Credit score slightly lower than 650 - Reject or Approve?

[Bob Drew]

We require all adults in the household to have a minimum of 650 as their credit score. I had a young couple see the house and they are interested in moving forward with the application process. However, the guy says he has a score of 642 due to student loans. He says he has no debt. They also said the lady has a 720+ score. None of these have been verified by me yet. Since we require a 650 minimum, my questions are:

1. Should I accept the application once these scores are verified although one of them doesn't meet our requirements?

2. Should I ask them for their combined gross salary to determine the rent to income ratio? (What's the standard ratio used)

3. I am not sure if they are married or not. Does the relationship change the equation in some way?

4. On a unrelated question, they plan on getting a dog 6 months from now. I mentioned that there will be a pet rent and a deposit based on the breed/weight of the dog (they are not sure what they'll be getting). We didn't discuss numbers. When they get a pet and they are not willing to pay the pet fee, what happens then? Also, is there usually a 12 month renewal from the day they bring in a dog since the lease will need to be amended?

Thanks

[Wayne Brooks]

1 reason for the score is more important than the score

2 of course, that should be part of your normal inquiry

3 not to most people

4 the pet language should be in your base lease, if you accept pets.  It wouldn’t trigger a new lease when they get a pet