Large Maryland Apartment Complex told me I had to get a high score to qualify for apartment (leasing, tenant)
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I am moving to Rockville MD and are out looking at apartments. I applied to live at one and the rental agent told me I had to be accepted to live there. (I felt like I am applying for a job, only the elites are accepted!)
I asked how the application process worked and she said they are using state of the art property management software, maybe "American Tenant Screen" that will instantly look me up using a variety of Internet databases to give me a score based on my credit, criminal, employment, rental and or mortgage background. If I get a certain score I am in, if I drop below the required score, I am not selected and my application fee of $50 is lost.
I am curious how they determine my score and why a score one point below a certain point says I am a bad person and one score above that point can say I am great. It seems like a lawsuit waiting to happen because maybe people who score lower may be ethnic minorities.
Do you have more information on how they determine the score and what goes into the the decision making on what makes a good or bad score?
This is standard procedure and perfectly legal. If the "passing grade" is a B+ and you get a C+ you don't pass. They've told you what they look for in a background check and their decision isn't arbitrary but simply based on facts translated to numbers. There's no "lawsuit waiting to happen" nor is the practice legally discriminatory. If someone scores low it has nothing whatsoever to do with their ethnicity but on their credit score and other relevant factors which have been explained to you.
You can perform your own background check on yourself for a few dollars to find out your score and I'm sure others on this forum will tell you how to do that so that you have an idea of what in your background might put you out of the running.
It's exactly like applying for a job....rent to the wrong tenant and you're out $$$, hire the wrong employee and you're out $$$$.
They will run a complete credit check, they will also check for evictions and judgements, they will check to make sure you have enough income, they might also check your personal references.
If for some reason your application is rejected, ask them why it was rejected.
I read some where that statistically Blacks and Hispanics of the same income level are more likely to have lower credit scores so if a 100 Blacks or Hispanics at random applied for the apartment at the fancy complex, then there is a much better chance that they will be turned down. The scoring system seems racist to me.
I read some where that statistically Blacks and Hispanics of the same income level are more likely to have lower credit scores so if a 100 Blacks or Hispanics at random applied for the apartment at the fancy complex, then there is a much better chance that they will be turned down. The scoring system seems racist to me.
Despite what you've read, a background check doesn't include ethnicity and is based PURELY on numbers. It matters not whether you're white, black, pink, yellow or purple. On a background check you're just a name and a number. As suggested, run a check on yourself and see what comes up.
I read some where that statistically Blacks and Hispanics of the same income level are more likely to have lower credit scores so if a 100 Blacks or Hispanics at random applied for the apartment at the fancy complex, then there is a much better chance that they will be turned down. The scoring system seems racist to me.
The leasing agents might be racist, but the scoring system is not.
The leasing agents might be racist, but the scoring system is not.
So far no one can tell me exactly what goes into this magic score. Or what percent of the population would get the magic score needed to be accepted?
If I apply for a credit card and get turned down it does not cost me any money to apply. I can also check my credit score and look at my credit report and see how my FICO score compares to the rest of the population. But this rental score system is scary in my opinion. They WON'T tell me what the cut off score is, or what I would have to have in my record to get the score I need. IF I am turned down they won't tell me why, they will just tell me I was not accepted. It sounds like a scary future America where you will have to pay money to apply for jobs and then when you are rejected you won't know why.
Getting an apartment will soon be something only for the elite, even if you have the money they can still tell you that you are not good enough for them!
^^^ With all due respect you are talking nonsense. I suggest you simply ask in this thread for landlords familiar with the background check process to advise you where you can go to do an extended background check on yourself which is over and above the information you can easily obtain freely and with which you seem to be familiar. If after that you remain dissatisfied with the accepted procedure involved you can go to one of the other relevant forums and start a debate on the subject to express your opinions. Good luck!
You are entitled for a free credit report from all three major agencies once per year. I suggest that you get yours for free and see where you stack up.
I use a landlord/tenant screening process, and they pull all credit reports, national police and court records on a person and then they give me a score based on that. The tenant screening process looks for lifestyle, and not race.
So if you have been late in paying bills, or have an eviction in your record, or are otherwise a terrible tenant, it is not racist in the least bit to get denied from renting the nicer places. Its what makes them nicer in the first place.
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