RentPrep offers comprehensive tenant screening services such as credit checks, previous address history, nationwide eviction reports, and judgments and lien reports. Although it did not make it to our list of top six tenant screening services for landlords, it did earn a rating of 3.41 out of 5 in our evaluation based on pricing, general features, tenant screening features, ease of use, support, customer reviews, and our own expert opinion. RentPrep reviews and our analysis found that it is ideal for property owners seeking cost-effective and customizable tenant screening services.
Pros
- Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)-certified screeners perform RentPrep's background checks to provide efficient and accurate reports
- Landlords have the choice of letting the applicant pay through its SmartMove plan
- Allows you to customize each report depending on your needs
Cons
- A credit report and in-depth information on the prospective tenant's financial situation must be purchased separately by the landlord
- Basic plan does not provide the actual Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO) score
- Does not offer residence or employer verification
Recommended For
- Property owners looking for a per-screening cloud-based tenant screening service provider
- Landlords who want FCRA-certified screeners to screen their prospective tenants
- Property owners seeking a customizable tenant screening report
Not Recommended For
- Landlords who need an actual FICO score on their potential tenant reports
- Property owners who want extensive income information of a prospective tenant
- Landlords who have a limited budget and are looking for a free trial
- RentPrep Background Check: $21 per applicant
- TransUnion Full Credit Report: $40 per applicant
RentPrep Reviews: What Users Think of RentPrep
Positive RentPrep reviews come from satisfied landlords who applaud its responsive customer support team for promptly addressing their needs and inquiries. Landlords have also affirmed the significant value that RentPrep provides, all at an affordable price. They also commend the time-saving benefits of its online leasing function, which simplifies landlord tasks. RentPrep streamlines the application process of tenants, making it speedier and user-friendly, thus contributing to its positive reputation among satisfied clients.
- Yelp: 3.3 out of 5 rating based on 7 RentPrep reviews
- Google: 4.8 out of 5 based on 143 RentPrep reviews
However, there were also negative RentPrep tenant screening reviews. One user complained about the company’s customer service, calling the staff rude. Another landlord complained that RentPrep’s customer service was unavailable on Saturday, despite the company claiming to have a chat and phone lines open that day. Check out Avail if you’re looking for a tenant screening service with excellent customer service.
Would Our Expert Use RentPrep?
Based on our RentPrep.com review, we recommend this tenant screening service provider as it doesn’t charge a membership fee or a subscription and provides fast, simple background and credit checks for your potential tenants. We like how RentPrep allows you to easily set up an account, place orders, and tailor your reports based on your needs.
However, we are dissatisfied with RentPrep’s lack of extensive credit checks and financial information reports. If this is an issue for you, we recommend a different tenant screening provider like Buildium instead. Buildium provides affordable, all-inclusive tenant screening services for landlords with up to 5,000 units of multiple properties. It lets you access detailed credit, criminal, and eviction history data.
RentPrep Alternatives
Choosing the right tenant screening service is crucial for landlords. To help you make an informed decision, below is a table outlining some viable alternatives to RentPrep, each with its own key features and pricing options.
Software |  |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Best For | Providing thorough tenant screening services at an affordable rate | Landlords who require automated reference checks and free, customizable screening reports | Independent landlords seeking bundled tenant screening packages | Landlords who want a free tenant screening service and rental advertising |
Key Features |
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Starting Price | $15 per screening for landlords or $30 per screening for applicants | Pricing varies per state; starting from $30 for each report or $55 for bundled packages | $24.99 per applicant | $55 per application (paid by renters) |
Learn More | or | or | or | or |
RentPrep Plans & Pricing
RentPrep does not provide monthly subscription plans. Instead, landlords can choose between two packages: RentPrep Background Check and TransUnion Full Credit Report. Every package includes reports on bankruptcies and nationwide eviction history. You will need to pay for add-ons if you wish to get the applicant’s income verification.
