Renting to someone who just graduated - need cosigners?

[Vivian Huang]

Hi all!

I live in my 2B/2B condo and I'm hoping to rent out the 2nd bedroom. I found someone who just graduated from college and said that she doesn't have the best credit because of some credit card mistakes she made in college. However, she said that her parents will be helping her pay for rent for the first few months and that I could check her parents credit background.

What should I do to verify she or her parents will be able to pay? Do I have her parents cosign on the lease? If so, how do I do that? Should I still check both their credit backgrounds?

The rental will likely be short term (6 mo- 1year), so it's a not long commitment, but I still want to make sure I do my due diligence and avoid any potential headaches! Especially since she'll be living under the same roof as me.

Thanks in advanced!

[Karl B.]

I did this with a tenant who was/is still going to nursing school. Her credit score was alright but she a few past credit issues which were explained to me but were still concerning. I had her dad co-sign and I checked his credit. He has a good-paying job and it turned out great as my tenant has been absolutely wonderful. 

100% have one of or both of her parents co-sign. It likely won't be an issue (if they refused that would be surprising) plus the more people responsible for having the rent paid, the better.