Question on TU SmartMove, please help ASAP

[Abe Osman]

Hello all!

Completed our most recent rental rehab, and this time we decided to start using TU SmartMove to screen tenants. I have some questions, please let me know ASAP as I need to make a decision within 48 hours. 

When sending an application to a prospective tenant, what is the difference between a Joint Applicant and a Co-Signer? There are 2 distinct boxes

Also, see the screenshot below. SmartMove recommended both a a DECLINE and an ACCEPT depending on where I look. This is confusing. Are they telling me to accept based on the 2 renters together, but decline if they are individually applying? Please clarify?

Lastly, in this example below, the tenant has a Resident Score of 783 which at face value appears rather high, despite having a few late payments on the credit report and a relatively high debt to income ratio. I'm used to seeing credit reports all day long (work related) and I must say with the late pays and amount of open credit for this applicant, I would have expected a score closer to 620-650. However, TU says they evaluate not on their payment history of debts, but their likelyhood to pay rent based on TU's internal matrix. I guess I have to put a lot of faith in TU's calculations? 

The rent is $1200/mo, the applicants together have an income of 3200/mo, and are unrelated room mates. 

[Andrea Collatz]

Hi @Abe Osman

I’m a representative with TransUnion SmartMove. To answer your question about the recommendation, SmartMove recommends that you decline each applicant individually, but together SmartMove recommends that you accept. This often occurs when each individual applicant does not have enough income to cover the rent but their joint income is sufficient. As some of the other commenters have mentioned, a co-signer is a third-party who offers a guarantee of payment on the lease while a joint applicant is also applying to live at the rental property. Lastly, ResidentScore is based on the applicant’s credit history and is designed to help interpret a credit report for you (the score range is 0-999). If you have any further questions please reach out to me through Bigger Pockets. Thanks!