# For those of you who are landlords...



## scholtefamily (Feb 25, 2010)

Just curious, do you run a credit check and if so, what service do you use?
Thanks.


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## okiemom (May 12, 2002)

i have a property manager who is experienced in knowing who will be a good fit. we pay him so much to find a renter and do all the background checks. this is the most important part of any rental propert!!!!!!!!!!!!!

if you skimp on this part it can cost you thousands. 

U can also hire a private investagor. go back several properties. current land lord may rave just to get them out. it is easier to get someone into a house than to get them out.


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## siberian (Aug 23, 2011)

Check out the Mr Landlord.com site, they a a few cheap places or used to.


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## scholtefamily (Feb 25, 2010)

Well, I did find a place to run the credit............looking over the report now.

What a bummer! Makes me cry, these people seem so nice and even offered to pay 3 months rent up front. Their score is in the 500 range and the report ain't pretty. 

What would you do? We rented before to people in foreclosure and it turned out bad. Not wanting to do that again, but we haven't had ANY potential renters with good credit.

Sign me, Frustrated


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## springvalley (Jun 23, 2009)

We use to own an appartment building and ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh boy what a pain in the butt they can be. Makes a big differance what part of town they are in, and some of the people you think will be great turn out to be the pitts. People that trash them, or just up and leave. I was never so glad when we sold that puppy, Sang all the way to the bank, and never again is all I can say. So Stacey, I don`t know what to tell ya, people are on the most part slobs. Good luck in finding that special tenant. > Marc


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## scholtefamily (Feb 25, 2010)

Yeah, Luck is right, I'm gonna need it. We've been trying to sell the place for over a year with no luck and decided to rent it out again........It took us over a year just to place it back up for rent. The horrors of the last tenants still linger.............


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## Bettsann (Feb 12, 2008)

In Missouri we have an online site called Missouri Case.net. I use it rather than a credit check. Case.net will tell me if they have any kind of court history. In todays economy it is hard to find a perfect credit score. But case.net will tell me if they have had any court dealings for tenant/landlord disputes, fraud, drugs, alcohol, bad checks etc. Do you have anything like that in your state? It has been a very effective tool. I tell prospective tenants that I don't run a credit check but do run case.net and I can usually tell by the look on their face wether or not they will be back! lol The bonus is that there is no charge to use the site. Maybe that is something you can look into. Lots of people have been through a tough time in the last couple of years but it doesn't mean they won't pay to keep the roof over their head and keep it clean.


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## NataliaTwoDoes (Mar 24, 2011)

Im a renter and not a landlord however, we lost a house to foreclosure when I l was laid off from my job. I cant imagine what my credit is like since I have tens of thousands of dollars of medical debt and of course before you let a house go you let the cc's go... duh  

That said we shared our issues with the landlord up front letting him know that my husband has steady guaranteed employment, that Im going to school and working again with a more reliable job. We have never been late on our rent in 2 years and will never be late on our rent. 

I think you will struggle to find anyone with good credit in this economy who isnt already purchasing a home since the prices and interest rates are crazy crazy low. I dont have any recommendations other than maybe make your lease month to month at first so you can ask them to move if you feel they are trashing the place

Good luck


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## scholtefamily (Feb 25, 2010)

Thanks for all the replies.

Bettsann, We donot have a free service like that in IL that I am aware of. I did get to a state website, but the info available for free was just public records like birth, death, marriage and divorce records. 

NatalieTwoDoes, thanks for your input as a renter. This is the case with the potential renters I am looking at. Injured at work, lots of medical debt that went to collections and now in foreclosure. They did call me the next morning after turning in their app to tell me their story. Also offered to pay a few months rent up front and we are thinking of doing a short lease. I hope it works out.


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## Waiting Falcon (Nov 25, 2010)

This can also affect owner financing .
The banks are asking for more proof, etc.

I recently had a couple highly interested in my place.
They said they were first time property owners to be
and that I believe with all the question and naive questions they were.
BUT other than giving me their first names-Matt, Lin they would 
not give me their last names or martial status. I dropped the offer.
The lack of proper names was a big NO to me more than anything else.
I could not do credit checks or anything .
I know this is not landlord matter but not far from it if you are owner financing.


