We reported on Learning Links Centers® last year, but in case you don't recognize the name, they are the socially responsible apartment investors from California.

With the group's purchase and turnaround of the Ashley Apartments here in Lake Highlands, now named The Madeline, they have already brought positive change to the Forest and Audelia area.

Their focus on fostering a village mentality within the walls of the apartment complexes is at the core of their business model, and it starts in earnest with criminal background checks of all their prospective residents.

Until recently, however, several costly aspects of their business couldn't be red flagged by a traditional background check.

Skips, evictions and proxy renters were hard to track without the creation of a centralized database for the entire DFW apartment industry.

Learning Links Centers® co-founders Joe Killinger and George Pino, have now solved the problem.

The two have recently launched The Rent Rite Directory, an affiliate company that enables rental property managers and owners to lower make-ready costs, write-offs and criminal activity on their properties, potentially saving them thousands of dollars annually.

The Rent Rite Directory is a free-to-use website and database that tracks skips, evictions and criminal activity committed by prospective residents as well as “proxy renters,” those who sign leases on behalf of tenants who would not otherwise be allowed to rent.

Suzette Sutton has been named senior director and will be responsible for updating and monitoring the website, approving and verifying registered users, and attending crime watch meetings.

Most importantly, Sutton will be working closely with the police department and apartment associations to educate and communicate with property managers, owners and management companies about how The Rent Rite Directory can positively impact their bottom line while simultaneously bettering their communities.

"We are excited to get The Rent Rite Directory launched in Texas, with our goal being to expand nationwide," said co-founder Killinger.

"I have known Suzette for several years and with her strong background in property management, she was the first person that came to mind whom we knew could run this company the way we feel it needs to be run."

The Rent Rite Directory was test launched in June 2010 here in Dallas and has become an overnight success, having already amassed more than 284 properties and owners as registered users of the website.

Additionally, nearly 100 skips and problem tenants have been added to the user-friendly database.

The Rent Rite Directory also manages The Landlord Blog on the website which fosters real-time communication about vendors, job postings, crime watch meetings, community events and ideas to make the neighborhood safer and more inviting.

"I am inspired by the perseverance and dedication of the managers I meet who take on challenging and sometimes unbelievable circumstances to create a safe environment that their residents can call home," said Sutton.

The database provides a powerful tool to help prevent landlords from renting to tenants who have past records of late payments, destruction of premises, non-payment of rent or utilities, lease violations, evictions or histories of posing as shill residents for criminals.

The Rent Rite Directory also encompasses areas that credit bureaus do not address, such as better quality tenants who lower maintenance and administration costs, raise occupancy levels and stabilize overall occupancy.

For Lake Highlands, especially Lake Highlands schools, anything that helps stabilize the occupancy rate of apartments is a certainly a good thing.

We'll keep you posted as the new system progresses. In the meantime, for more information about Learning Links Centers click here.