Licensing

• We make sure that our service professional businesses carry any applicable state-level trade licensing for the services for which we match them to consumers.

Sex Offender Search

• We check the websites that consolidate state sex offender information in the state in which the owner/principal of the company is located to confirm that there is not a match based solely on the name of the owner/principal of the company.

Legal Search for Civil Judgments

• We use third-party data sources to check the owner/principal of each business for bankruptcy filings, liens, and significant state-level civil legal judgments, in the state in which the owner/principal of the company is located, occurring within 12 months prior to the service professional’s application for membership in the HomeAdvisor network.

State Business Filings

• For service professionals that are corporations or limited liability companies, we confirm that the business is registered in the state in which it is located.

Criminal Records Search

• We use third-party data sources to conduct a criminal search, in the state in which the owner/principal of the company is located, for any relevant criminal activity associated with the owner/principal of the business, within the three years prior to such service professional’s application for membership in the HomeAdvisor network. HomeAdvisor’s third-party vendor uses a national criminal database (“NCD”) to screen our service professionals. The comprehensiveness of the NCD varies by state. Please be aware that the reporting in the NCD is particularly limited in the following states: AL, CO, DE, GA, ID, KS, KY, LA, ME, MA, MI, MS, MT, NE, NV, NH, NM, SD, UT, VA, VT, and WY.

Identity Verification (Social Security Number)

• HomeAdvisor verifies the social security number of the business owner/principal to confirm their identity. (This applies primarily to small businesses.)

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We are “Compliance Depot” Approved! We currently serve ALL Florida properties. coast to coast. Give us a call and see how we can be of assistance. Computer Repair, Voice and Data Cabling and System Administration, TV Installation, Surround Sound Systems, 1080p Video Surveillance Systems we are also a technology parts provider. So before you make that computer purchase give us a call. More than likely we can beat any price and installation.

Pinnacle is a privately held organization that manages multifamily properties nationwide. Established in 1980, we are one of the largest multifamily management companies in the United States with a portfolio of over 165,000 units and 4,000 team members. Our clients include pension funds, private partnerships, international investors, insurance companies, lenders, special services, syndicators, government agencies and high net worth individuals.

The growth and maturation of the company have been enabled by our understanding of one basic premise: we are a service business. Pinnacle has an obligation to provide superior service to residents, owners, service providers and team members of the company.

Story-Mission

It is our privilege to exercise responsible stewardship over the assets that we manage and positively maximize the interactions with our residents, clients and team members.

To exceed our customers’ expectations

Story-Vision

Pinnacle has an established foundation of experience, resources and partnerships, which we acquired over the course of our 30-year history. We leverage this foundation to provide clients with superior products and services that are customized to meet their unique needs. Our Core Values combined with our national support services enables Pinnacle to immediately improve operations and increase the value of your investment.

Positively impacting the lives of people

Service

We put the interests of others ahead of our own.

Transparency

Demonstrate honesty and integrity in everything that we do.

Performance

We are measured by our ability to create value for our clients and shareholders.

Creativity

We relentlessly pursue the delivery of innovative quality services.

Community

Serving our community is at the heart of our team members’ priorities.

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Congratulations, We have received a Secret security clearance through the Department of Defense. A security clearance is a status granted to individuals allowing them access to classified information, i.e., state secrets, or to restricted areas after completion of a thorough background check. The term “security clearance” is also sometimes used in private organizations that have a formal process to vet employees for access to sensitive information. A clearance by itself is normally not sufficient to gain access; the organization must determine that the cleared individual needs to know the information. No one is supposed to be granted access to classified information solely because of rank, position, or a security clearance.

FAQs

Who can apply for a security clearance?

Individuals cannot initiate a security clearance application on their own. Rather, the Bureau of Human Resources determines whether a Department of State position will require a security clearance based upon the duties and responsibilities of the position. If the position requires access to classified information, then a personnel security background investigation must be conducted. This is only done after a conditional offer of employment is given to an individual.

Do you have to be a U.S. citizen to receive a security clearance from the State Department?

As outlined in Executive Order 12968, Access to Classified Information, eligibility for access to classified information may only be granted to employees who are United States citizens. However, an exception is allowed in specific situations wherein there are compelling reasons for limited access to be granted to an immigrant alien or foreign national employee who possesses a special expertise that is needed for specific programs, projects, contracts, licenses, certificates, or grants.

What is the purpose of a security clearance?

The purpose of a security clearance is to determine that a person is able and willing to safeguard classified national security information, based on his or her loyalty, character, trustworthiness, and reliability.

How is it decided what level of clearance a person receives?

The Bureau of Human Resources determines whether a Department of State position will require a security clearance, as well as the level required, based upon the duties and responsibilities of the position.