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## GoldenCityMuse (Apr 15, 2009)

Pretty hard to to make any real estate transaction without last names, or SSN's.

You can do property management yourself, but it is apparently a LOT of work.

I too would be less concerned about credit score as I would rental history, and any criminal background.

Do they reliably attend a church fellowship? Ask for a lot of references, even their work information.


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## grandmajo (Mar 25, 2008)

I agree with running a credit check AND a criminal background check. No matter how nice the people seem. We were trying to rent out a house one time and this guy and his son came to have a look. Nicest people you'd ever want to meet. But the dad was just a bit too pushy, he kept telling us that money was no problem, and he had cash in his pocket for the deposit and 1st month's rent. He kept saying how much he liked the house and asking us to rent it to him.

We told him that we would be doing a credit check and he filled out the application, the whole time repeating that money was no problem. When the credit report came back we could see why money was no problem. He had 20 items where creditors had taken him to court in the last 5 years for non-payment. 

The criminal background check showed him to be a twice convicted arsonist. He listed another son as a reference, that son was also a convicted arsonist.

My husband called him and left a message stating that some things had turned up on his credit report that we'd like to discuss with him. Never heard from him ever again.


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## rickfrosty (Jun 19, 2008)

grandmajo said:


> I agree with running a credit check AND a criminal background check. No matter how nice the people seem. We were trying to rent out a house one time and this guy and his son came to have a look. Nicest people you'd ever want to meet. But the dad was just a bit too pushy, he kept telling us that money was no problem, and he had cash in his pocket for the deposit and 1st month's rent. He kept saying how much he liked the house and asking us to rent it to him.
> 
> We told him that we would be doing a credit check and he filled out the application, the whole time repeating that money was no problem. When the credit report came back we could see why money was no problem. He had 20 items where creditors had taken him to court in the last 5 years for non-payment.
> 
> ...


Wow, your story almost sends a shiver up my back ! 
I've had a lot of rents over the years & will say that 2ice the present landlord has spoken very well of people who wanted to move to my place in order to get rid of them !? 
Going to landlord prior to present one, as someone here said, seems well worth the trouble - they have no dog in the fight .
By the way I have had tenants almost burn a camp down by piling all furniture, etc. 3 ft. from porch & torching it, then later, other young tenants did burn that place down by doing a stupid kid trick w/a propane grill - then, after I rebuilt that place, the new house burned down & we never knew why. If renters made a mistake w/woodstove they never said - burned their 3 sweet dogs ?! Oh my, everyone felt pretty awfull about that.
I had a pretty crazy neighbor who was the only one around day of that last fire & I've always thought he might have done it, but ?? He is losing his house to Wells Fargo bank & I'll be glad to see him go - too bad to wish ill on anyone ?


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## grandmajo (Mar 25, 2008)

Rick, 

This gentleman wasn't renting, he owned his home so we had no previous landlord to call. He told us that he wanted to rent because his current home was too far from work. He was half truthful about that. County court records showed that he was actually losing that home to foreclosure. And the credit report revealed that he had also lost his previous home the same way. Keep in mind that this was back when the economy was good, nothing like it is now. That added to the arson history really creeped us out.

I firmly believe in using the criminal background report along with the credit report!


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## Nomad (Dec 19, 2002)

Speaking from the other side...When we were looking for a house to rent in 2009 most of the landlords ran our credit and we had no chance. We had filed bankruptcy and had our home foreclosed. I don't know what our score was but it had to be low. The landlord here didn't do it because they wanted someone in as soon as possible and evidently weren't getting any takers. But there are sometimes reasons for things as in our case when we both lost our jobs setting off a downward financial spiral. The people that turned us down lost good tenants because we have never paid late on the rent and never would. We are on a fixed income now and don't have to rely on a job to get the bills paid. We take good care of the places we live and leave them better than we find them. I suppose we are not the norm for people with bad credit, but a credit report doesn't always tell the whole story.

Nomad


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## grandmajo (Mar 25, 2008)

Nomad, 

I think your situation is a bit more unique, but I look for a series of unpaid bills. I'm pulling a credit history to see if they have a pattern over the last 7 years of consistently not paying their bills or if the credit problems are more recent. 

