When it comes to selling property, local governments often have more at stake than just completing a transaction. They’re invested in ensuring the sale broadly benefits the community and results in a successful project. Conducting background checks on potential buyers can help achieve both and with ePropertyPlus, it does not have to add more time or delay to a transaction.

What is a background check?

A background check is a process used to verify aspects of a person's history, such as past criminal activity, employment history, academic qualifications and institutions attended, credit history and past payment of debts, and public information, such as their involvement in court cases or as owners of other property. In a nutshell, a background check is an opportunity to validate person’s information and highlight potential risks of selling to that person. They are - or can be, an integral part of an overall risk management strategy.

Background checks are commonly used by employers during the hiring process, but they can also be used by local governments when selling property. We can think of three reasons local governments should include background checks as part of their property sale process:

1. Ensuring Community Safety

By screening potential buyers and identifying criminal histories, local governments can proactively identify individuals whose presence in a community might pose a risk to residents. A criminal history does not have to automatically disqualify someone from purchasing. It’s up to the seller to decide how to proceed with a potential buyer who has a criminal history. All the background check does is ensure there is transparency and a basis for that discussion to take place. Better to find out ahead of time if a person has committed arson, fraud, or been involved in serious criminal activity.

2. Protecting Public Resources

Local government sell surplus public assets, such as old schools, government buildings, or surplus land and property. They want those properties to go to responsible parties who will manage them going forward. A background check can show if a potential buyer has a history of mismanaging properties or engaging in unethical business practices.

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3. Promoting Success

By conducting background checks, local governments can assess a potential buyer’s history of meeting their financial obligations, as well as their capacity to take on big project. Prospective buyers may have financial issues that should be disclosed, but they don’t disclose them. Better for the seller to discover those issues at the front end of a transaction, as compared to after a property is sold and left to languish by an applicant with neither the intention nor capacity to complete their project.

Background checks foster transparency and trust, two key components of effective governance. By implementing background checks, local governments demonstrate a commitment to making informed and responsible decisions on behalf of the communities they serve. And while the process may add an extra step to a sale or discourage certain applicants from applying, the benefits outweigh any inconvenience.

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ePropertyPlus and Background Checks: Making it Easy for Everyone

ePropertyPlus is software for managing the full property lifecycle. One of its key features is the ability to accept and process applications digitally. Recently, an ePropertyPlus subscriber asked if we might enhance ePropertyPlus, so they could run background checks through ePropertyPlus.

Under their current process, our Subscriber collects a fee from each applicant to pay for a background check. Staff then orders background checks manually from a third-party service provider. The third-party provider performs the check and creates a report. Our subscriber then reviews the report and records any findings that might impact their approval decision. It's a cumbersome process that requires the subscriber to manage payments and applicant’s information, both of which increases risks of theft, fraud, and/or exposure of personal information. It also entails a ton of manual communication between all parties, which is time-intensive and prone to mistakes or miscommunication.

Our enhancement will digitally integrate ePropertyPlus to the third-party background check service. The Subscriber will still receive and be able to review applications within ePropertyPlus. At the appropriate step in their process, they will have ePropertyPlus initiate a background check request. ePropertyPlus will notify the applicant via email to expect a contact from the third-party service. The service provider will engage the applicant directly, gather their information and fee, and run the background check. When their report is ready, our Subscriber will be notified. ePropertyPlus will automatically add a URL, linking to the report at the third-party service providers’ web portal, directly from within ePropertyPlus.

The enhancement achieves several improvements:

• It makes our subscribers’ processes more efficient by eliminating the manual back and forth between the subscriber, their applicants, and a third-party service provider.
• It eliminates our subscriber collecting and handling money, which reduces the risk of loss, theft, or fraud.
• It safeguards applicant’s confidential information, since the information and report are both stored at the third-party service.
• It keeps everything neatly organized in ePropertyPlus, with each applicant informed about their specific application through emails and a dedicated applicant portal in ePropertyPlus.

If you are looking for ways to improve your business process with ePropertyPlus or simply want to learn more, please contact us. Let’s explore what problems we can solve today!

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