How many types or levels of security clearance are there?

There are three levels of security clearance, with the highest level being Top Secret. The secret is the next level of clearance and Confidential is the final.

What work does each clearance allow a person to do?

A clearance allows a person filling a specific position to have access to classified national security information up to and including the level of clearance that they hold, so long as the person has a need to know the information.

Will my clearance be transferable to other federal agencies?

Federal agencies will normally accept another agency’s investigation as the basis for granting a security clearance, provided your last security clearance investigation was completed within the past 5 years for a Top Secret clearance and 10 years for a Secret clearance, and you have not had a break in service of more than 2 years. Also considered is whether there have been any significant changes in your situation since your last investigation. Some federal agencies might have additional investigative or adjudicative requirements that must be met prior to their accepting a clearance granted by another agency.

How long is my security clearance good for after I leave the federal government?

The Department of State will revalidate a security clearance if (1) the individual has not been out of federal service for more than 2 years and (2) if the individual’s clearance is based on an appropriate and current personnel security clearance investigation.

Can I transfer my security clearance for private sector employment?

Security clearances only apply to positions that fall under the purview of the federal government. As stated in Executive Order 12968, Access to Classified Information, security clearances are only granted to persons “Employed by, detailed or assigned to, an [executive] agency, including members of the Armed Forces; an expert or consultant to an agency; an industrial or commercial contractor, licensee, certificate holder, or grantee of an agency, including all subcontractors; a personal services contractor; or any other category of person who acts for or on behalf of an agency as determined by the appropriate agency head.”

Does having a security clearance guarantee employment with the State Department?

No. The hiring process addresses whether someone will be initially selected for a particular position within the State Department. The security clearance process does not begin until after a conditional offer of employment is given.

Who does the records checks?

The Office of Personnel Security and Suitability, Bureau of Diplomatic Security, conducts all national agency and credit history checks in support of their investigations. Diplomatic Security investigators located worldwide conduct all other investigative leads, which includes local law enforcement checks.

Are members of my family or people living with me subject to a security check?

There are circumstances in which limited records checks or an investigation may be conducted on a spouse or cohabitant*. National agency checks are conducted on spouses and/or cohabitants of individuals being processed for a Top Secret level clearance, with the spouse or cohabitant’s authorization. Additional investigations may be conducted when the spouse or cohabitant is a foreign national.

*A cohabitant is defined as someone with whom you live together as husband and wife and the relationship involves the mutual assumption of marital rights, duties, and obligations, which are usually manifested by married people, including, but not necessarily dependent on, sexual relations.

For what reasons would I be denied a security clearance?

Various reasons exist for why someone may be denied a security clearance. The most important factors in an investigation are the individual’s honesty, candour, and thoroughness in the completion of their security clearance forms. Every case is individually assessed, using the National Security Board’s 13 Adjudicative Guidelines, to determine whether the granting or continuing of eligibility for a security clearance is clearly consistent with the interests of national security.

The adjudicative guidelines include allegiance to the United States; foreign influence; foreign preference; sexual behaviour; personal conduct; financial considerations; alcohol consumption; drug involvement; emotional, mental, and personality disorders; criminal conduct; security violations; outside activities; and misuse of information technology systems.

How often is a security clearance renewed?

An individual is normally subject to periodic reinvestigation at a minimum of every 5 years for a Top Secret level clearance and every 10 years for a Secret level clearance.

What are some typical delays that occur in the security clearance process?

Some of the most common areas of delay include the submission of incomplete security packages, poorly collected fingerprints, and investigations that involve coverage of extensive overseas activities.

Individuals can help expedite the process by ensuring they have completed all forms in a thorough and accurate manner; familiarizing themselves with the appearance of a properly rolled set of fingerprints, so they know theirs are done properly; and when possible, providing stateside references that can verify foreign activities.

How long does it take to process a typical security clearance?

Each case varies, but the general time averages about 120 days. The Department of State has recently initiated a goal to render a security clearance decision in 90 days.

What happens if I’m denied a security clearance? Is there an appeal process?

If you are denied a security clearance, or your continued eligibility for access to classified information is revoked, you will be notified of the reason(s) and be provided with the procedures for filing an appeal. You will be given the opportunity to address any derogatory information that was gathered during the investigation and either correct or clarify the situation.

What can I do in advance to ease the process of my background investigation?

A lot of detailed information is required to conduct a background investigation. Information such as complete names, addresses, telephone numbers, and dates of birth for relatives will be required. We suggest you print the Questionnaire for National Security Positions (Standard Form 86) and begin collecting that information so you will have it ready when asked.

Where can I get assistance completing my security clearance package or inquire into the status of my security clearance?