And considering the times we're in, I would give somebody a chance to explain why their credit rating is poor, especially if the report showed the problems to be more recent. I would also ask for their place of employment and do an employment verification with that company. 

But, if I have somebody who is less than honest (the "money is no problem statement") then I would have to question what else they're not being honest about.


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## Guest (Feb 14, 2012)

When I was a landlord, I would tell prospective tenants that I was going to run a credit, an unlawful detainer (evictions), and a criminal history check. They could fill out an application and pay about $25 up front for the checks. Strangly enough 97% of the bad ones refused to pay for the checks. 

It is much better to not rent an apartment than to rent it to the wrong person. You can get someone out of a rental but only after several months of legal wrangling (during which they don't pay rent), lawyer's fees, sherrifs fees, and court costs. Rent the movie "Pacific Heights" for a worst case senario.

You have to be careful about discrimination. Be sure and tell every prospective tenant exactly the same thing and have exactly the same requirements for each. You can write up a list of qualifications for tenants and hand them out to prospective tenants. Include requirements for a good credit check, no criminal history, good references, a minimun income level, ect.

One thing to be careful about is when one member of a gang has still got good references. You rent to them and they have the rest of the gang over as guests. You now have bad tenants. You can put a limit on the number of occupants in a unit on the lease. This would give you grounds to evict.


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## Seeria (Jul 21, 2006)

Frankly, get as detailed a report as you can. Utility bills and court judgements related to housing is what we used to avoid. Otherwise, low scores didn't bother us. How the people presented themselves, what references they had and their income was more important to us. 

I rent occasionally and can tell you that having no credit is a BILDIJFL bleep. I owe no one, all my bills are paid but I refuse to take out loans and play with credit cards. Find out why someone has a low credit score if everything else checks out.


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## oregon woodsmok (Dec 19, 2010)

I do credit, criminal back ground, eviction checks, and I also go down to the county to make sure they haven't been involved in any lawsuits. I don't want a tenant who will sue me. 

On the credit, no credit is perfectly fine, as long as they can show income. If the credit is bad, I look at why. I tend to disregard medical bills. Unfortunately nobody pays their college loans, so those are always bad. I look at how many judgements since a bankruptcy. If they have declared bankruptcy and are already back deep in debt with judgements against them, then it is NO.

Being taken to court for bad checks is a huge NO.

Any eviction, or any landlord taking them to court and getting a judgement is NO.

Anyone who offers you 3 months rent, cash in advance, is an enormous red flag. They are hoping to wave cash in front of your nose to distract you and make you forget to check up on them. A huge NO for me. Believe me. They are hiding something.


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## legacy (Oct 16, 2005)

Rental property is in high demand and you shouldn't settle for anythin less than someone with great credit, a steady job (if there is such a thing any more) and a clean criminal record. I would also call the applicant's place of employment and confirm the length of time on the job, and if possible, the stability of the position.

It often doesn't make any difference, but let the applicants know that you are -- without a doubt -- going to be running the background and credit checks and calling their employer. You might also provide applicants with a simple list of the items that would disqualify them before they ever get around to filling out an application. For example, I saw an an on-line employment application that listed the disqualifications (a shop lifting conviction, for example) that would absolutely get your application thrown out.


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## copperkid3 (Mar 18, 2005)

report right up front; our percentage was actually higher than yours.....usually when mentioned that we always 
ran one and what it costs, if they had ANY credit problems, they would end the conversation and leave then and 
there.....had one guy finally spout off after he assured me that they were as good as gold: *"What's the sense 
of wasting $25 bucks....you're going to find out anyway and then won't rent to us?!!!" * He was right......and 
they saved themselves (and us) a lot of aggravation, further on down the road. 

Which where I last saw them going......
*********************************************


Nimrod said:


> When I was a landlord, I would tell prospective tenants that I was going to run a credit, an unlawful detainer (evictions), and a criminal history check. They could fill out an application and pay about $25 up front for the checks. Strangly enough 97% of the bad ones refused to pay for the checks.
> 
> It is much better to not rent an apartment than to rent it to the wrong person. You can get someone out of a rental but only after several months of legal wrangling (during which they don't pay rent), lawyer's fees, sherrifs fees, and court costs. Rent the movie "Pacific Heights" for a worst case senario.
> 
> ...


