Tenant Screening- Limited Credit History at 50 years old?..

[Jim Murphy]

I recently posted a listing for a unit in my 2-family which has had a lot of traction. An overwhelming amount of inquiries flooded through my inbox in the passed week. I tried to narrow it down to only a handful of people, and scheduled times for them to view the unit. I emailed applications- which I learned may have not have been the best approach, since it seems like it slowed down the process a decent amount, but I would like to make a decision and commit to someone so I can take this listing down and be at peace knowing I selected the right tenant for this unit!

I have an applicant-

Mr. Joe Schmoe

62 years old

$4,300 a month gross income

Plans on retiring in 3 years, wants to downsize to a more affordable unit in preparation.

All seems great to me so far, but upon running his information (I used "MyRental" for the credit/background check), found that he has an extremely limited credit history? The website provided me with a little "flag" that stated:

" The information reported by the selected credit bureau shows that the credit file for this applicant is less than three years old."

It shows 4 "tradelines," two of which are car loans- one is his, the other a cosign for his girlfriend's lease. The other 2 being a closed furniture store credit line of $2,200 and a closed $500 limit credit card account. 

He's got 3 accounts in collections:

$150 medical.

$355 CapitalOne which states "dispute resolved- customer disagrees."

$995 for a local apartment complex for which he claims never to have lived at.

I am very new to this whole process so I have not seen many different cases or scenarios pertaining to screening or anything, but I can't seem to figure out how someone can be a previous home owner, approaching retirement, with 3 years credit history. Is there something I'm missing or not comprehending with the report? I've seen a few applicants with no credit history who live with family or someone that has some kind of credit, but can't understand how you can live on your own with no credit history this day and age. What am I missing here?