Plans | RentPrep Background Check | TransUnion Full Credit Report |
|---|---|---|
Who Plan Is Best For | Landlords seeking standard background and identity checks | Landlords in need of extensive tenant screening reports |
Annual Price Range ($/User/Month) | $21 per applicant | $40 per applicant |
Nationwide Evictions | ✓ | ✓ |
Bankruptcies | ✓ | ✓ |
Judgment & Liens | ✓ | ✕ |
Full Credit Report With ResidentScore | ✕ | ✓ |
SSN Verification & Address History | ✕ | ✓ |
Nationwide Criminal & Sex Offender Search | ✕ | ✓ |
Applicant Pay Option | ✕ | ✓ |
Income Verification | ✕ | ✕ |
Add-ons
If you need more information about your potential tenant, you can customize your RentPrep reports for landlords with the following add-on features:
- Nationwide Criminal and Sex Offender Search: $6.00
- Credit Decision Report: $11.00
- Income Verification: $10.00
- Judgment and Liens: $7.00
General RentPrep Features
- FCRA-certified screeners
- Enterprise solutions
- RentPrep tenant screening API platform
- Nationwide eviction and bankruptcy reports
RentPrep’s screening of tenants is facilitated online. This helps you obtain reports easily and find the best quality tenants who are more likely to pay their rent on time, stay longer, and uphold other lease responsibilities.
Landlords can access various background information, including eviction history, criminal background checks, and financial records. These are available for purchase as separate reports or as a bundle. Additionally, quickly predict a potential tenant’s future behavior using the ResidentScore algorithm, minimizing the danger of a costly eviction process and dealing with property damage.
RentPrep’s tenant screening diagram (Source: RentPrep)
RentPrep scores lower in terms of general features due to its limited availability of valuable features that we consider essential for the best tenant screening services. Although RentPrep provides rental applications and tenant portals, it lacks other features, like rental listing management, income and expense tracker, and rental payment options. Providing these features would be highly beneficial for landlords and would make the tenant screening service an excellent option.
Advanced RentPrep Features
RentPrep’s advanced features assist in the tenant screening process. Read the details about each feature by clicking on the tabs below:
- Hand-compiled by FCRA-certified screeners
- Standard tenant background check
- Global Homeland search
RentPrep’s background checks are all hand-compiled by its team of FCRA-certified screeners. It includes Social Security number (SSN) verification and address history, checks for judgments, liens, bankruptcies, evictions, previous criminal history, and sex offenses.
RentPrep’s sample tenant background screening report (Source: RentPrep)
The background check also includes a Global Homeland search, which scans for more serious offenses like terrorist activities, illegal imports, money laundering, fraud against government agencies, drug trafficking, or violations of federal banking regulations. This benefits landlords by getting a full picture of the people they allow to live in their investment properties.
- Credit decision report
- ResidentScore
- Pass or fail decision with explanations
RentPrep credit check feature is called “Credit Decision Report”—showing the ResidentScore of the potential tenant. This score was developed by TransUnion to predict and give insights into the outcome of a lease.
RentPrep’s credit decision report sample (Source: RentPrep)
Furthermore, this report includes a “pass” or “fail” decision, depending on whether the tenant meets your minimum FICO score criteria. If your tenant applicant has a 650 or higher FICO score, you will see an additional report added to your background check. If they do not meet those criteria, you will be notified they failed and provided the reasons why they did not pass.
- Net income summary
- Average monthly net income
- Instant access to detailed deposit reports
The income verification service from RentPrep aids in verifying the claimed income of your applicant. This report contains information on the applicant’s annual net income summary, average monthly net income, and current account balances on connected accounts. However, this additional service costs an extra $10, regardless of your package. It cannot be completed automatically and requires applicant assistance.
RentPrep’s income verification report sample (Source: RentPrep)
- Highly experienced and knowledgeable
- Helps in interpreting and validating the reports
- Assists in solving issues and explaining the reports
RentPrep hires highly experienced and knowledgeable, FCRA-certified screening agents to aid with the interpretation and validation of rental background checks. These experts assist when issues emerge or when it is necessary to explain the findings of the reported data. This takes much of the heavy lifting from the landlords’ hands, saving them time and effort.