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## GrannyCarol (Mar 23, 2005)

My daughter considered renting a place last year (she rooms with family atm) and every apartment required a background check and asked for the $25 up front. She would have passed, but decided to stay where she was for now. She's saving for a down payment on her own place.


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## whodunit (Mar 29, 2004)

Not sure if this has been mentioned already, but I used to ask for a non-refundable "application fee" that covered the cost of the credit check. I cautioned them if they had bad credit I would not rent to them and get into line for my money behind the rest of the creditors. I also offered to deduct the amount from the first month's rent. It seemed to weed out "bad" renters. 

Also, think twice about rent money in advance. It sounds like a good idea, but if they violate your rental contract but have paid upfront, they pay more difficult to evict , if necessary.


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## Saffron (May 24, 2006)

My friend has been trying to get an apartment for the last 2 weeks. She is a single mom who has just left an abusive relationship and moved a couple hundred miles away for safety. Her credit is great, but everywhere is requiring 3 months local employment (hello - she's moving!), two months rent plus deposit, and background check. The problem is the employment. She has to find a local job(transfer if it goes through), but she has quite a bit in savings so paying the rent for 6 months is not an issue. And there is income in regards to child support and a roommate, so the rent will be paid.

I sympathize with landlords - been there; but I sure do sympathize with tenants who are in situations like her.


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## NorthCountryWd (Oct 17, 2008)

Have a property management company and used many different services to run checks over the years, but now have a local one. They aren't as cheap as some of the online ones, but they are much more thorough. You should check your area for one as well and make sure they run national searches.

To be honest, a credit report of most renters is going to have some blemishes on it in this economy. Criminal checks are a different story and absolutely must be clean IMHO. If prospective tenants have a clean criminal background, permanent employment and at least one rental reference (plus first, last & security), I'll rent to them regardless their credit score and haven't regretted it yet.


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## oregon woodsmok (Dec 19, 2010)

[[[.......savings so paying the rent for 6 months is not an issue. And there is income in regards to child support and a roommate, so the rent will be paid......]]]]]

I will accept someone who is just moving into the area if they can show me bank statements that prove they have _rent_ money for 6 months. Savings equal to 6 months rent is not rent money for more than a month or two. People have other expenses on top of rent.

I will not count child support. That is the child's money, not the parents. Not to mention about 75% of the fathers out there never pay their child support, and those who pay are often late. I'm not waiting for rent while the tenant waits for their child support payment.

If there is a roommate, I want the application from the roommate at the exact same time for the same screening. None of this "Oh no problem. I don't have an income but I plan to get a roommate". Show me the roommate now. I accept cash, not promises.

Of course, Saffron, if you have excellent credit and lots of income and are so certain that your friend would pay on time every month, I would accept you as cosigner for your friend. Then I wouldn't worry about getting paid the rent, because you would be paying it if your friend didn't.

In all seriousness, people with no jobs and very little income need to rein in their expectations about what they can afford to rent. Your friend can maybe afford a 1 bedroom in an older apartment building in a marginal area instead of thinking she deserves what she was used to with 2 incomes.


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## Saffron (May 24, 2006)

oregon woodsmok said:


> [[[.......savings so paying the rent for 6 months is not an issue. And there is income in regards to child support and a roommate, so the rent will be paid......]]]]]
> 
> I will accept someone who is just moving into the area if they can show me bank statements that prove they have _rent_ money for 6 months. Savings equal to 6 months rent is not rent money for more than a month or two. People have other expenses on top of rent.
> 
> ...



Hehehe - I don't cosign for ANYONE! Period. Not family, not friends. There might be an exception, but I'll face that if it shows up. Oh, and I'm "retired", so no income.

My friend received an inheritance and has it stashed in her savings so she has 6 months rent plus additional expenses in there with no issue. Her roommate is her mother who she "cares" for and the mother cares for her kids (free childcare), the mother receives disability check each month and a portion of that is towards rent and expenses. The mother has no credit due to never working and being on permanent disability. But she has regular "income" from the disability.

My friend did get an apartment thankfully, and has a minimum wage job and is searching for a better paying job. So everything has sort of worked out at the moment. Hopefully, it will all fall into place for her soon.


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