UCO CHARGES 133% MORE FOR INVESTIGATIONS!

I brought this question up at the delegates meeting last Friday. I expressed my concerns about why other third-party investigation companies charge only $25-$35 for the standard screening report (including mine), but yet UCO requires a $150 payment for the same exact report! When asked about this, Mr. Foster, the LCAM for the United Civic Organization, explained UCO’s reasons for this below. As a president of my own self-managed Association for 16 years, and someone who employs a third-party investigations company to do my own investigations, I thought I would check with my company’s representative and see what he thought about Mr. Foster’s rationale. Let’s see what he had to say about the reasons they charge our boards so much money.

• UCO Spokesperson’s Statement: “Understand, the Certificates of Approval are created by WPRF…”
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• Answer: The COAs have nothing to do with paying for a screening investigation report. The associations use the same Certificates of Approval regardless of who provides their screening report.
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• UCO Spokesperson’s Statement: “Each of your associations has a contract with UCO. You signed a contract that says you WILL come to UCO for all applicant investigations. That is a technical, in my opinion, breach of contract. UCO, in the past, has not enforced that. If that’s where you want to go, pretty much that’s what you’re going to do.”
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• Answer: All I can say is, I’,m glad you aren’t MY lawyer! LOL I’m surprised that the UCO spokesperson would say such a thing, considering he’s worked at UCO for many years and is supposed to have a solid background in Community Association Management, along with an extensive knowledge of the UCO bylaws. Let’s see if I can find that passage in the UCO Bylaws …. oh yes, here it is –

“ARTICLE III, PURPOSES,

The purposes of UCO shall be:” let’s skip down to paragraph F. “UCO shall not interfere with the internal affairs of any Condominium Association, but may accept requests to work with Condominium Associations on matters of common concern, and may act as mediator in such disputes or problems within or between condominium associations as may be requested by one or more Condominium Associations and agreed upon by all interested parties.”

WOW! That doesn’t sound like a breach of contract to me! After all, they are actually an advisory group with duties to pay bills and to act in the best interests of and in support of associations in Century Village, rather than in authority over them, the last time I checked, anyway.

With respect to their investigations committee, let’s see what that has to say:

“ARTICLE IX COMMITTEES”, let’s scoot down to paragraph R:

“INVESTIGATIONS COMMITTEE. This committee shall be responsible to provide applications and to process investigations of prospective purchasers, residents, occupants, companions and tenants for units and participating Condominium Associations in Century Village. All members of the committee shall be required to sign a confidentiality agreement to protect the privacy of information and individuals participating in investigations.”

I don’t seem to see any ”requirement” mandating that associations have their investigations taken to the Investigations Committee, lest they be “charged with ”breach of contract”! When combined with Article III, it sounds more to me like IF REQUESTED – they have a mandated obligation to assist Boards  by providing investigations services to them. What do ya’ll think?

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• UCO Spokesperson’s Statement: “UCO does a very extensive report. We give you information that others don’t give you”.
• Answer: UCO’s reports are identical to 99% of the other reports that screening companies provide in Florida. The standard report that my investigations company provides for $25 includes the following:
• IDENTITY VERIFICATION
  • SSN Validation
  • Address History
  • Previous Names
• CREDIT HISTORY
  • Credit Score
  • Payment History
  • Outstanding Debts
  • Bankruptcies
  • Liens
  • Credit Utilization
• EVICTION HISTORY
  • Previous Evictions Filed and Judgments Obtained by Landlords or Property Management Companies
  • Crucially Important for Landlords to Have This Information
• RENTAL HISTORY
  • Assess the Applicant’s Behavior.
  • Determine Payment History, Lease Violations, Damage to Rental Properties and Other Relevant Issues
• CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECK
  • Statewide Level Criminal Records Search
  • Nationwide Level Criminal Records Search
  • partial countywide Level Criminal Record Search
  • To Identify Convictions or Pending Charges
• INCOME VERIFICATION
  • Ensure a Stable and Sufficient Income to Meet Their Financial Obligations.
  • Verify Employment and Income Information Using W-2 Forms or Bank Statements.
• SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY
  • National or State Sex Offender Registries to Determine if Applicant is a Registered Sex Offender

UCO’s investigation company uses the same databases as all of the other third-party investigation companies. The services that UCO receives are not unique. All reports can be as extensive as needed, per the requester. For example, you can pay more money to conduct a database search for statewide counties that have not yet reported information to the national database. Depending on the county, it could be as little as $15 or as high as $98, as is the case with New York. Unless you have a specific reason to do this type of a County search, it’s not cost-effective and more importantly, not necessary.

