Rental Applications Reviewer

We manage apartment communities across Ohio and receive a high and growing volume of rental applications, more than one full-time reviewer can keep up with. We're looking for a detail-oriented Applications Reviewer to screen each applicant thoroughly and consistently against our written screening criteria, so we approve qualified residents quickly and catch risks before move-in.

What You'll Do

• Review rental applications end to end in AppFolio, making sure every application is complete and every required document is in.
• Verify income and ability to pay: review pay stubs, offer letters, bank statements, benefit letters and other proof of income, and calculate income-to-rent ratios.
• Review tenant screening reports (credit, eviction history, and criminal background) and apply our written screening criteria consistently to every applicant.
• Spot red flags: altered or inconsistent documents, mismatched names or employers, unverifiable income, prior evictions or unpaid balances owed to landlords.
• Call employers and previous landlords to verify employment, income and rental history.
• Call or message applicants to request missing documents and explain next steps.
• Summarize each file with a clear recommendation (approve, approve with conditions such as a higher deposit or co-signer, or decline) and the specific criteria behind it, for final sign-off by the Leasing Manager.
• Keep application status notes current so the leasing team always knows where each file stands.
• Handle applicant information confidentially and follow fair housing rules on every file.
• Turnaround Times
• Priority reviews: files flagged as urgent by a Leasing Manager are reviewed first and returned as soon as possible.
• Complete applications: returned with a recommendation within 2 hours of receiving the file.
• Incomplete applications: initial review within 1 hour of receiving the file and missing documents requested right away, then follow up by phone and message and finish the file within 72 hours

Requirements

• At least 1 year of screening or verification experience, such as tenant screening, background checks, employment or income verification, KYC/compliance review, or loan and mortgage processing.
• Ability to read and interpret US credit, eviction and criminal background reports.
• Excellent spoken and written English; clear, professional and easily understood on the phone with US applicants, employers and landlords.
• AppFolio experience preferred; training provided.
• Strong eye for detail and ability to recognize altered or fraudulent documents.
• Working knowledge of US Fair Housing laws; LIHTC (affordable housing) knowledge is a plus. You'll complete our Fair Housing and LIHTC training before reviewing files.
• Reliable computer with a second monitor, high-speed internet, a quiet work area and a headset.
• Backup power and a backup internet connection so you can keep working during outages.
• Willing to use our time-tracking tool during all working hours.
• Flexible to work extra hours, including weekends, when volume is high.
• Willing to sign an NDA and follow our data security rules: work only on a secure, password-protected computer that no one else uses, never download or store applicant documents on personal devices, and never share applicant information outside our systems.
• Comfortable working in Slack, Quo (formerly OpenPhone) and Google Workspace alongside AppFolio.
• Nice to Have
• Real estate or property management background, especially US residential leasing.
• Experience with other property management software such as Buildium, Rent Manager or Entrata.
• Experience with screening services such as TransUnion SmartMove or RentGrow.
• Trial Period
• Employment begins with a paid 30-day trial period. Continued engagement is subject to satisfactory performance.