Welcome to NTN-Sacramento/Central Valley

NTN’s Northern California operation initiated support of the residential/multi-housing industry in 1987, introducing the company’s unique form of in-depth and detailed tenant screening to a marketplace largely without this resource. It has since grown to service over 8000 subscribers, ranging in size from individual property owners to some of the state’s largest property management firms.

In the current marketplace, full of alternative tenant screening companies, NTN Northern California continues to provide industry-leading, End-to-End solutions in qualifying residents, with a full array of office-supported and internet-based capabilities. These deliver the very best and quickest results in handling an applicant from the time they walk in the door through documentation, move-in, and more.

Special Offers

Tips for Successful Resident Screening

• Most landlords, even some ‘pros,’ are still practicing the old way of doing things—they take a social security number, make one phone call, and rent to the person. Then they wonder where the problems are coming from. Well, the old methods don’t work anymore. Quit relying on character judgment. For managing rental property, it does not work. Have a set application process, written down. Applicants must meet all the criteria. If they do, rent to them. If they don’t, don’t rent to them. It is simple, legal, and fair.
• Proper tenant screening increases occupancy and retention. Nothing in the fair housing laws forbids you from setting fair screening guidelines and applying them equally to all applicants. Keep in mind that every person belongs to these protected classes—each of us can be defined in terms of our race, color, religion, sex, and national origin, for example. So any time you deny an applicant, you have, in a sense, denied someone who belongs to a protected class. The question is whether or not you treat applicants or tenants unfairly because of the class to which they belong. If the criteria you set are blind to class issues and you apply them consistently, then you may turn down applicants who do not meet your criteria. The key lies in making sure your screening process is fair.
• When doing on-line screening, remember that a computer program is not intelligent, it is only logical. This means that mis-spelled names or transposed letters or numbers will produce a potentially defective outcome. Remember to check the details carefully and verify them from a source document when inputting data for on-line screening.
• The ultimate dependability of your screening efforts are all for naught if you have allowed the applicant to control the information you receive. Require third-party documentation of critical information – driver’s licenses, social security cards, bank statements, utility bills are all better sources than the applicant just giving you the information. Do not accept applicant produced credit reports – they are easily altered or forged.

Billing

NTN offers both credit-card, pay as you go, and monthly invoicing options for billing of screening services. Terms for monthly invoicing option are Net 30 days from date of invoice. Invoices are issued on the 1st of the month for services rendered in the preceding month.

Helpful Resources

Safeguarding Personal Information

Fair Housing Institute

California Apartment Association

CA DOJ Megans Law Home Page

Affordable Housing Management Association

Nat’l. Assn. of Residential Prop. Mgrs. (CA)

NTN’s End-to-End Solutions (TARP)