Rigid Credit Check Rules

While I’m a renter, not a building owner, I understand the motivation behind doing credit checks for tenants but I’m having trouble understanding why so many owners are so very rigid about it. I must admit that I’m posting out of a place of frustration but I feel like I need to reach out to the individuals renting out apartments in Brooklyn.  Run a credit check on me and you’ll see that my score is poor as a result of money mismanagement when I was a college student and a few years post-graduation as well. If that’s all there was to look at, well then I’d see why I was getting rejected from apartments or discouraged from applying in the first place. Everything else, however, is on point if not stellar. For all of the apartments in my price range, my income is well over 40 times the rent. I have an excellent rental history – despite my mishandling of credit cards as a 21 year old, I’ve always ensured there would be a reliable roof over my head by paying my rent on time, all the time. I have no pets. No children. Not that it matters, but I have multiple degrees. I don’t have parties. I don’t do drugs. I don’t paint the walls. I don’t break things. I’m pretty much a model tenant. Oh, except for the bad credit thing.  Again, I know that checking one’s credit is important and can tell you a lot but it will never tell you the whole story. I would imagine that in this day and age, there are many individuals working to repair bad credit who would otherwise good tenants. I would also imagine that a landlord would be anxious to fill their vacant space with the right person, not just the right number.  I’m reminded of standardized testing like the SAT. There’s value in the test, for sure, but it’s not all colleges take into consideration because that’s not the best indicator of performance and compatibility. Why then are so many of you relying so heavily on credit scores?  I fear that despite my good rental history, salary and other winning qualities (minus the occasional impulsive forum posting), that I’ll never find a decent place in Brooklyn.

n1101

in Landlord 13 years and 8 months ago

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Putnamdenizen | 13 years and 8 months ago

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You don’t say how old you are.  If you are 23, then 21 isn’t so long ago.

Goatcrapp | 13 years and 8 months ago

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When interviewing potential tenants – if the issue of credit comes up i look at a few things…. namely their RECENT acticity.   I know too well what college can do lol..   but if they have a decade of solid credit-conscious behavior since then – i don’t have issues.  I also check all references – if you don’t have any, that might be a problem. The issue might be where you are looking.  If you’re looking at larger buildings – there’s likely a management company involved. You get rejected before even meeting the person renting to you.  If you’re looking at smaller buildings, like brownstones…  its possible youre giving off a bad vibe.. a chip on your shoulder, that you’re not even conscious of, due to the expectation that your credit will be a sore talking point. good luck.  not all landlords are rigid on credit – but on the flipside, good tentants are hard to find, and many people have been burned before (on both ends) – if you ever read tenant.net – its a forum of tenants seemingly dedicated to screwing over landlords – with only a few good apples in the bunch (the rest of the posts are all varying topics in the same theme..  what can i say/do/threaten to get away with not paying rent. Needless to say that attitude has landlords on high alert when it comes to tenants.  I’m a bit more oldschool – and rely more on the interview than i do the numbers..  but won’t hesitate to ask, if something looks out of sorts.