For assistance with completing your security clearance package or to inquire into the status of your security clearance, you may email us at SecurityClearance@state.gov or you may talk with a personnel security specialist at our Customer Service Center between the hours of 8:00 A.M. and 5:00 P.M., EST, by dialing toll free 1-866-643-4636 (1-866-643-INFO) or 571-345-3186.

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Our business has been tested and inspected by Compliance Depot. Full background check, insurance verified, tested and all verified.

In today?s high-risk business environment, hiring a vendor without first verifying their performance, criminal record and financial standing can result in fraud, unsatisfactory work and lost time and money.

Checking a vendor?s credentials is an essential business practice that should be performed before providing a vendor access to your business assets, staff and residents. And making sure they continue to comply with your company policies is just as important. Let Compliance Depot manage the time-consuming and costly vendor credentialing process for you.

Protect Your Business

We?ll do all the legwork and manage critical documents to ensure vendors meet your company?s policies. Services include:

• Managing liability insurance certificates
• Handling vendor requirements, acknowledgements, agreements and special requirements
• Managing vendor W-9 forms
• Checking vendors’ corporate status
• Verifying business and professional licenses
• Identifying bankruptcy liens and judgments
• Performing national criminal and background sex offender checks
• Searching the Government Watch List
• Protect your Staff and Residents

Performing a thorough background check on vendors can help you reduce risk and protect the well-being and safety of your staff and residents. Compliance Depot?s National Criminal & Sex Offender Search includes access to more than 150 million criminal records across the United States and provides a comprehensive search of multiple criminal record sources, including federal, state and county criminal record repositories, records from other state agencies, prison parole and release files; and it includes all 45 state sex offender files.

Access Vendor Certificates of Insurance

Eliminate the phone calls, emails and time spent chasing down paper. Compliance Depot provides a secure, online portal that gives you on-demand access to vendor information including a history of certificates of insurance. The online storage of these documents makes it easy for your staff to track and review important vendor changes, and it ensures you have an easily accessible audit trail.

Reduce Vendor Liability

Using a vendor in the Compliance Depot database ensures that they have all their necessary certificates, licenses and other critical documents. You don?t have to worry about staff making errors while performing vendor credentialing in-house or hiring a non-credentialed vendor, both actions that can lead to increased risk and financial loss.

Vendor Accountability

Compliance Depot ensures vendors meet your company’s criteria on an ongoing basis. To begin or continue to work with your organization, vendors must agree to abide by your business practices and code of conduct policies. If a vendor doesn’t maintain up-to-date documents, we will notify you.

Vendor Diversity Database

Whether you’re following your company’s vendor diversity policy or wanting the advantages associated with vendor diversity, we can help. With Compliance Depot you’ll have access to the largest known vendor diversity database of minority-owned and women-owned businesses. You can easily filter search results to show only those certified businesses, and our system can help you track and report when you do business with minority-owned vendors, making it an ideal solution for affordable, military, and government housing.
Integrates with Purchasing System

Compliance Depot can be easily integrated with Ops Technology or One Site Purchasing for a complete vendor management and purchasing solution. An integrated solution can help ensure your staff is using approved vendors for increased efficiency, tighter control of spending, reduced risk and more.

FAQs

Why is my management company using Compliance Depot?

In today’s business environment the importance of proper insurance verification to protect the interests of apartment communities has become more important due to the complex nature of insurance claims involving the relationships between residents, management companies and property owners. In addition, your management company is seeking to ease the burden of insurance certificate administration and filing by the site staff. This process allows you as a site manager to focus on the critical duties related to business operations and less on paperwork for certificate tracking. Lastly, this service will allow your management company the ability to have all insurance certificates available via electronic scanned images on the web via a central repository.

Who pays for this service?

Compliance Depot will charge each vendor an annual fee for this service. The fee is $80 for those select vendors who are not required to provide a certificate of insurance in connection with the services they provide. An example would be a vendor that ships all products to your site via UPS. For those vendors who will need to visit your site, a fee of $99 will be charged by Compliance Depot to the vendor. The fee is charged annually per client and NOT per location. Many vendors regard this as a very small price to pay for not having to compete with other vendors who cannot satisfy our insurance and other selected criteria.

What are the insurance requirements for my site?

The insurance requirements are located on the Compliance Depot website and are available to the vendors from their homepage. They are also available to the site managers on the Vendor tab of the website. These requirements have been defined and approved by your management company’s risk management department to ensure that adequate coverage and protection are in place per your company’s guidelines. The insurance requirements can also be obtained by contacting Compliance Depot at 888-493-6938.

Why is Compliance Depot so strict with the insurance requirements?

