Direct online handling of landlord references increases efficiency and shortens lead times

Implementing direct online requests and response submission for Landlord References enables faster verification, tenant acceptance and move in.

Client Profile

A leading full-service property management company with a vision to transform the landscape of property management services in the Pacific Northwest. Managing properties of all sizes, single family and multifamily, with the objective to streamline processes and cultivate relationships between neighbors.

Project Needs

As part of the rental applicant screening process, our client needs to check with prior landlords to determine how their experience had been with the applicants. Being able to quickly and efficiently collect and review this reference information is important to be able to make a decision about which prospective tenants will be the best fit for the rental property, and let the selected applicant know they had been approved. This increases the likelihood of finding good tenants and minimizes the time the property will remain vacant.

Our client had a standard questionnaire to gather the necessary information and a well-established process for contacting the prior landlords. This process utilized email and other mechanisms to communicate with the references efficiently, but it still required manual intervention at many points in the process. These included preparing the reference questionnaires with the specific information required, monitoring outstanding reference checks to see if they had been returned and entering the response data into the appropriate files after they were received.

The client partnered with Everest Consultants to identify areas where information already known could be auto-populated into forms, reduce the effort for correspondents to respond to the reference questionnaire and automate notifications when the response was received.

Technology and Tools

  • Power Apps
  • Power Automate
  • SharePoint 365 Document Set and List
  • Outlook 365
  • JotForms

Results

  • A SharePoint 365 based custom document set library and associated tracking list was developed that allowed our client to set up the multiple reference checks needed for different applicants in the same property. A Power App was developed that enabled applicant and landlord information that had already been collected in separate lists of to be selected and auto-populated into the reference check questionnaires. This eliminated the need to reenter information making it more efficient and reducing errors. When the reference check questionnaires were ready, the respondent could return them with a single Submit button click.
  • Everest developed the Power App to generate a JotForm specific to each reference check and send a tailored email with a link to the related JotForm. This link allowed the respondent to open and complete the reference questionnaire online quickly at their convenience and easily submit it when they are finished. The feedback information was populated into the appropriate document, so it is immediately available to our client for further processing.
  • Everest used Power Automate to monitor the status of the reference check and send a notification to the proper person as soon as the needed information had been received. This allowed the next steps to continue, eliminating the need monitor whether the questionnaire had been returned yet.
  • The Everest solution eliminated duplicate work reentering the same information multiple times, increased response rate and decreased the response times for reference questionnaires and allowed people to focus on completing their tasks, instead of checking whether the required responses had been received. This resulted in better screening for prospective tenants and faster confirmation to the tenant that they had been confirmed for the rental.
About Everest Consultants, Inc.

Founded in 1993 in the heart of Oregon’s Silicon Forest, we provide application development, maintenance, testing and support services that meet the unique and complex needs of clients around the globe.

Connect with Everest Consultants to make IT happen
(503) 643-3990 | www.everestinc.com