prospective tenant with low credit score

[Lily Daudert]

I have a prospective tenant with a credit score of 577.  He shared his Experian credit report with me but was surprised that his score dipped down to 577.  He explained that it had gone down at least 100 points because he had recently co-signed an auto loan for someone.  He also indicated that he had also purchased a business last year and the credit report shows what appears to be related debt.  However, all the debt balances seem to be current. His current apartment is renting for $350 more than what I am asking.  He's been there for two years.  

Is that a legitimate excuse for his score being so low?  Could simply having a score of about 680 also justify all the debt that he currently has without verifiable income?  I haven't had any applicants with a score below 700 and makes me nervous.  

[Maria Keating]

I don't think anybody truly understands how the scoring works and depending on the company, you can see a difference of 100 points between the three scoring agencies (personal experience).   I would be more concerned about 'issues' than a particular score.  Any late payments?  Any collections?  Any judgments?  Those are red flags, a number, not so much.  Also be aware that most immigrants (adult immigrants at least) will have a much lower score than a comparable citizen due to a much shorter than average credit history.