Alaska-grown tenant watch aims to expand; renter-screening service compiles speedy, detailed reports.

The landlord surveyed the stained, shredded carpet and fist-sized hole in the apartment wall. Quick math told him the cost for repairs would outpace any profit he might have gained from the renter. He shook his head grimly, gritted his teeth and vowed to do something differently next time.

Alaska-owned Tenant Watch provides a service to screen potential renters, helping landlords with only a few units to multi-property management companies. The growing service inspects credit reports, eviction history and other court documents and sex offender lists. The resulting report is usually compiled and faxed back within 15 to 30 minutes of receiving a renter's application, said Camie Stephen, vice president of Credit Services LLC, which operates Tenant Watch.

The report also includes information from Tenant Watch's informant database--details about a renter from a network of landlords. This feature distinguishes Tenant Watch from other tenant-screening services, said Jeremiah Stephen, Credit Services president. Was the renter quiet or raucous? Did the landlord have to replace the carpet after the renter left? Similar details are revealed from previous landlords' reports. Landlords receive discounts on services for participating in the database.

In 2003, the Stephens bought Tenant Watch from fellow Fairbanks resident David Chausse', who started the company in 1994. Already managing a court documents business, they also acquired his process-serving company as well and envisioned how the businesses would work together.

A NEW AGE

The Stephens have modernized Tenant Watch, replacing paper files and outdated computer programs. The company represents about 200 customers and has logged more than 45,000 records statewide. Most Tenant Watch customers are in Fairbanks although some large multi-unit customers are in Anchorage and the Matanuska-Susitna Valley, Camie said. They've also conducted tenant-screening in Bethel and Dillingham.

"The business has grown 20 percent to 30 percent each year in the last two years," Camie said.

She's proud Tenant Watch has grown largely by referrals. Her husband attributes the success to smooth customer service, handling many types of clients.

The American Apartment Owners Association's Web site calls tenant screening "the backbone of successful property management" and works with a large national tenant screening company. Some major national companies review Alaska renters, but often the information is outdated by three months while Tenant Watch specializes in up-to-date information, Camie said.

They research a potential renter's name as it appears on the application, as well as any related aliases-that's where most of the interesting information surfaces, she said.

Tenant Watch customers are either property management companies or individual landlords with up to 10 units. The one-time application fee is $136 for landlords and tenant screenings range from $19 to $26.50, she said. Property management companies pay annual dues of $100 to $500.

A SUCCESS STORY

Cynthia Yates, property manager for Eagle Crest Manor in Eagle River, has used Tenant Watch for 10 years. When she took over management in 1993, the 33-unit facility was plagued by slow to-pay renters who were often involved in drugs, Yates said. "This totally turned around the complex," she said.

Jeremiah grew up in towns across Alaska and earned a finance degree Jeremiah Stephen, left, owns Tenant Watch with his wife, Camie Stephen. from Linfield College in McMinnville, Ore., where he met Camie. They married and moved to Fairbanks where Jeremiah worked for Tanana Chiefs Conference and later Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. In 2000, the couple purchased a defunct court document process-serving company and Camie took the reins.

"I just jumped in with both feet and learned it," she said, but added that her husband is an entrepreneur at heart.

She's handled many Tenant Watch operations and now is joined by her husband full-time. They moved to Anchorage in 2005 and he resigned his position at Alyeska last summer.

"I want to grow the company," he said. "Low-income areas don't have to be that way if you screen tenants."

Currently, they work from their home office but envision opening an Anchorage office eventually. A staffer works from the Fairbanks office where the Stephens also operate a courier service and heating oil credit-check service.

Jeremiah also hopes to expand Tenant Watch to another state and handle renter screenings online. They aim to develop the Tenant Watch brand statewide, promoting its merits for both landlords and tenants, he said.

"Alaska seems to be the place where people come to get away," he said. "When you live in a community, the community has a right to know who lives with you."