Currently qualifying 45 prospects

Meet Jacob: Your AI Screening Specialist

Manual tenant screening takes 3-5 days, loses good applicants, and creates Fair Housing risk. Jacob screens tenants in hours with consistent criteria, complete documentation, and built-in compliance. He handles document review, income verification, credit checks, background checks, eviction history, and rental verification — delivering clear recommendations so you can make confident decisions fast.

What Jacob Does

Jacob is Lodg.AI's AI Screening Specialist. He handles the entire screening workflow — from document collection to final recommendation. No manual data entry. No switching between systems. Everything documented and compliant.

Collects & Reviews Documents

Applicants submit documents through your branded screening link. Jacob reviews pay stubs, bank statements, tax returns, and ID documents automatically.

  • Flags missing documents — sends automatic reminders to applicants
  • Detects altered or fraudulent documents using AI pattern recognition
  • No manual document chasing — Jacob handles follow-up automatically

Verifies Income

Jacob checks income against your requirements (e.g., 3x rent). He handles W-2 employees and self-employed applicants — analyzing pay stubs, tax returns, 1099s, and bank statements.

  • Cross-references pay stubs with bank deposits to verify consistency
  • Calculates debt-to-income ratios when relevant
  • Flags income inconsistencies for your review

Runs Credit Checks

Jacob pulls credit reports from major bureaus (TransUnion, Equifax, Experian) and evaluates score, payment history, collections, and bankruptcies against your thresholds.

  • Soft pull option available — doesn't affect applicant's credit score
  • Analyzes outstanding debts and payment patterns
  • Educational resources on tenant credit checks

Performs Background Checks

Jacob runs comprehensive background checks including criminal history (national and county-level), sex offender registry, eviction history from court records, and identity verification.

  • SSN validation and ID document matching for identity verification
  • Respects state-specific lookback limits and ban-the-box laws
  • Learn more in our background check guide

Verifies Rental History

Jacob contacts previous landlords automatically to collect payment history, lease violations, property condition reports, and re-rent recommendations.

  • Verifies addresses match application information
  • Flags gaps in rental history for your review
  • Documents all landlord responses with timestamps

Automates Compliance

Your screening criteria are codified — applied identically to every applicant. Jacob adapts to state and local regulations, generates adverse action notices, and creates complete audit trails.

  • Adapts to ban-the-box, credit check restrictions, and fee caps by jurisdiction
  • Generates FCRA-compliant adverse action notices automatically
  • Creates audit trail for Fair Housing defense

Delivers Clear Recommendations

Jacob presents a clear recommendation — Approve, Deny, or Conditional — with all supporting data. You make the final decision. All overrides are documented with your reasoning.

  • Shows all verification results and criteria evaluations
  • Override capability with documented reasoning
  • Approved applicants flow directly to leasing workflow

How Jacob Works — The Screening Workflow

Jacob fits into the complete tenant lifecycle. Here's how screening works from inquiry to approved lease.

1

Lead Handoff from Kelsey

Kelsey (AI Leasing Inquiry Specialist) pre-screens leads and schedules tours. When a prospect is ready to apply, Kelsey sends them the application link. Jacob takes over from here. See how Kelsey generates qualified leads.

2

Application Intake

Applicant completes your branded application and submits required documents (pay stubs, ID, bank statements, etc.). Data flows into Jacob automatically — no manual entry required.

3

Parallel Verification

Jacob runs all checks simultaneously: credit, background, income, rental history. Results populate in minutes, not days. Missing items trigger automatic follow-up to the applicant.

4

Criteria Evaluation

Jacob evaluates against your pre-set criteria. Same standards applied to every applicant. Exceptions flagged for your review. All evaluation logic documented.

5

Recommendation & Decision

Jacob presents: Approve, Deny, or Conditional — with all supporting data displayed. You confirm or override. Decision logged with timestamp and reasoning.

6

Handoff to Leasing

Approved applicants flow to lease generation. Tenant data carries forward — no re-entry. Learn about Lodg.AI's leasing workflow.

Why Manual Screening Fails

Property managers lose qualified tenants not because their criteria are wrong — but because manual processes are too slow, too inconsistent, and create compliance risk.

