How to Check a Person's Credit for a Rental
Save yourself a lot of money by checking credit reports before taking on a new tenant or rental customer. You could be a landlord renting an upstairs apartment or a neighborhood merchant renting small appliances. In either case, a credit check can help you avoid customers with bad credit or insufficient income to pay.
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Instructions
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Open an account with one of the three national credit credit reporting agencies: TransUnion, Experian or Equifax. Use Google, Bing or another search engine to find their websites. You will find information on each of the sites for purchasing consumer credit reports.
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Consult with your attorney on the documents needed to legally check someone's credit. The person seeking to rent from you will have to provide permission for the credit check. The credit reporting agencies may be able to provide you with the proper forms.
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Learn all about credit reports, their terminology and how to make credit decisions based on the data. A wealth of information is available online. Enter "understanding credit reports" in any major search engine for helpful links. Learn about red flags on a credit report, such as judgments, liens, charge-offs and late payments. Learn about the differences in credit scores. For example, CNNmoney.com says scores between 620 and 650 indicate good credit. You may decide on different standards.
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Pull credit reports after receiving permission from potential renters. After opening accounts with one or more of the credit bureaus, you should be able to pull the reports electronically using a personal computer. After reviewing the reports, you may decide to extend credit based only on the consumer's overall credit score, which will be included with the report. Make your rental decisions after reviewing the data.
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Tips & Warnings
If you are renting a house or apartment, open an account with a company providing credit check services for landlords. The companies will pull each renter's credit report from one of the credit bureaus, verify their address and social security number and provide any public information about bankruptcies, liens or judgment notices. The company will also provide a written assessment of their ability and willingness to pay financial obligations. Enter "tenant screening" in a major search engine to find listings of these companies.
