One of the benefits I love to offer is discounts for products and services including the PM Grow Summit, website production through Property Managed Website, showing services through Tenant Turner, and more coming all the time! You can see a complete list of the current offers at propertymanagementmastermind.com. For all of these offers, use the discount code “Brad”.
A little pre-show information about John Bradford who’s here from petscreening.com
One of the things we talked about in the interview that we forgot to mention is that he catches 32% of the assistance animals have disappeared after they were asked for more information. So essentially almost a third of the applicants after they apply through petscreening.com disappear after they get asked a question. In other words he’s weeding out the pets who owners are illegitimately trying to push through as assistance animals.
He’ll offer a discount code to waive the first hour of integration into your software. As usual, use the promo code “Brad” to access this offer! To take advantage of it, you can email info@petscreening.com.
Talk about petscreening.com. John’s been putting this out for a few months, saw it at the Orlando conference and was really excited about it. He’s graciously agreed to come on the show today to talk more about pet screening. He’s been on Fox News.
He’s been a property manager for 13 years, so he understands why pet screening is so important. Based in the Charlotte region, has about 30 employees, single family property management. He also has a political career, serves in the North Carolina House of Representatives and has developed a reputation as the go-to-guy not only for real estate and property management issues, but also issues surrounding assistance animals.
His three things for his vision: 1. Pet screening to reduce the liability for property managers and owners. 2. Didn’t want it to cost the housing provider or owner a single penny. 3. Wanted a product that would drive new revenue streams around pets.
He ranks pets on a scale of 1-5 paws based on a complex algorithm. This includes shot records, microchipping, breed, and more.
Here’s where you can find John:
info@petscreening.com Subject Line: Brad - I’m interested in learning more. Free consultation for integration with an IT company to optimize for your company.
Show Notes:
[02:58] - John tells us a bit about his background and how he got into the pet screening field. He explains how his two professional fields intersect to make him particularly qualified to deal with animal screening questions.
[04:14] - We hear about John’s vision when he started petscreening.com, including the three facets of the vision he had in creating it. He also talks about the kind of information that he collects throughout the process.
[07:32] - John talks more about the pet scoring system he created, which ranks pets (and owners) on a 1-5 paw scale. Only about 11% of applicants receive 5 paws; John’s own dog, in fact, only ranks 3 paws.
[08:50] - There is an associated risk with guard dog breeds, but that doesn’t mean that a firm shouldn’t rent to someone who owns one of these breeds.
[10:43] - Everything we’ve talked about so far is for household pets; John now moves on to talking about assistance animals.
[11:56] - Brad interjects to explain that he’s afraid of asking the wrong questions of someone who has a disability. John points out that the questions involved in his service are HUD-permissible questions, so there’s no risk of saying or asking something wrong.
[14:18] - If an applicant answers the first few questions correctly, John’s service moves onto a three-pronged test for the documentation: is it reasonable, credible, and reliable?
[15:19] - What if somebody wants to bring in an assistance animal in the middle of an existing lease?
[16:50] - John talks about how his tool integrates with various other tools and screening companies, listing a few specific examples.
[18:51] - We learn how John’s company generates revenue, which is by charging an application fee to the animal owner for every pet that comes through the tool, which is $20 for the first pet and $15 for each additional pet. This allows them to screen assistance animals without any charge.
[19:35] - John uses Brad (and his dog) as an example to explain how the tool works, and why it’s beneficial for pet owners even aside from property applications.
[21:02] - At the end of the lease agreement, is there any place to leave feedback on the pet? Their database includes two types of incidents: pet bites and property damage. In the future, they’ll be adding a way to indicate unauthorized pets as well.
[22:38] - Brad points out that unauthorized pets are probably the most common issue, more than any sort of dangerous breed incidents. John then gives an example of a potential issue involving a pet death mid-lease.
[25:32] - What kind of feedback has John been getting from applicants and tenants? He answers, then he and Brad discuss the benefits of the privacy that petscreening.com provides for tenants and applicants.
[27:29] - Brad points out that showing favoritism can actually be discriminatory.
[30:16] - John talks about cases in which a cat might not be vaccinated, using the example of a 15-year-old cat.
[31:55] - Has John see anybody integrate different fee structures based on their 1-5 paw score? Lots of firms, he answers, have created a variable pricing matrix based on the pet score.
[33:59] - John talks about how he’s seen this being presented to the owners of the homes. He also explains what information is presented to the owners, some of which is withheld for various reasons.
[37:16] - We hear about John’s integration with Rentscreener (FIND AND LINK THIS), which will become even deeper in the coming months.
[38:52] - Not all pit bulls are bad, and John’s tool is proving it, he explains.
[39:37] - John moves on to talking about renewals. His tool requires the pet owner to answer all the questions every year to make sure nothing significant has changed with their pet.
[40:57] - John shares an offer for listeners! Email info@petscreening.com with “Brad” in the subject line and just say that you want to learn more. If you want to proceed, they will pay for the first hour of the consulting integration with an IT company to make sure that they get the product optimized for your organization. (They’ve never yet had anybody go over an hour, he points out.)
[42:42] - Brad points out that John’s company is currently the coolest thing since sliced bread among property managers.
[43:02] - Will John be at the PM Grow Summit?
Links and Resources
info@petscreening.com Subject Line: Brad - I’m interested in learning more. Free consultation for integration with an IT company to optimize for your company.
Managing the Business Risks of Pets and Service/ Companion Animals