In addition to the newly added resident screening offering, theYardi Multifamily Suite also includes portals, payment processing,utility billing, procure-to-pay, call center and other products andservices. Yardi developed the Multifamily Suite in response toincreased interest by its clients to consolidate technology vendorsby having ancillary business solutions built in as part of itsYardi Voyager software platform.

Company president Anant Yardi says that the Santa Barbara-basedfirm, "acquired RentGrow to meet a growing demand among multifamilyhousing providers to incorporate credit checks, rental paymenthistory searches, background checks, and other applicant screeningfunctions into their core property management system." AddingRentGrow's technology to Yardi's integrated multifamily products"will help our clients operate more efficiently, maximize netoperating income, and manage risk," he says.

RentGrow's client base represents approximately 700,000 unitsacross the US. Mike Lapsley, president of RentGrow, notes that bothYardi and RentGrow have been serving the multifamily industry fordecades. Their alliance brings benefits to both of the companiesand their customers, he says.