Compliance Depot enforces what your management company requires for insurance certificate limits and additional insured language. Since Compliance Depot is only enforcing what your management company requires them to enforce, there is no opportunity for Compliance Depot to make a subjective evaluation regarding a vendor’s insurance certificate. The vendor’s insurance certificate either meets your company’s required standard for insurance and additional insured language or it does not. (See section on override requests for those vendors that are deficient)

Who should I call if I have questions about the Compliance Depot process?

All questions regarding the qualification process, including any questions relating to necessary documentation, should be directed to Compliance Depot at 888-493-6938.
Compliance Depot FAQ’s July 2014
Vendor Insurance Verification
Vendor Verification Process

How does a new vendor get added to my list?

If your management company has an OPEN vendor list you may direct the vendor to contact Compliance Depot at 888-493-6938. A customer service representative will add them to your list. You may also add them to your list via the Compliance Depot website if you have been granted access by your management company.
If your management company has selected a CLOSED vendor list you will need to sponsor the vendor according to your internal protocol. Once a vendor has been added to the website they will receive information from Compliance Depot regarding the enrollment process.
Important: To determine if your company has an open or closed vendor list you may contact customer service at 888-493-6938. Please keep in mind that vendors should send documents to Compliance Depot…not you! The point of this process is to alleviate your burden of checking on and following up on vendors for insurance requirements. Should a vendor drop off new vendor documents at the site, kindly direct the vendor to submit them directly to Compliance Depot.

How long does it take a vendor to become approved by Compliance Depot?

This depends on how quickly the vendor and/or insurance agent can provide the correct and necessary documentation. In many cases, the process takes less than 48 hours.
However, if the vendor has less than acceptable requirements or would like to negotiate the limits of insurance required then the amount of time to complete the process can be
longer.

Does this process apply to new vendors only or does it apply to all vendors?

With respect to insurance coverage, permit and license requirements there is no remarkable difference between your existing vendors and new vendors. In fact, one of the greatest exposures for management companies relates to business relationships with long term current vendors who have allowed their insurance coverage or licenses to lapse. Accordingly, both existing and new vendors will need to be qualified through Compliance Depot.

What if a vendor does not meet my management company’s insurance requirements?

Vendors who do not have adequate insurance or valid permits or licenses (in categories where such permits and licenses are required) will not be authorized as an approved vendor. Should a vendor fail to satisfy any other criteria, you must obtain approval to use the vendor from your corporate office. You should, however, be prepared to explain why using this vendor is essential, despite the vendor’s deficiency of insurance or other required standard. There should be very few instances where such approvals are requested.

Does my vendor need a computer to complete the registration process?

No. Compliance Depot is accustomed to dealing with vendors that do not have a computer. They are also accustomed to dealing with widely varying computer skills.
Compliance Depot FAQ’s July 2014
Vendor Insurance Verification
Vendor Verification Process Continued

If a vendor has a question about this program who should they talk to?

Vendor questions, issues, and concerns regarding their set up in the vendor management system including any questions relating to necessary documentation, should be directed to Compliance Depot at 888-493-6938. They have customer representatives available Monday through Friday from 7:30 AM to 6:30 PM Central Standard Time to assist with any questions.

My vendor’s insurance agent has a question about the process who can they talk to?

Agent questions, issues, and concerns regarding the vendor’s set up in the vendor management system including any questions relating to necessary documentation, should be directed to Compliance Depot at 888-493-6938. They have customer representatives available Monday through Friday from 7:30 AM to 6:30 PM Central Standard Time to assist with any questions.

The vendor’s insurance company has sent me a new insurance certificate, what should I do?

Contact the vendor and explain to them that the insurance certificate must go to Compliance Depot. Vendors are provided access which will enable them to upload their documents directly to the Compliance Depot website. Documents may also be sent to Compliance Depot by fax at 877-665-8910 or by email at documents@compliancedepot.com

Who checks the requirements for each vendor?

Compliance Depot will verify the insurance limits, additional insured language, and other requirements. All coordination and communication with the vendor and/or their
insurance agent for collecting these documents will be handled by Compliance Depot.

Do I have to verify the insurance amounts and sign up the vendor each year?

No. Compliance Depot will coordinate the communication and collection of the renewal insurance certificate prior to the expiration of the existing certificate. In addition, should your management company have any circumstantial changes to the requirements for insurance; Compliance Depot will coordinate the compliance of the new requirements for the insurance certificate with the vendor.

What if my vendor never comes on site, do they need to register with Compliance Depot?

While insurance certificate verification is the primary service; Compliance Depot also verifies professional licenses, past collections and/or liens, business owner background checks. Therefore, even though a vendor may not come onto to your property, your management company is still able to provide a measured amount of protection for the property and the ownership structure by having all vendors register with Compliance Depot.

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