Tenant Credit Screening Advice.....

[Dana Tenebruso]

Need some advice...Im renting a condo unit and have gotten lots of interest but seems like every time I run a credit screening Im seeing very low scores (with substantial old debt). Im starting to think Im being too harsh with rejections based on this. What are you all looking for when credit screening your tenants? (assume they make just enough to meet the income requirements...income 3x monthly rent).  

I haven't encountered this in the past as much and don't want to turn away potentially good tenants but wondering if I need to shift my standards in this post pandemic life or stand tight and just wait for more qualified potential. (Just for sake of numbers - I've run 9 candidates and have turned down 9 for pretty much the same reason).

[David K.]

We use a candidate scoring system. Hits a bunch of categories and assigns a number based on where they are. That way no one category makes or breaks the applicant. Income, Rental History, Payment History, Credit, Employment, Bank Balance, DTI and a few others. There are a few automatic denials, like open bankruptcy, current eviction. Then we have a few criteria that can require additional security deposits.

All you have to do is score above X number and you're in.

I CANNOT TELL YOU HOW MANY STORIES I DON'T HAVE TO LISTEN TO NOW. It's wonderful.

Smartest thing we ever did.