I knew a guy some years back who used to manage several apartments, condos and houses for various private owners. He told me the ‘background fee’ went straight into his pocket; he just eyeballed the person and the condition of their car and made his decision.
No but it could be a nice added profit margin. Let’s say the average tenant stays in your building for 3 years so you’re turning over 50 apartments per year and let’s say you average 10 people applying for each apartment. You could add $35,000 to your revenue or about 2.7%. Sure that’s not infinite money but that will certainly make a noticeable difference in your bottom line if you have a normal 10% profit margin.