Running a Credit Report as a Landlord

If this family was open and honest enough to tell you about the short sale of their home maybe its worth giving them a chance. I can bet you their credit report isn't pretty. If you feel they are a good match sit down and be very open with them rent has to be paid. You can get a rental agreement written up with them and stick to it. If they had to do a short sale because they were in over their heads financially because of today economy maybe its worth given them a fresh start. They may really love and take care of the home better than a person with a good credit score. If this was you in ther position what would you want someone to do for you?

I probably have an opposite opinion of what you will be getting. My friend rents houses and she has found that the BEST RENTERS you can get are ones with bad credit. Although this sounds counterintuitive it isn't. As long as you have some one with a good job (so the money comes in, and they are not moving around b/c of job) and bad credit (so they can't up and buy a house 6 months from now) you have a good renter. Because of the bad credit you have people that are stuck renting from you for YEARS, one of her renters has been there for a decade! Her other house is a duplex and one side has been there for 5 years and the other for 3. This is so much better than having to go in ever 3-6 months or yearly to clean/repaint etc. She has practically no upkeep on her houses becaus the people are stuck there and treat it like their home. (She hasn't repainted any of the homes yet!) So I would pocket the money from the credit report as long as you know they have a good job and haven't been moving around a lot. I would call their references though. Much more important than their credit score.

I don't have an answer for you, but I will tell you this... My hubby and I both had terrible credit when we moved into the house we have now. BUT, we ALWAYS paid our rent! We told our new landlord this when we moved in but told them to call our last landlord as to our rental history. We have always maintained a clean house and yard and have lived in our current rent house for 5 years with no problem. We are working on past debt in order to eventually buy our own home, but have never not paid our rent! Don't judge a book by it's financial cover alone.

I used to have a rental and sold back in 05. I used to run credit, but really with today's economy, I don't know who has good credit. You are not loaning money and would treat it the same with good or bad credit if they didn't pay their rent timely.

I have seen it all when it comes to renters. People with good credit pay late. They know it is not going to hit their credit so they just pay the penalty. People with bad credit may pay timely, as they want to be sure they always pay for the place they lay their head at night. I would say, write a good enough contract and charge a late fee for late payments.

Call a credit office and ask them how to go about getting a credit report on a perspective renter. I believe that there are also organizations for land lords that would be helpful for you to join. In today's world it's not so simple to rent to other people. For one thing you need special insurance as a land lord.

I know that there is a Land Lord/Tenant organization in Portland. You can find their phone number in the phone book. You do need to talk with other experienced land lords so that you can be proactive for yourselves.

If you can't find an organization to help you, I urge you to contact an attorney before renting out your house. You do not want to have legal difficulties because of your lack of information.

Well the credit report isn't going to be the greatest if they are short selling their house. They can't afford their house but I bet they can afford the rent. But I say this. A credit check doesn't tell you who these people are, their intentions and how they will care for your place. My LL did a check on us and our credit was not great and he liked us anyway. We have been living here 4 years and have not been late once. We are the perfect tenants, clean, take out the garbage, and if they need me to sign for a package , they live downstairs, I do. When I lost my job I was upfront and told them right away. They told us not to worry good things happen to good people and they even lowered the rent by $100. Don't judge a book by it's credit report.

I've done this for 10+ years for myself and for other people....and after going to enough seminars and things the one thing you will find is credit doesn't tell you much. Eviction history, criminal background and employment verification will do waaaay more to tell you what kind of people you're talking to.

I had a potential tenant, clean cut, nice family, nice car, fill out an app and they'd had 14 (fourteen!!!!) evictions over the last several years. They move in, never pay a dime, get kicked out and move on. Almost *everyone* has credit issues, but only bad people have a criminal background or eviction on their record.

GL!!!!

If the short sale has already gone through, their credit may not be the greatest. We own 2 rental properties and we used to run credit checks. Now we go with our gut instincts. I know it's scary, but it's a chance we take and have never gotten burned. Good luck!

We live in WA but use Bemrose Consulting in Portland, OR. http://www.bemroseconsulting.com/ They are great! It costs $40 per applicant and they find criminal history, employment history and rental history and credit. They are quick and friendly and give you a recommendation and then good advice over the phone to follow up, if you need it. Good luck.

I am an apartment manager and I use NTN, you can look them up online. My only advice is this: everyone is "so nice" when they are trying to rent something from you. It isn't until afterwards that you get to see who they really are. I would run a credit check, make sure to check previous rental history as well as employment verification and look at their pay stubs. You have to make sure they are going to pay on time as well as being nice or else you will get your selves in to a lot of trouble.
Good luck!

