Why Criminal Record Check Capability Is So Relevant to REBs

Your members hold licensing provincially. Most real estate regulators in provinces across Canada now require a criminal record check as part of the licensing process, with some of the larger provinces now jumping on board with the practice.

Their licensees are also your members, and your role is to support your members which is why criminal record check capability is so relevant to you.

Not only do real estate agents need to obtain their own criminal record check, but the price they pay, and the quality of the background check will vary depending on where they obtain it.

For example, if he or she obtains their criminal record check online directly, they will pay the highest retail market price.

If they obtain their check through group pricing – through a regulator, a REB, or his or her real estate brokerage – they could pay less than half the retail price than had they purchased the same check directly at 1:1 pricing.

Some regulators offer access to background checks resources but that doesn’t always mean their members are getting the best deal. In the case of The Nova Scotia Real Estate Commission their licensees get a reduced rate of $33 through their provider but that is about 15% higher than what they would have achieved had they gone through Triton, for example.

Ask yourself this: In the above example, are the members getting the best deal for their criminal record checks?

When you provide access to background checks for your members through a group plan, you create competition, and you give them choice.

Price is not the only consideration either. Where criminal record check providers are concerned, some purchase bulk data. This is often the case when you see lower pricing. This results in checks that are not the most current, complete, or accurate. It is critical to ensure your members are in the hands of a vendor who provides the most current, accurate and most widely accepted data.

Now, you may be thinking you do not want to hold a group plan, creating additional bookkeeping responsibilities and assuming the cost for checks. You can set up a group plan where your members pay directly.

When we work with a REB, we can create a link on your website that your members can access the portal and we can set your account to “candidate pays” so that while your members benefit from your volume pricing, they also pay for their check directly.

With that said, the cost of building a background check into your membership (with each license renewal) adds incredible value and shows, especially to new real estate professionals, how important it is to you to support them through their careers and through navigating the licensing process.

Something else worth mentioning is that in the Triton portal, we can enable access to our complete range of background checks (employment, education, social media, reference, credit and more). Some other ways REBs maximize their use of the Triton portal is in their recruitment and also to support their members who are interested in enhancing their tenant screening.

There is endless value in learning more about how background capability is an asset to your REB. We would love the opportunity to have a meet and greet to share more with you about this subject. If that is of interest to you, please email success@tritonverify.com and a member of our sales team will reach out to schedule a meeting.