Property Manager refuses to pull FICO Credit Scores?

[Jeff T.]

I asked my PM to provide actual credit scores instead of just the credit history. I have a hard time deciphering various delinquent accounts etc..  and just want a Credit Score to evaluate a tenant.

The PM reply is below. Any thoughts about this?

"We chose not to get FICO credit scores when we employed a credit bureau and use a debt to credit ratio. The cost with FICO scores is much higher. My former Broker did not use FICO scores. We would have to increase our application fees and sign a new agreement with the credit bureau. None of our other owners have required FICO scores. I would estimate application fees increasing from $35 per adult to $55-$60. I don’t wish to be difficult, but I’m not sure FICO scores are feasible for these reasons. Our application fees need to be in line with those other property management companies charge."

[Cara Lonsdale]

Originally posted by @Jeff T.:

@Cara Lonsdale  Thanks for the input, yes, I do want the credit history, but I have a hard time objectively determining the credit worthiness of the applicant hearing a list of the credit information over the phone from the property manager. 

If there is a list of items and they have a late payment from a few years ago and a cable collection, then some medical collection from 5 years ago, but everything else is good now.

I have a hard time judging that applicant objectively. I'm just asking for a FICO score that every lender uses to assess the creditworthiness of a borrower.

Like I said , there are good things about the PM for sure, but I feel there are some things which make things harder for me and also more expensive.

 As a landlord, ALL you should care about is what is on that credit report that will get in the way of them paying your rent.

If they have late pays on a credit card that has a $15K balance, that may be a concern.  If they have delinquent status on medical bills over $20K, that is a red flag. Huge car payment or two?

If they have some late pays 6 months ago on an account that has since been paid, that is nothing.

If they have an eviciton on their credit, no matter how long ago it was, that should be a huge red flag.

So, I guess what I am trying to convey is that YOU need to come up with the criteria that is most important to you.  Keep in mind that YOU are NOT a lender.  A lender looks at different criteria that you should be looking at.  Equally important to note is that many of the tenants that may apply are renting because they can't buy.  That 30 day late pay on their credit may be holding them up from obtaining a loan, but it shouldn't be an issue for them to rent.

FICO won't always tell you as a landlord what you want in order to compare tenants.  It is built for lending, not for leasing.