You have good advice from the other moms. I have a rental as well and use Bemrose Consulting in Portland, OR. You need to get more than the credit history - you need a dmv check, criminal history and rental history as well (they call references). However, even though Bemrose calls references for you, I would also highly recommend that you call the references that are NOT friends or family (former landlords if they had one in the pat 5 years), and employers. When you call employers, don't call the person/phone number they provide but look up the company and call their main number and then ask if the person works there and who their supervisor is. Then contact that supervisor. I have had applicants submit false employment contacts before.
http://www.bemroseconsulting.com/

I have recently become a landlord as well. The absolute best way to go about it is through a realtor or property management. They dont have to be hired as a manager, but they can run the credit for you and give their opinion/suggestions on the perspective renter. I would advise against signing a lease without it, even if they are the nicest people ever. The realtor we went through only charged the credit check fee, which we charged to the renters. They had a few less than perfect marks, which we were ok with and they have been awesome.

We also have a rental and use NTN (National Tenant Network). Our current renters were forthcoming about their bad credit, so we chose not to run a report. Instead, we talked to their last 2 landlords, did employment verifications, and collected 3 months' rent as a security deposit.

Unfortunately, our situation is not turning out well. They have yet to pay rent on time, and we've had to file eviction papers every month for the last 5 months (even went to court once). Our only saving grace is the large deposit we collected.

Be smart, and don't let the fact that they're "nice" and forthcoming direct your decision to rent to them. Check references (although this may not be a guarantee of good payments) and collect a large deposit.

I think my husband used e-renter fro our tentant checks ( I will let you know for sure tomorow he is sleeping right now). I would asvise rent be due on 1st late by 5th and charge a late fee for each day it is late. We had renters and learned the hard way, if its a one time late fee it does not push them to pay any faster. Also be sure to take lots of pictures before they move in and after they move out incase of any damage. Make sure you are aware of all laws and renters rights in your area so you can be sure of everything and have some $$ put aside incase anything breaks or they fail to pay. Out of the 3 renters we have had 2 have been wonderful and we had one bad that didnt pay and we had to evict. If you have nay more ?s feel free to mess me and I will double check the credit report thing with my husband and let you know for sure tomorow. Have them pay for it (cause the likely hood if they dont want to pay the $20 fee then you dont want to worry about them paying rent every month or that they have something to hide). Oh and you can get a rental agreeement fill in the blank from almost anywhere.

I am in the rental business and being first time rentees I would suggest you get a property manager. Even if you use them just to check references, bank accounts (they need enough to pay the rent) and background checks.

N.

As a land lord and realtor in the State of WA, and an agent who works with short sales I would say in this case it is not that helpful to run a credit report, their credit is likely trashed. It could be helpful to do if only to see what all they have defaulted on. I would more find out what put them into the situation of a short sale. I would also make sure you got to see the home they are in now. ( find an excuse to show up)

I would also make sure you have 10 references and talk to all of them. I think in this case these things might be more telling than a credit report. I would ask for generous deposits as well. If you want a credit report, call a trusted lender and ask for their help on how to do one, they run them all the time.

It seems like you should call your credit union or bank for that information about credit checking. I would not have anyone sign a lease! Just rent month to month and see if they are a good fit. You don't want to end up having people that you can't get out of the house it doesn't work. My sister in law works for an organization called CAT in Portland that has and can give you information so you are a good landlord.

Hi Nicole, What you may want to do in this case is check your state small claims database. There credit may be shot as far as the short sale is concerned. However, if they ever rented before and stiffed the landlord or destroyed the place there may be a claim on file.

Nicole,
I use Rental Research Inc out of Federal Way, WA . Take a look at their website at http://www.researchinc.net. It has alot of good info even if you don't decide to use them. Over time, you'll find that being a landlord means you go by your gut feeling with the best info you can get but as you can see, you'll probably find out your gut isn't as in tune as you may think. There are alot of people who make a habit out of taking advantage of nice people. Its easier to set strict rules from the beginning and follow them as much as possible. I like to run the credit, criminal and eviction reports just so I know where they've been in the past. If you tell them that you are going to do this and they know they have huge problems, they will sometimes "bow out" knowing there isn't any point but not always. I have run some reports that I was VERY glad to know about and deny the rental. Good Luck!
K.