Tenant Screening Reports - Overview

Identity theft is a growing problem which has made a lot of things difficult for all of us.  This includes obtaining someone's Credit Report.  We realize some landlords can effectively screen their applicants WITHOUT a Credit Report.  So, now you have two options.

A few years ago it was fairly simple to obtain someone's Credit Report.  You had to have the applicant's written permission and a legitimate business reason to obtain the report.  The have rules changed!  Now you must Register with the Credit Bureaus AND your office must be inspected.

Registration is easy.  You complete an on-line form and fax a few documents to the Credit Bureau. Typically your account is setup in about 24 hours.  Cost is $35.00.

Next, your business office must be inspected. Click Here for inspection requirements.  Basically the inspector's job is to verify that you really are who you claimed in the Registration and to make certain you have reasonable security in your office. If yours is a commercial office there is a one-time fee of $75.00.  If you have a home office it must be inspected every year at a cost of $75.00 each year..

Considering how sensitive is the information in someone's Credit Report it's hard to demand less security.  Still, if you own 5 rental properties, work from home, and pull just four or five screenings per year a $75.00 annual inspection fee is pretty steep.

An Alternative
Effective Tenant selection involves far more than just a Credit Report and many landlords can select a good tenant without a Credit Report.  Generally, a wise landlord must verify four things (see The Big Four):

• Net Family Income
• Criminal History
• Rental History
• Credit History

The fact is, in most cases the Credit History is the least important of all of these.  In fact, if the applicant makes enough money, has a history of paying their rent on time, has no significant criminal history, and their last two landlords like them, who cares if they are maxed out on their credit cards or they owe a bunch money to a hospital.  Their history shows they understand paying the rent and maintaining the property is most important.

Today, Landlords Have Two Registration Options:

• Registration Including Credit Reports - every report INCLUDING Credit Report
  • Requires full registration ($35.00 one time fee)
  • Requires annual inspection of the landlord's home office ($75.00 per year) or . . .
  • Requires one time inspection of the landlord's commercial office ($75.00 one time).
• Registration Excluding Credit Reports - every report EXCEPT Credit Report.
  • One time Registration required but no fee.
  • No inspection required.

Here is the complete list of Tenant Screening Reports availalble

So, the question is do YOU need a Credit Report in order to adequately screen a rental applicant?

Click On A Button Below To Register Now

How To Get A Free Credit Report
Oddly enough, there is a way to obtain a rental applicants' Credit Report without an inspection.  When the Feds changed the laws governing Credit Reports, they also created a way for all of us to obtain our own Credit Report for free:  www.AnnualCreditReport.Com. 

So, if you feel you must see your rental applicant’s Credit Report have them order it from www.AnnualCreditReport.Com.  It’s absolutely free by law.  You can review the report with them and make your decision.

The difficulty caused by identify thieves may have made the once easy to get Credit Report far too costly for some landlords given the relatively small benefit It provides in verifying the information given in a rental application and interview.