Everything seems good but their credit. Should I rent to them?

[Tim Ball]

I am looking to put tenants into my first rental.  Exciting stuff.  I have two tenants who pass the sniff test with landlord references, solid job, etc.  One tenants credit is not that good due to being young and not really building credit until recently so not a lot of activity.  The other tenant credit is very poor.  I spoke to her and she seemed pretty honest as to why it was the way it was from, being young and making some dumb decisions, going on tour for the Army and letting bills lapse when she is gone like cable bill and stuff like that.  I asked her if she is taking steps to pay her debts down and she said she is working with a debt consolidation company to tackle it.  She really wants to buy a house one day and she understands she needs to get her debt under control.  

As landlords, I know the most important is that tenants pay in full and on time and it seems both tenants have done that through my research.  No criminal record or evictions.  They are willing to sign a 2 year lease.  I just wanted to know your thoughts.  Thanks for the help!

[Marcus Johnson]

Credit score or credit report? I don't put much emphasis on the score because hat could mean the person loves to use credit a lot and borrows all the time and has a lot of available credit. I prefer to look at the credit report which actually shows their number of creditors they owe and if their payments have been on time.