Sadly, I can tell you some do not. We not only run a credit report but we get the FICO scores as well. From time to time a tenant will find themselves in financial difficulty. Who hasn’t been there once in a while? What we are looking for is the fact that they are out of, or climbing out of their difficulty. In recent times quite a number of very good tenants have previously lost their homes in foreclosure. If the remainder of their credit report suggests no other major issues they are a potentially good risk. Surprisingly many owners acting for themselves never even run a credit report. Furthermore, they do not check employment or previous landlords. Occasionally, the current landlord might give a favorable report just to be rid of a troublesome tenant, but usually the prior landlord will be truthful. Sometimes it is wise to verify the source of a reference. A crafty tenant might even supply a name or two of friends who will attest to the worthiness of their friend. The old adage inspect don’t expect applies here. We suggest you not take a credit report run by someone else. It is not that hard to cut and paste or clean up with a few judicious strokes photocopy and deliver.
Get written job verifications and when possible written landlord verifications too.
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