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"When was the last time you ran your credit report?" That is now my telephone contact "phrase that pays." When they say, "Uh, never," or "Not in a couple of years," I tell them to type "ftc.gov" into Google and follow the link to a free (per federal law) credit report via the Federal Trade Commission website. This way the prospective tenant doesn't throw away $15.00 (what we charge for a credit check per person) and we don't go through the hassle of generating an Adverse Action / Denial Letter informing them they've been turned down due to credit history issues. Try it, it costs you (or them) nothing.
Do you do the same thing with each applicant every time, i.e. Fair Housing? If not you might want to consider doing so. The best practice is to apply your policies equally to every person, every time.
"When was the last time you ran your credit report?" That is now my telephone contact "phrase that pays." When they say, "Uh, never," or "Not in a couple of years," I tell them to type "ftc.gov" into Google and follow the link to a free (per federal law) credit report via the Federal Trade Commission website. This way the prospective tenant doesn't throw away $15.00 (what we charge for a credit check per person) and we don't go through the hassle of generating an Adverse Action / Denial Letter informing them they've been turned down due to credit history issues. Try it, it costs you (or them) nothing.
I would never pay for the "privilege" of having a prospective landlord pull my credit report.
I've rented a place from which I had to move when it was foreclosed - why is running credit reports a one-way street?
I have run credit on applicants but great credit doesnt mean they will make the payments and terrible credit doesnt mean they won't make the payments. There are so many other factors to look at.
Criminal History is a much bigger issue to me and that is the report we do run on every person who we are planning on renting to. I care more if you have drug or theft convictions in your recent history than I do if you missed a credit card payment two years ago. My personal credit has been terrible but we have never missed a rental or house payment in our lifetime.
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Exactly...