# What company do you use to check credit?



## Bricore (Sep 8, 2007)

I have had a home up for sale for 3 years now. We just got an offer on it, but they want to do a Lease to Purchase deal. 

They say the reason why they can't buy now is because they just moved here and haven't been on their new job long enough. 

I want to do a credit check just to make sure these people can buy the house a year down the road. I was wondering how much it cost to do a credit check and what company is best to use?

Thanks in advance.


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## txquilter (Dec 29, 2009)

If they are working with a realtor then they should all ready have a mortgage person in mind. Ask them for a copy of their credit report (have them pull it). If they don't want to pull it I'd be hesitant without a large deposit. And by all means, verify their employment.


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## ChristieAcres (Apr 11, 2009)

Bricore said:


> I have had a home up for sale for 3 years now. We just got an offer on it, but they want to do a Lease to Purchase deal.
> 
> They say the reason why they can't buy now is because they just moved here and haven't been on their new job long enough.
> 
> ...


There are rental reference services likely local to you who charge a set fee to pull credit, and also call on rental references. I'd also agree with the suggestion for requesting they provide their credit report themselves. Experian charges $39.95 for a Tri Merge Credit Report w/Scores.

You haven't mentioned an Agent. Are you selling FSBO? If so, what contract will you be using?


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## oregon woodsmok (Dec 19, 2010)

I've got an account with a credit score company, so that won't do you any good. But any mortgage broker can run one for you, or real estate agent, or insurance agent.

Do NOT have the buyer provide their own credit report. It would be too easy to make one up or modify one on the computer. 

Verify that they have the income to pay and don't sell to them unless they pay an option fee that is substantially higher than the security deposit for a rental. 

Don't get so eager to sell your house that you accept empty promises instead of cash.

I suggest that you make the contract non-transferable and don't give them too long to pay the balance. 2 years max.

Look up phone numbers independently and don't use the phone numbers given to you by the buyer. Occassionally they will have a friend pose as their boss to tell you that they have a job when they don't.

I'd check about the condition of their last house when they left. Either the agent who sold their house or their landlord. If they don't pay you, you don't want your house tore up.


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## po boy (Jul 12, 2010)

The tenant can get one for free* here* and make sure they get one that includes all three bureaus. A mortgage broker, realtor or insurance company cannot share theirs with you. They can give a copy to the tenant and the tenant can do whatever they want to with it.

In addition, if they have good credit and previous good work history, time on the job should not be an issue.

If you have concerns with their credit and decide to do it anyway, get a good size non refundable deposit and have a real estate attorney draw up the agreement. Cash is good for the deposit, but the buyer could have paper trail issues when they apply for a loan. In addition monthly rent should be by personal check to qualify for a home loan.

Good Luck,


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## ChristieAcres (Apr 11, 2009)

po boy said:


> The tenant can get one for free* here* and make sure they get one that includes all three bureaus. A mortgage broker, realtor or insurance company cannot share theirs with you. They can give a copy to the tenant and the tenant can do whatever they want to with it.
> 
> In addition, if they have good credit and previous good work history, time on the job should not be an issue.
> 
> ...


You are correct. Here, a Mtg Broker or Insurance Agent can pull Credit, but cannot do that for private citizens nor can they do that without justifying the reason with documentation (applying for a loan or insurance). It is easy enough to contact a company who specializes in background checks if you don't trust people pulling their own credit reports. 

You cannot get a free Tri-Merge Credit Report *with Scores*. The Mid Score is the qualifying number for a Loan. It would be beneficial for a Seller to see the scores. Also, it takes more than a good Credit Score to qualify for a Loan. The DTI, Reserves, Employment, and qualifying Credit Lines are taken into account (in addition to the property itself). If you want a bit more security, why not have these Buyers meet with a Loan Officer to go over their plan to qualify?

Yes, monthly rent checks should be personal checks (canceled checks are a standard requirement). They should be dated on your rental due date, paid on time each month, and this may be a two year process...

Yes, if there are no Agents involved, I'd recommend an Attorney, also. There should be a provision for retaining the Earnest Money in the Contract, should they default. An Agent or Attorney can insure this is done correctly. I would also have this done through Escrow to protect both Parties.


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## Bricore (Sep 8, 2007)

lorichristie said:


> There are rental reference services likely local to you who charge a set fee to pull credit, and also call on rental references. I'd also agree with the suggestion for requesting they provide their credit report themselves. Experian charges $39.95 for a Tri Merge Credit Report w/Scores.
> 
> You haven't mentioned an Agent. Are you selling FSBO? If so, what contract will you be using?


Yes, we have the home listed with an Agent. 

We have to pay $1000 ($500 for each real-estate company.) Once the year is up and if they buy the home we have to pay the %6 - $1000 to the realtors for their commission. If, they can't buy the home we are still out the $1000 to the realtors but we get to keep the buyers down payment to us.

The buyers are giving us asking price for the home. We are not making a profit on it. We have it listed for about what we paid for it over 13 years ago. We have done A TON of improvements (including putting a 32X40 horse barn up, Custom Stud stalls, horse bed mats, running water, new roof on the house, new furnace, new floors, and so on..) on the house but I guess that doesn't matter in today's market.

They are paying us $3000 down (which if they can't buy the house after a year we can keep.) 
The rent they are offered to pay is a little UNDER what I pay for the house each month but not by much.
The rent they pay will not come off the price of the house. It's just rent money until they can get a loan from the bank.