Too Slow

Manual screening takes 3-5 days. Good applicants accept offers from faster properties. Speed is a competitive advantage in tight markets.

Inconsistent Criteria

Different team members apply different standards. Creates Fair Housing liability. Impossible to defend decisions without documentation.

Compliance Risk

No audit trail means no defense. FCRA requires adverse action notices — easy to miss manually. State regulations vary — hard to track manually.

Manual Data Entry

Copying between spreadsheets, emails, screening services. Errors and delays at every step. Staff time wasted on busywork instead of growth.

Compliance & Fair Housing

Fair Housing compliance requires consistent application of screening criteria. Jacob provides the tools to screen defensibly — not legal advice.

Consistent Criteria Application

Your standards are codified — not subject to interpretation. Every applicant evaluated identically. No "gut feeling" decisions that can't be defended in Fair Housing disputes.

This consistency is your best defense. You can demonstrate that decisions were based on objective, pre-defined standards applied uniformly.

Complete Documentation

Every action timestamped: who accessed what, when criteria were applied, what data supported the decision. Decision reasoning captured automatically.

Reconstruct any screening months later. No relying on memory or scattered emails. Full audit trail available for compliance reviews.

Adverse Action Automation

FCRA requires specific notices when denying based on credit or background information. Jacob generates compliant notices automatically.

Includes required disclosures, dispute instructions, and reporting agency contact information. Zero missed compliance requirements.

State & Local Adaptation

Ban-the-box laws limit criminal history timing. Some cities prohibit credit checks. Application fees have caps in many jurisdictions.

Jacob adapts criteria by location. One platform works across your entire portfolio regardless of jurisdiction.

Note: Lodg.AI provides tools for consistent screening — not legal advice. Consult legal counsel for compliance questions specific to your jurisdiction.

Jacob + Kelsey + Anna — The Full Tenant Lifecycle

Screening is one part of the tenant journey. Here's how Jacob connects with Kelsey and Anna to deliver end-to-end operations.

Kelsey (Before Screening)

Leasing Inquiry Specialist
  • Responds to inquiries instantly — phone, chat, SMS, email — 24/7
  • Pre-screens leads: income range, move-in date, pets, occupants
  • Schedules tours with qualified prospects
  • Sends application link when prospect is ready — seamless handoff to Jacob

Learn more about Kelsey's rental marketing automation →

Jacob (Screening)

AI Screening Specialist
  • Reviews documents, verifies income
  • Runs credit and background checks in parallel
  • Evaluates against your criteria with complete documentation
  • Delivers clear recommendation — you make final decision
  • Hands off approved applicants to leasing workflow

Anna (After Move-In)

24/7 Maintenance Coordinator
  • Handles maintenance requests 24/7 — phone, SMS, chat
  • Logs issues, dispatches contractors, tracks completion
  • Keeps tenants informed with real-time updates
  • Escalates emergencies appropriately

Learn more about Anna's maintenance coordination →

One Platform, Complete Workflow: No gaps between lead → application → screening → lease → operations. Data flows through — no re-entry, no lost context. This is the difference between a screening vendor and an operations platform.

Who Jacob Is Built For

Small Property Managers (10-50 units)

You can't afford 3-5 days per application. Jacob screens in hours so you don't lose good tenants.

Compliance documentation you'd never have time to create manually — built in automatically.

Growing Operators (50-500 units)

Your team is scaling — consistency matters. Jacob applies the same criteria across every property, every team member.

Audit trail protects you as you grow and face increased scrutiny.

Multi-State Portfolios

Different jurisdictions, different rules. Jacob adapts criteria by location.

One platform, consistent process, compliant everywhere.

Results Property Managers See

Under 24 hours

Screening time reduced from 3-5 days to under 24 hours

60% reduction

In time spent on document collection and follow-up

100%

Of decisions documented with complete audit trail

Zero missed

Adverse action notices — automatic FCRA compliance

40% faster

Time-to-lease from application to signed agreement

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about Jacob and AI tenant screening

Screen Applicants in Hours, Not Days

Stop losing good tenants to slow screening. Let Jacob handle document review, verification, and compliance while you focus on growing your portfolio.