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Looking Beyond the Credit Score for Great Humble Tenants

Tenant Signing a Lease for a Humble Rental HomeFinding a good tenant is one of the most necessary skills of filling a Humble rental home.

For certain lessors, the “right tenant” is someone with a near-immaculate credit score. They make their tenant approval conclusions based on the idea that significant credit history is an assurance of a financially stable future. While credit scores are important, they don’t tell the whole story. A lessor might spurn an otherwise good tenant if too much weight is laid down on their credit score. Recognizing other things when screening applicants can help determine exceptional tenants quickly.

When screening rental applicants, property owners are right to want to know more about the tenant’s financial situation. A credit report can show a lot of particulars other than the underlying credit score, evidence that an owner can use to decide whether or not the tenant is likely to make their rental payments in full and on time. One such example, late payments on an account that is now current can bring a credit score down but also shows the applicant is now paying their bills on time.

While a former vehicle repossession or a credit card charge-off is a dealbreaker for countless property owners, it is pivotal to take into consideration that many people were badly hit years ago because of the Great Recession. Through no blunder of their own, they may have lost their profession or homes, but have since found stable employment and maintained their credit accounts well. Or, feasibly a previous medical emergency caused the candidate to fall behind on their bills or student loan fees, but they’ve made good financial choices since then. In these conditions, the score could be less significant than the tenant’s payment history over time. A few hiccups many years ago should not eliminate an otherwise worthy candidate.

To get the rationale, it’s fundamental to amass info from the applicant that is not on the credit report itself. If the would-be tenant has a good reason for their lower credit score, such as those mentioned above, that may be a reason to keep them under consideration. Also, property owners should always supplement an applicant’s credit report with references who can speak to their potential. If an applicant has a strong history of paying rent on time and a stable income, these factors may be better indicators of how they would do as a tenant than numbers on a credit report.

Tenant screening can be an elaborate process, most likely for single-family rental homes in Humble. Property owners commonly want someone who will be a stable, long-term tenant, making the decision an even more critical one. At Real Property Management Preferred, we perform a thorough screening on every applicant, from credit reports and beyond. Our property management experts know what to look for, and how to choose the best tenant for every rental property we manage. If you would like to know more about our screening process or would like to speak to someone, please contact us online or by phone at 281-894-9111.

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