Breaking down income verification vs. income insights

When it comes to vetting rental applicants, agents and landlords can’t afford to cut corners—especially with regard to verifying their financial status. The last thing any landlord wants to be dealing with is a tenant who can’t afford to pay their rent on time or in full at the start of every month. 

In an effort to combat rental fraud, agents and landlords have several tools at their disposal to verify documents submitted on a rental application. But not all tools are created equal and some will provide greater accuracy than others. In this article, we’re taking a closer look at what it takes to verify an applicant’s financial status and why income verification and income insights offer two very different results. 

What does it mean to verify proof of income? 

During the application process, it’s common to ask prospective renters to provide documentation to confirm details about their identity and finances. One such document, known as proof of income, is meant to certify an applicant’s income and can include paystubs, W2s, tax returns, and bank statements. Given that 93.3% of landlords reported being victims of fraud in the past year, corroborating income is an absolute priority. 

The problem? Simply asking for self-reported proof of income isn’t enough to weed out the bad actors. Applicants can share falsified or heavily modified documents that don’t tell the whole truth about their financial status, and agents and landlords are none the wiser until it’s too late. 

Income verification keeps the worst case scenario from happening

Instead of relying on self-reported statements, agents and landlords can use tools like income verification to get bank-verified income information to combat rental scams. With income verification, agents and landlords can:

1. Mitigate rental fraud
2. Verify income and employment in seconds
3. Choose a tenant they can trust 

Income verification reports confirm an applicant’s proof of funds against their bank statements, making it difficult for applicants to falsify their financial documents. Because these reports connect directly to an applicant’s bank account, agents and landlords can definitively evaluate if a prospective tenant meets their financial requirements. 

On the other hand, income insights analyzes an applicant’s self-reported income against their credit history to make an estimated guess about their finances. It’s important to recognize the income insights report only estimates an applicant’s income, and is better served as an indicator if an applicant needs additional verification or not. Because of this, it can take more time and resources to vet an applicant if you’re only relying on an income insights report.

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To summarize the difference between the two, an income insights report estimates an applicant’s income whereas an income verification report actually confirms this information. To find tenants that are reliably able to meet a listing’s financial requirements, there’s no better tool to use than income verification. 

Fraud prevention starts with income verification

Filling a rental vacancy is already a tall task, one that doesn’t need to be further complicated with the threat of fraudulent activity and bad actors. The last thing any landlord wants to deal with is a tenant who can’t or refuses to meet their monthly rent obligations. 

Luckily, advancements in rental technology have made it easier for agents and landlords to confirm the validity of an applicant’s financial records during the vetting process. With income verification, agents and landlords get a bank-verified report to reduce risk and easily identify reliable tenants in no time at all. And soon, RentSpree users will be able to order their own income verification reports to confirm an applicant’s income in seconds and speed up their tenant screening process. 

Income verification FAQs

What is income verification?

This is a step in the rental application process where agents and landlords verify an applicant’s income by checking documents like W-2s, paycheck stubs, and bank statements. 

How do I order an income verification report through RentSpree?

This is a new feature coming soon to RentSpree! The income verification report will replace the income estimate report currently included in RentSpree’s Premium bundle and will be free for agents and landlords to request. Check back on our website and social channels for the official launch! 

How much does the income verification report cost? 

Income verification is free for agents and landlords to request. Applicants pay the $10 fee.