Move-ins without the hassle? Hire a screener

New local firm screens nationwide with 24-hour turnaround

If you have driven by and wondered about the new business nestled in the southeast corner of the formerly-called Judith M building in Gearhart, wonder no more: It is Profile Authentications, Inc.

Founder and president of Profile Authentications is Kim Causey. Causey was born and raised in Seattle, Washington, where he lived until relocating to Gearhart in April, 1998. He has been married for 20 years and has three step children and three grandchildren. His wife, Kance (pronounced Can-see) works in the business with him, as office manager.

Kim has spent ten years in mortgage banking, some of that time with Seafirst Bank, responsible for clients in four states. The last ten years, however, have been spent in the screening business. He worked with a firm out of Seattle that has served as a springboard for his relocation to our area.

His current firm, Profile Authentications, screens tenant applicants for apartments and rental houses in 25 states with an emphasis on the west coast. When a person would like to move into an apartment or rental house, they fill out an application form, accompanied by a non-refundable $35 screening fee. The fee and processing time are the same no matter if the property's owner has a single rental home or 500 unit apartment.

In addition, rents charged by property owners that use a screening service may range, for example, from a couple of hundred dollars per month to $5,000 per month, from Kim's experience.

Once the application is completed by the potential tenant, the application and fee are then passed on by the potential landlord to Kim and his screener, Carrie Borough. Within a 24-hour period of time, Carrie uses answers to the 10 to 15 application questions that are currently allowed by the Fair Housing Council to make an assessment of the eligibility of the applicant for housing: current, previous, and "undisclosed" landlords as well as employers may be called, a credit history is checked and any outstanding credit balances are investigated. It is the screener's job to be current on housing regulations and on which questions may be asked in what manner to not impinge upon the rights of the potential tenant, while at the same time, protecting the investment of the landlord. According to Causey, it is not intended to be a negative process. "We don't want to keep people from housing Our goal is to help people move into apartments and homes without jeopardizing the financial security of our client's property," said Causey.

Questions that may currently be asked of "historical" landlords during the investigation include if there are any outstanding rent balances yet to be paid, if the landlord would rent to the tenant again and if there was any damage to the unit when the tenant moved out. The screener cannot ask personal questions, such as whether or not the tenant was a noisy neighbor or if the landlord did or did not get along with the individual renters. The screener CAN ask if there were any documented instances of noise complaints, however, and for an explanation of the nature of the complaint.

If the landlord says that they would NOT rent to the tenant again, the screener is free to ask why and enter the response into the record. The screening logs combine answers to specific questions with the contact name, title and telephone number of the person answering, as well as a narrative synopsis of the conversation. Causey said that some people these days are afraid of answering these types of questions over the telephone, so sometimes the screener will fax a list of questions which may be returned via fax or over the telephone once completed.

Current and past employers may also be called, and asked about the current work contract, the nature of the work and the employees tenure, but again, no personal judgements, hearsay or opinion questions may be asked.

If responses to the questions about the applicant lead the screener to recommend for or against accepting the person as a tenant, a couple of things can occur. First, the client landlord always has the ability to override the screener's recommendation, based on his property's set of leasing criteria, or, second, the screener may make suggestions to the potential tenant about things they can do to clear the way for a positive recommendation. For example, if the tenant application looks good except for one large outstanding balance, then the screener may recommend acceptance of the application pending payment of that debt owed.

Another component service of the business is employment screening. Approximately 10% of Profile Authentications' business is employment screening where more specific questions may be asked of past employers: Did the worker handle cash transactions, and reason for leaving employment, for example.

Kim is considering the addition of eviction services for clients, will be adding signage to the front of his Gearhart office to be a little more visible, and is working on a web page for communication with his widespread client base. All good ideas, Kim. LCB

We'll check up on you later!LCB

Profile Authentications, Inc.

Principal: Kim Causey, president

Address: 52 South Park Drive

P. O. Box 2361, Gearhart, OR 97138

Telephone: 503/717-8321

Toll Free: 888/217-6395

Fax: 503/717-8328

Hours: M - F, 9a - 5p

Saturday 11a - 4p, Sunday 12 noon - 3p

Back to the LCB March 1999 Home Page

Back to LCB ONline Home Page

 Your Monthly Coastal Business-to-Business News Magazine On the Web