Tenants with good and bad credit scores

Investor · Brooklyn, NY · Member since 2014 · 231 posts · 12 votes

Dear BP family,

I have encountered an interesting issue here; a sister and a brother are interested in renting a house of mine, the brother has a good credit score but the sister doesn't. How should I look at it? What's the best way for me to protect myself in case they have a fight and decided not to live together anymore?

Thank you all in advance,

Eli K

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Nathan GesnerBusiness Member
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Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes
7y
I use a score sheet that scores each individual on 10 different criteria (credit score, income:rent ratio, length of employment, Landlord reference, etc.). After scoring the brother/sister separately, I would combine their score for a total and then determine if they are denied, approved, or approved with contingencies.
That's probably too much for you so I would just consider the general risk of each individual. If he has great credit and hers is just good, then it's probably acceptable. If his is Good and hers is Bad, then I would probably charge them a larger deposit to off-set the risk.
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Kenny Dahill
Investor · Tempe, AZ · Member since 2018 · 1k+ posts · 731 votes
7y
@Eli M., I completely agree with Nathan.
I would imagine the brother would not allow his sister to hurt his credit score as well. Perhaps she's only got a lot of student debt. I would investigate a little more and find the reasons her credit score isn't good.
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