RentPrep’s team of FCRA-certified screeners (Source: RentPrep)
- Offer discount rates
- Property owners with 50 or more rental units in the portfolio
- Customizable reports
For property management companies and individual landlords with 50-plus rental units under management, RentPrep offers customized Enterprise Solutions. This package enables clients to access credit reports at discounted rates. To become an Enterprise client, you must request a custom quote, complete onboarding, have company stationery and signage, a business office in a commercial setting, and undergo an onsite inspection to ensure legitimacy.
Steps in signing up for Enterprise Solutions account (Source: RentPrep)
- Simple integration process
- Prebuilt reports
- Manual fact-checking to ensure accuracy
RentPrep offers a tenant screening API platform that helps landlords screen tenants and allows other websites to integrate with its services. It provides two API services: RentPrep API and TransUnion API.
RentPrep API is the primary background check product that allows the platform to produce hand-compiled tenant background checks. This option is ideal for those seeking optimal accuracy. On the other hand, TransUnion API is an integration with its partner TransUnion that displays full credit reports backed by TransUnion. This integration enables clients to display a resident score on their applicants.
RentPrep API’s prebuilt report sample (Source: RentPrep)
RentPrep’s Ease of Use
RentPrep.com features an easy-to-use online interface for requesting reports, placing orders, screening tenants, and storing information. It is intended to deliver all of your required information in an easy-to-understand format.
Aside from this, RentPrep made it incredibly easy for landlords to find a suitable tenant by providing a detailed background report on the applicants. With RentPrep, you can prudently decide whether to pass or fail a tenant’s application.
How We Evaluated RentPrep
We conducted a comprehensive analysis of a dozen tenant screening software, including RentPrep, based on a range of factors. Our RentPrep tenant screening review thoroughly examined its general and advanced features, analyzing its strengths and weaknesses. We also scrutinized the overall user experience and valuable insights from customer RentPrep.com reviews.
Below is a breakdown of each criterion analyzed to provide a deeper understanding:
25% of Overall Score
Based on various tenant screening features offered that help landlords and property managers evaluate prospects and obtain comprehensive and reliable credit, criminal, and eviction history reports.
20% of Overall Score
Pricing is based on the cost structure, a la carte options, and availability of online tenant screening services for landlords and tenants.
20% of Overall Score
This includes various property management features like listing syndication, rental advertising, rental property accounting, online payment collection, and maintenance requests.
10% of Overall Score
Evaluated based on platform usability. This was analyzed in terms of the expertise needed to set up an account, navigate the provider interface, run comprehensive tenant screenings, and view reports.
10% of Overall Score
Based on customer feedback for each platform, the functionalities that are most useful for property managers, and areas that need further improvement.
10% of Overall Score
Expertise in the field and firsthand experience with the providers allow us to evaluate the standout features, value for the money, and ease of use for rent payment service software.
5% of Overall Score
We looked into the convenience and attainability of customer service for technical support, onboarding, and training.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Yes. Based on our research and the professional opinions of our experts, we have concluded that RentPrep is a legitimate and reputable tenant screening service. It provides landlords and property managers with high-quality credit reports, background checks, and eviction history reports.
No, requesting a credit report from SmartMove, now known as TransUnion, does not hurt your credit score. In fact, it is a responsible financial practice and should not negatively affect your credit.
Yes, it is. SmartMove, now known as TransUnion, is a legitimate service offering comprehensive tenant screening reports. These reports include a full credit report with ResidentScore, rental background checks, SSN verification, address history, nationwide criminal and sex offender searches, nationwide eviction history, bankruptcies, and various applicant payment options. These reports are hand-compiled by FCRA Certified Screeners, ensuring their accuracy and reliability.
Bottom Line
RentPrep is a reliable and excellent tenant screening service for landlords managing rental investment properties. Their customizable and extensive reports make gathering background data on your renter applicants easy, saving you time and enabling you to make wise choices about who to rent to.
