All Forum Posts by: Cindy G.

We have used Smart Move twice in the last 18 months with success.

And we are about to use it again. Very satisfied.

Brian ... that is the primary reason why rental property successfully rents in the Upstate, the challenged forclosure and employment issues. it is a whole new world ... and maybe we'll be that opportunity for someone to get back on their feet, so to speak.

we have gotten copies of utility and cell and cable bills to ensure prompt payment ...

this has been truly a great source of information for us.

thanks so much ...

I am very disappointed in resulting info.

not enough specific data ... whatsoever.
for an applicant with bad credit, it hasn't given me anything but the credit collections companies, not who the original charges were from ... so how do i judge that it's not MEDICAL, for example?

no cell phone record, no utilities ... and I know they are in their names. Feh.
Easy didn't equal thorough.

In the future I will want something that gives me ALL of the credit bureaus ... for them spending $50 not sure I got what I wanted at all.
Cin.

Shawn:

We bought the house through HUD for cheap (it was all beat up). Having the skills, time and $ to do the demo and rehab ourselves made this a win for us.
We did plan for the long-hold/rental. And the changes we made (like taking down the popcorn ceiling while the house was gutted) were with an eye on the 10+year sale plan.

And we think, likely, many of the seasoned landlords wouldn't have done the rehab as we did. but we hoped that our savings in doing the work, and what we know our competition is (filthy, old, tired) might pay-off with a tenant who will appreciate/sorta care for the house...maybe.

Cin.

Jon & Teresa
... no rentals in that $500-600 range at all for about 10 miles.
development across road is $2,000 and those kids go to the same schools, so we are still in a desirable area for less $.

Prior landlord is reachable, as is transferring employer (3rd largest employer in area) and asked for relocation agreement.

Been reading up on SC eviction process ... so we are prepared, sadly, in advance.
With one unit, we're treading water slowly.
So many bad stories, we are hesitant ...

Like the idea of a discount for early pmt... thanks for that.
Also like the idea of letting them out if it's not working out for both of us and if it's in good cond ... same day deposit refund combo!

Thank you all for your input ... balancing the hard work we put into the place with finding the right tenant and the predominance of credit issues out there.

thank you Brian ... that was very helpful ...

well, we are in no hurry to rent, at all... in one month, we've had interest (hard for us to gauge what's good traffic) 30 inquiries, 15 walk thru, 3 applications, and we've turned down two already for not enough income for the rent.

we are using the points checklist ... for the application.

we hoped (maybe dreaming) for a long term tenant, based on the new condition of the house now. the rent overall is comparable for the area ... not a pool community...not brick, etc.
Adding $25-50 a month wouldn't be worth it to us to start the process over ... presuming i don't have to evict. ugh.
Cin.

thank you Jon!

... they are willing to get the co signer (likely a parent) and provide copies of utilities and cell, etc for the last three months, since SmartMove didn't really do us justice (disappointing) ...

we discussed the 2 year as his work contract is for two years, with their move ... from out of state.

...i thought giving them an opportunity to explain would give us more info upon which to make a decision ...

we did 90% of the work ourselves ... and memorialized in a blog.
www.cartwollc.blogspot.com

Cin.

Steve,
thanks for the insight ...
we used what BP had, not expecting the first one out of the box being so dismal.

What Credit Check service would you recommend using instead?
The SmartMove report only shows multiple NCO, TradeLine, etc ... all less than $1,000 each ... for a total of about $5,000.
Cin.

OK, Here are our issues:
4/2.5 house we entirely rehabbed ourselves. Our first one ...

Applicant wants a 2 yr lease, $1,125 yr 1, $1,135 yr 2
Family of 5.
Husband getting job transfer, making $50k gross.
So we used TransUnion SmartMove, got the big red DECLINE
[i]Level of delinquency on accounts
Too few bank revolving accounts
Number of accounts with delinquency
Inquiries impacted the credit score[/i]
BK in 2005:
Plus...
Scores of 580 + 591

Husband has 12 year job history w/same co., so does wife, but she has no transfer of job lined up.

What we have read on BP is many of y'all don't just use the score to eliminate ...
Do we even explore further?
Do we have them get a co-signer? (out of state)
Thanks
Cin.

With only one Single Family rental property, and no office address, I am hesitant to use MY address as the SmartMove Landlord Address. The tutorial says that information is given to the applicant.
Not sure I want someone who I don't accept having my HOME address...
Is it appropriate to use the rental property address instead?