• UCO Spokesperson’s Statement: “We are not in it for the profit.”
• Answer: The correct statement should be, “We should not be in it for profit.”, Since they are a not-for-profit corporation. When you evaluate the costs they are passing on to the Association board members versus the actual cost of doing the reports, they should charge the same amount for an investigation as other companies in Florida. On average, the cost for a basic tenant background check in Florida can range from $20 to $50 per applicant. However, it’s essential to note that the cost may vary depending on factors such as the depth of the report, additional services requested, the number of applicants being screened, and whether you opt for any optional nationwide or specialized searches. However, the databases listed above are more than sufficient for 99% of applicants. Some screening companies offer packages that bundle multiple services together at a discounted rate. It’s always advisable to compare prices and services from different screening companies to ensure you are getting the best value for your money. Additionally, be sure to review any contracts or agreements carefully to understand exactly what is included in the screening and what additional costs may apply.

• UCO Spokesperson’s Statement: “The UCO treasurer provides reports that show the money used for investigations. It’s a wash.”
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• Answer: If the reports are available from the treasurer, then UCO should have no problem providing a copy of the receipt for the actual investigation report to the board showing the actual cost of their investigation. All screening companies have a price list for the basic standard investigation. Board members, ask UCO to show you the cost for your investigation before you pay. Pay only the listed price of the investigation. If you are not satisfied with their response, you can go to several other companies to compare savings. Call me and I will give you a list of companies that you can use.

• UCO Spokesperson’s Statement: “Your $150 allows us to buy more reports for you.”
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• Answer: Reports are not purchased in bulk. A report is generated at the time requested. Here is the process:

Information from the applicant is collected.

A request is submitted online or through other methods.

Data is collected using searches of databases from various sources including public records, credit bureaus, eviction databases, criminal records, and more.

A background check is conducted to obtain relevant information about the applicant, which may include credit history, employment verification, criminal records, eviction history, previous rental history and more.

A report is generated once all the checks have been completed. The report compiles all the information obtained and usually includes a summary of the findings. It may also include detailed different aspects of the tenants background.

The report is then delivered to the requester, either electronically or physically, depending on the preference.

• UCO Spokesperson’s Statement: “We have to pay extra for international investigations, which costs more money.”
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• Answer: There is an additional charge if the requester requests a database search from a different country. The charge could be up to $1000, according to my own investigations company representative. However, he caveated, the search will not include the whole country but only a search of the local town or village of the applicant. As a result, very few international database searches are done because they produce little or no actual benefit, especially at the much higher cost. You will only do one if you suspect of the applicant of having terrorist ties, for example.

In addition, can someone from UCO explain to me why a board should be required to spend their money to help pay for the search of another Association applicant because they’re from another country? (“It’s a wash”) That expense should be totally on the requesting Association. That is not a reason to charge another board additional money.

• UCO Spokesperson’s Statement:We provide credit information that others do not.” and  “We ensure that the reports are through the FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act).”
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• Answer: ALL investigation companies are required to comply with the FCRA if they provide any type of credit reporting or history on the screening report. UCO is not unique in this process.

• UCO Spokesperson’s Statement: “It depends on who, where when and how.”, when asked how much the reports cost. Mr. Foster then gave the following example, “If you’re doing an investigation on someone from the 5 boroughs of New York, it’s $40 more.”
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• Answer: When Mr. Foster’s statement was presented to my investigation company representative, he laughed and said, “they obviously have not charged anyone to do an investigation of someone from the 5 boroughs of New York. You cannot do a single County database search in New York. You must pay for a database search of all of the counties in New York collectively. There is no à la carte. In addition, the cost for this County search is $98, not $40. You cannot buy a database search for $40 for a single or multiple counties in New York. I don’t know where his $40 figure came from. Let me caveat this by saying that UCO may be using a company that does charge $40 to investigate someone from the 5 boroughs. If that’s the case, they may want to rethink which company they will want to use for their investigations.

• UCO Spokesperson’s Statement: “I’m sure you’re referring to people doing investigations by Google searches and seeing a number of arrests.”
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• Answer: It’s not very likely that Associations would handle their investigations internally, much less accept the liability risks associated with it. Typically, a well-informed association board would consider other options rather than pursuing the intimations made by Mr. Foster. Moreover, it’s crucial for boards to be aware that an arrest alone doesn’t hold any weight when deciding whether to approve or disapprove. Every day, individuals are arrested and charged for criminal acts that may ultimately be dismissed or result in a not guilty verdict. Convictions, on the other hand, are the only criminal dispositions that boards should be concerned about when evaluating the portion of the screening report for approval or disapproval.

In summary, my friends, as board officers, it is important for us to be responsible and mindful of what happens in our Association. We all have a fiduciary duty to ensure that the money collected from owners every month is used prudently and efficiently. It might be worth considering other options and doing some research before committing to paying $150 for an investigation when we could get the same or even a better report for just $25. It’s always a good idea to ask for the invoice or proposal of the investigation cost before making any payment. After all, none of us would want to pay for a product or service without knowing the cost, right?

I would love to hear your comments and thoughts on this matter. Please feel free to share your insights in the comments section below. Your input is always appreciated and I’m curious to know your perspective.