placed for collection, Profit and loss now paying, Paid profit and loss, Profit and loss write-off, Repossession, Account paid, foreclosure started, Foreclosure, or collateral sold. |
App Completeness | Has the applicant provided all required information in the application? |
Avg Monthly Cashflow | Average monthly income gathered from various sources identified in the instant income verification. If no bank account is connected, the applicant will earn 0 points. |
Bankruptcies | Does the applicant have a Bankruptcy or tradelines categorized as Included in bankruptcy, Chapter 7 bankruptcy, Chapter 11 bankruptcy, Chapter 12 bankruptcy, or Chapter 13 bankruptcy on their Credit Report? Note that any tradelines noted Bankruptcy withdrawn or Bankruptcy dismissed will not be included here. |
Collections | Any accounts noted to be in collections on the Credit Report. |
Collections over $100 | Any collections on the Credit Report that are over $100. |
Credit Rating | Letter grade representation of an applicant’s credit score (A-F). If there is no credit rating available, the applicant will earn 0 points. |
Criminal | Any results returned on the applicant’s criminal record search |
Custom Questions | Add a customizable question/criteria answered by a checkbox or dropdown. For example, has the applicant toured the property? This is manually selected by a team member. |
Debt-to-Income Ration (Premium) | Compares the total amount owed every month to the total amount earned monthly. Requires additional reporting features (reach out to help@getaptly.com for more details). Uses gross income. If gross income is not provided OR there is no credit report OR the credit report lacks needed details, the applicant will earn 0. |
Eviction | Any results returned on the candidate’s criminal record search |
Fraudulent Documents | Did the applicant have any documents return as fraudulent? |
ID Verification | Did the applicant verify their identity via instant verification? |
Income Verification | Did the applicant verify their income via bank connect? |
Income-to-Rent Ratio | The percentage showing how much of a tenant’s monthly income will be needed to pay the rent. If you have configured net income to rent ratio in Screening Management settings, this criteria will judge based on net revenue. If not, it will use gross income. Net income comes from Verifast or manual PMC input into Monthly Net Income. If the specified location does not have market rent listed OR the applicant has not reported income, then the applicant will earn 0 points. |
Length of Employment | The total time in months that the applicant has been employed with their current employer. Previous employments will not be considered. |
Payroll History | Count of months detected from employment income from instant income verification. If the applicant does not connect a bank account, they will earn 0 points. |
PetScreening (Premium) | Did the applicant complete their PetScreening profile and return a FIDO score? Requires a PetScreening.com integration (email help@getaptly.com for more information). |
Rent Payments | Verified rent payments from past/current landlord via instant income verification. If the applicant does not connect their bank, they will earn the points for the “does not have a match” value. |
Return Checks | The total number NSF payments detected in instant verification. If a bank account is not connected, the applicant will earn 0 points. |
Utility Accounts in Poor Standing | Accounts noted to be utilities will be called out here. Utility accounts are any accounts in the Utilities and Housing or Real Estate and Accommodations categories on the Credit Report. |
Using the Applicant Score
You’ll find the Applicant Quality Score in the Approval Center of any application household. This score is the average of all applicants within the household.
You can also view the household’s scores by scrolling down to Applicants. Here you’ll see an overview of the individual scores along with the screens that have been run on each applicant.
Every score provided, regardless of the number, is meant for the team to review. As a screening provider, Aptly avoids influencing your decision-making process to prevent any potential Fair Housing Violations. While we will calculate a score for you, it's ultimately up to you to determine whether the score aligns with your approval criteria and if that score passes or fails.
Applicant Score Report
You can view the details of each applicant’s quality score report by clicking on the applicant and expanding the Applicant Quality details.
Here you can:
- Hover over the points to understand how the applicant earned them.
- Add a comment to the score criteria to share with your team.
- Manually adjust the points as you see fit.
What If I have multiple Applicant Quality Profiles?
If an applicant household meets the criteria for multiple Applicant Quality profiles, the order of precedence will be as follows: 1. Specific Units 2. Custom Condition Filter 3. All Properties