(This is a Rebroadcast of a post I made on August 9, 2024, at a Delegates Assembly Meeting. I challenged UCO to the $150 requirement for applicant screenings when I have been doing using my own third-party Applicant screening company from the last 10 years and only charge $25 for the Investigations portion of the screening. in light of the latest LCAM report by Donald Foster, I believe it is worth bringing back for you to read to dispel all of his misinformation regarding the topic. I added some additional reasons why it is perfectly OK to use another 3rd party company instead of UCO to save your association the $125 stemming from UCO ‘s insistence on using scare tactics to keep those $150 checks rolling in. Click Here to read how you can keep $125 of every $150 collected for an applicant screening process.)
Taken from remarks made by Donald Foster at the Delegates’ Assembly, August 2nd, 2024
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 own investigation 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 Statement: “Understand, the Certificates of Approval are created by WPRF…”
Reality Check: 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.
UCO 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.”
Reality Check:
Ask UCO to provide you with the actual Bi-Lateral Agreement that is SIGNED by a representative of your Association. Chances are that theywon’t or can’t produce it. This is the basis of their “requirement”.
Even if they do produce it, they set a precedent over 15 years ago by allowing associations to employ third-party companies to complete their investigations. I am living proof of this. what this means is that once they allow the rule to be violated without challenging it, hence, setting a precedent, then they’ve lost the ability to enforce that rule. Not only did they not challenge it right away, but they allowed it to go on for many many years.
I began using my own third-party investigations in 2009 and have continued to do so until present. I’ve done hundreds of buyer, occupant and tenant applicant screenings. Neither UCO nor WPRF have ever challenged me on it. As a matter of fact, I have been provided blank copies of every type of Certificate of Approval going back to 2009 and provided new or updated copies as they were created.
Why are you asking for $150 so that you can use part of it to obtain a legal opinion, when your own budget has a specific line item in it already for just that purpose. Yes fellow owners, UCO is trying to double dip by charging us money in the budget to obtain an opinion for boards to approve or disapprove applicants, but yet they say they need the $150 to use to pay for opinions by our attorney! I bet you didn’t know that, did you?
In addition, adding insult to injury, UCO zone officers have been seen on YouTube videos explaining the delegates and owners that boards can use other resources to obtain their applicant screening reports such as the associations property management companies, lawyers, realtors, etc. Go to YouTube and search for CVTV or click it here
Ask any attorney who is worth their salt if they would take a case such as this one where UCO has set a precedent for over 15 years that they are now going to try to enforce? Child, PUULEASE!!!
If they have valid documents that require boards to use UCO for their investigations, let’s ask UCO to provide the actual documents, citing Article, Section, Paragraph number, and print them as an additional handout to give each of the delegates at a future delegates assembly meeting. UCO can add this topic to the agenda for the meeting. Let’s then have our UCO attorney, Ron Tennyson sit on the dais and explain to all of us how we are legally violating the law and the civil and or criminal penalties that can be used against us if we refuse to allow UCO to do our investigations.
In your opinion Donald, that’s a breach of contract? 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 2020 Amended 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 see any ”requirement” mandating that associations must use UCO to do their investigations.. What I read is that the Associations have a choice to “participate”.. Let’s try this again.. “This committee shall be responsible to provide applications and to process investigations of prospective … for units and “PARTICIPATING” Condominium Associations 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?
UCO Statement: “UCO does a very extensive report. We give you information that others don’t give you”.
Reality Check: Here’s the extent of UCO’s 3rd party Investigation company’s “very extensive” report:
Investigative– criminal history/sexual offenders/terrorist
County records search
Federal pacer criminal search
*** End Of Report ***
SRA’s (UCO’s Company) screening reports are identical to 99.9% of the other reports that screening companies provide in Florida. Look at the Disclaimers – the wording is identical on all of the reports from each company do you really think that UCO is paying SRA $150 for this 3 item report? try $25 or $35. Where’s the rest of that $150 going, you might ask.
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
Which report would you rather receive for $25?
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 Statement: “We are not in it for the profit.”
Reality Check: UCO is a not-for-profit corporation. UCO is prevented by law from making money off of the associations. If they pay their investigations company $25 or $35, whatever the price is, for a screening report, then they must charge the Association the same amount. The correct statement should be, “We should not be in it for profit.”,
On average, the cost for a basic tenant background check in Florida can range from $20 to $40 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.
Most importantly, you should insist that UCO provide you with the invoice charged by the third-party screening company to see what the exact price was they paid for your report. Then write them a check for that amount only, nothing more!
UCO Statement: “The UCO treasurer provides reports that show the money used for investigations. It’s a wash.”
Reality Check: 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 Statement: “Your $150 allows us to buy more reports for you.”
Reality Check: this is one of the most ridiculous answers I’ve heard yet! Please Donald, you can come up with a better feeble excuse than this one! LOL Reports are not purchased in bulk. A report is generated at the time requested. In addition, every report Is paid for separately by that applicant. No other applicant should be paying for someone else’s report!
UCO Statement: “We have to pay extra for international investigations, which costs more money.”
Reality Check: 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 Statement: We provide credit information that others do not.” and “We ensure that the reports are through the FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act).”
Reality Check: 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 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.”
Reality Check: 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 Statement: “I’m sure you’re referring to people doing investigations by Google searches and seeing a number of arrests.”
Reality Check: It’s extrememly unlikely that an Association would handle their investigations internally, much less accept the liability risks associated with it. Mr Foster must think they are absolutely clueless to think they would or could do that. 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, UCO has become this overburden some, over empowered, self entitled ego inflated bureaucracy that has grown out of control from its original purpose of simply handling a few major contracts on behalf of the associations. As a side note, the other Century Villagers don’t have a quote UCO” and they seem to be doing just fine!
here’s the bottom line – if UCO, and specifically the president and the LCAM, are interested in doing right by the associations, want to be helpful and cooperative, and are putting the associations first,then here’s how you can save everybody the aggravation and fear and anxiety that you have been imposing on them these many months by trying to force them to continue feeding your piggy bank which is grown to over $12,000,000. All you have to do is exactly what I’m doing–
When you are asked to do an investigation, simply create a simple brochure similar to the one that I have here
Tell the board member to point the applicant to the following website: https://www.applyfastnow.com/
Tell them to enter the following code: CV450774
Tell them to complete the application online, entering the board members name who will receive the report.
They will pay $25 online at the conclusion of their application.
The report will automatically be sent to the board member the next day. End of story!
