On 1/4/2021, I applied for a rental unit from Advantage PMS; the home is 20235 W Ridge Ct. Castro Valley. On 1/5/2021, I was emailed by Justin, who asked me to send paystubs/driver's license, which I sent the same day. The Advantage PMS website states my application takes 2-3 business days to process, which means Advantage should have processed my application no later than 1/7/2021.
That date came and went without me hearing a thing from Advantage, so I called on 1/11/2021. I spoke to Jay, and he advised me that my application was still at an incomplete level. I asked what was incomplete, and he said my employment still needed to be verified. I work for a huge company that has made employment verification very simple. I advised him that I provided an 1800 automated verification phone number that is available 24/7. Employment can be verified by following a few simple prompts and verification is then delivered over the phone and can also be sent via/email and then printed. I asked why no one had reached out to me if they needed additional information. Jay then advised me that the unit I had applied for had been rented last Friday, 1/8/2021!
Jay then says my application is still valid for other units that become available in the next 45 days. Okay, but you just said my application is incomplete, so how can an incomplete application now be applied to other available units? That just doesn't make any sense. I asked why the rental would go to someone else instead of informing me that there was an issue with employment verification, and he didn't have an answer.
My wife researched the unit, and after touring the place, we decided to apply online. It wasn't until after I had already applied that I decided to check Yelp. Upon seeing several accusations of racism against people of color, as a black person, I instantly regretted spending the $93 to apply for this unit as I was sure they would find a reason to give the unit to another family. I don't show Justin made a credit inquiry with Transunion, Experian, Equifax, or FICO, so why did I even pay the $93? I have a 736-credit score, have been with my company for 15 years, and make approximately $11k per month, not to mention that my entire move is being paid for by my fortune 500 company, so why would I not get the place?
I've seen some of the Advantage owners' responses to the others who have alleged discriminatory practices. Their excuse of "I understand it's frustrating not being approved, but there's only 1 unit available and multiple applicants" isn't going to convince me. Nor will "the other applicant was more qualified" or "multiple qualified applicants applied, so it went to the first qualified applicant who applied" convince me that they didn't and don't discriminate. The way America functions, being black automatically makes you less qualified, and I'm sick of it; it needs to stop! With Fair and Equal housing laws, this shouldn't be an issue, yet it persists, even in 2021.
As a Manager of a major company, I have learned that we must all be deliberate in instituting processes that put POC's on equal footing.
* My question is, since there are multiple allegations against Advantage of being discriminatory to renters of color, what are you as a company doing to ensure your applicants of color are have equal and fair opportunities to rent?
* For those complaining of discrimination due to their ethnicity, how many of those "more qualified applicants" were POC?
I will be sending this complaint to HUD for investigation. Additionally, I will be submitting a complaint to my local NAACP in the hopes that they will be able to warn other minorities against applying with this company. They will take your money and time but promptly give the unit to either non-minority or Asian families instead of black families. This company needs to either be shut down or overhaul its rubric/business model so that people of color don't continue to feel passed over! In the meantime, families-of-color-beware. read more