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## ChristieAcres (Apr 11, 2009)

Bricore said:


> Yes, we have the home listed with an Agent.
> 
> We have to pay $1000 ($500 for each real-estate company.) Once the year is up and if they buy the home we have to pay the %6 - $1000 to the realtors for their commission. If, they can't buy the home we are still out the $1000 to the realtors but we get to keep the buyers down payment to us.*
> 
> ...


*I am hoping your Buyers' credit was evaluated and they are working with a loan officer to meet standard mtg loan requirements. Glad you were paid the $3,000 down and I hope everything works out, so you will have it sold!*


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## Bricore (Sep 8, 2007)

Thanks Christie!

It's a bitter sweet kind of thing. I really miss living there and I loved the school that my kids went to. We had to move for work. I am not happy where we live at now but work is going great. Paying two house payments for 3 years hasn't been fun. If, we sell the house maybe it'll make it easier for me to accept that I am not going back.

I told them I needed them to fill out an application and that I wanted to run a credit check on them. She said ok and that they just ran one (that's how they know it'll take another year.) I said that was fine and they could bring that with them when they filled out the paper work (I guess it can't hurt to double check things.)

Hey, I need your address again. I made something up that I'd like to send you. BTW, my kefir grains are growing like crazy!!!


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## ChristieAcres (Apr 11, 2009)

Bricore said:


> Thanks Christie!
> 
> It's a bitter sweet kind of thing. I really miss living there and I loved the school that my kids went to. We had to move for work. I am not happy where we live at now but work is going great. Paying two house payments for 3 years hasn't been fun. If, we sell the house maybe it'll make it easier for me to accept that I am not going back.
> 
> ...


*Thanks & will PM you :happy0035: Glad to hear about your Kefir Grains, too! Have you noticed any health benefits? I've been very pleased with mine.*


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## tiogacounty (Oct 27, 2005)

Please be extremely careful and investigate these "buyers" like your life depends on it. As a minimum I would want complete credit histories for ALL adults signing the contract, verifiable employment histories, two past addresses with verifiable contact information from prior landlords, and criminal background checks. Sounds paranoid? Well hopefully it does. OTOH, we watched close friends of ours suffer through years of hell in a similar deal. The buyers were flat out professional con artists who even went to the trouble of providing FAKE references, with contact #s of associates, who provided great referrals for job and rental histories. Once the criminals moved in, the horror started. It took five years to get them evicted! They even sued the owner, claiming construction defects in a house that they failed to pay any rent on. As these criminals were running out of time, they got a local builder to build them a new home, with bank financing. Certainly, this type of crime is the exception, but the fact is that it can be avoided, and your financial future depends on you protecting yourself. BTW, don't ever count on a realtor to protect you in a situation like this. The average realtor has one thing in mind, dollars in their pocket. The house is dying on the market and somebody shows up with a possible deal? They will tell you anything you want to hear. I build and sell homes for a living. I simply refuse ANY owner financing, rent to own, or contingency deal proposals any realtor attempts to sell to me. If a deal is worth doing, there is a bank that will do it. Good luck and be careful.


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## scholtefamily (Feb 25, 2010)

I agree with tiogacounty. We moved over a year ago and rented out our old house for about 14 months. These were very nice people that we really liked. Unfortunately they were unable to pay us the rent a few times and were always late and usually short when they did pay. It was quite a nightmare. We recently asked them to leave and they did, but our house is trashed. It's really sad to see someone destroy a house that you love and have taken good care of. We put the house up for sale a few months ago. Today the realtor called and said she has someone interested to come look at the house. That's exciting............right before she hung up she said they would be a rent with option to buy client. NO THANKS!!! The mess the last renters left is far too fresh for me to do that again. I wish you the best of luck, just be careful.......and it sounds like you are.


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## grandmajo (Mar 25, 2008)

I'm another that agrees with tiogacounty. You want to make sure that you check these people out really, really well. When my DH and I got married, he moved into my house and we were going to rent his house in another town. We used an online service that checked employment history, credit history and history of addresses. I also did a criminal background check. We had one guy who wanted to make the deposit right there on the spot in cash, so that he and his sons could move in right away. We told him we had to have him fill out the rental application first. He did, but left some things blank. Funny thing was though, he kept telling us that money was no problem. We ran the checks on him and found out why. He had numerous judgements against him, if I remember right something like 10 within the previous 24 months for non-payment of different kinds of bills. Also, he and one of his sons had been in prison for arsen, in fact he'd been in prison 2 times for it.

Check them out, then check them out some more and do it one more time.


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## tiogacounty (Oct 27, 2005)

Just as a general rule, don't ever let a big pile of cash sway a decision about a rental or lease purchase agreement. Grandmajo reported one angle of this issue, here is another. I have a sister who is in her mid-40s, mentally ill, and a classic product of our social services/ psychobabbler society. She is "disabled", entitled to be supported by a society that owes her everything, and blows every little bit of cash she receives on addictions. My dog has better credit. When her caretaker mother died, my brother and I needed to get her out of the family home. The bro. is a bit slippery and a professional salesman. He approached a developer with a brand new apartment complex for rent and offered a discounted rate for a year of rent, prepaid, in cash. They guy asked for a credit report, and my brother replied, "why, you have ten grand in your hand, who cares?" This guy should of been smarter, and cared, he will regret not caring shortly. The year is almost up, Sis, is a deadbeat addict, "disabled", and has an army of social services "advocates" whipping her butt, and fighting hard to keep her as dependent as they can. Guess who loses here?


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