credit check by landlord without ssn? urgent!

[music12]

hey all, i don't know if this is the right place for my question, but here goes:

if a potential landlord gives you a form asking for a whole bunch of info, but NOT for your social security number, can they still pull a credit report?

i have to know right away, please help...

music

[ssmdem]

As a landlord myself, the company I use (so I would guess this is common) requires me to get a signed form from you giving me permission to check your credit. This form requires your social security, as well as a copy of your driver's license.

[music12]

thanx for answering so fast!

as a landlord, can you make a guess as to why a potential landlord would not ask for a ssn or date of birth on an application? the application does give the landlord permission to do a credit check.

also, do you have to pay for a credit check on a tenant, and how much?

[ssmdem]

No idea why they wouldn't ask. Honestly, kinda foolish on their part, as they are going to have problems if they ever do need to evict someone. BUT, without that information, they aren't running a credit check on you.

I pay $25 per person for the company I use. Most landlords pass this on to the tenants -- I don't -- just consider it the cost of doing business.

[music12]

ah, i pray you are right...

i also wonder: my credit score is not so bad, around 700... if you were about to rent to someone and they just provided you a copy of their credit score (without any other info from the credit report) would you still go through with the credit check or would you save the $25?

thanks so much!

[ssmdem]

You could -- it's not going to hurt anything. I can promise you though - if they don't have your SSN, they aren't running your credit report. If you've got a foreclosure in your past, they can find that through the county records without running the credit report. But if they aren't running your credit, don't know that they're going to make much of an effort to do that either.

Some private landlords only verify earnings and references. This may be one of those people.

Our first tenants had a foreclosure on their records, credit was awful - but we rented to them anyway, as he had an excellent earnings history, good job, good references. They were great - no problems at all.

In your situation - is it a privately owned home (not going through an agent or property manager?) If so, they may just simply not know how to go about running a credit check - some don't. If that's the case, I would at least run THEIR name through the county records to make sure that this property isn't close to foreclosure itself. Could be why they aren't looking at your background too closely.

[BobMango]

I use a credit check service that will pull credit without an SSN as long as you have a good address for the applicant. They also do not require any forms, other than your signed statement regarding the reason you are requesting the report.

As far as how I evaluate the credit report for tenants, I really only care about whether they have been evicted in the past. As long as I see a report free of evictions and can verify employment, I'm pretty much good.

[music12]

do credit reports list evictions on them?? i thought they only have foreclosures

[ssmdem]

It depends on what kind of report you're asking for. Yes, the company I use can pull any thing. Arrest records, evictions, you name it.

Bob - seriously, without a SSN? Wonder how they get away with that. Even when I worked in banking, we had to have their SSN to pull the credit records. Who knew?

[BobMango]

It depends on what kind of report you're asking for. Yes, the company I use can pull any thing. Arrest records, evictions, you name it.

Bob - seriously, without a SSN? Wonder how they get away with that. Even when I worked in banking, we had to have their SSN to pull the credit records. Who knew?

I was kind of surprised as well, so I'm guessing that most owners/managers that don't collect SSNs are probably not pulling credit. As I said I'm mostly interested in evictions since that tells me how difficult someone might be if we have an issue, and income verification so I know there's a chance they can afford it when they move in. I don't care about score or how many or what type of accounts they have.

[ryan]

When I was a landlord also had some friends who owned/ managed rental house and condos.

Many took a standard app that asked for SS# and other stuff. Except they usually did run the credit due to not wanting to spend the money. They cared about current income and having the deposits necessary. If they charged for a CC check they just kept the fee.

[music12]

When I was a landlord also had some friends who owned/ managed rental house and condos.

Many took a standard app that asked for SS# and other stuff. Except they usually did run the credit due to not wanting to spend the money. They cared about current income and having the deposits necessary. If they charged for a CC check they just kept the fee.

wow! crooks.

[kim4short]

I don't think you can run a credit check without a SS#. My landlord didn't do a credit check. He knew my situation was bleak because he is an investor and tried to help me sell my house that was in foreclosure at the time. I have found that it is good to try and get help from individuals that you know are credible rather than large corporations. Some individuals are more likely to give you a second chance rather than a bank or other large financial institution.

[music12]

i agree about individuals vs large corporations...

it is very scary to think that it might be possible to do a credit check based only on one's name and address. the number of people who have that information is huge. it basically means that if you were invited into someone's home once upon a time, you get to know everything about their credit. i think this should be illegal.

[ssmdem]

i agree about individuals vs large corporations...

it is very scary to think that it might be possible to do a credit check based only on one's name and address. the number of people who have that information is huge. it basically means that if you were invited into someone's home once upon a time, you get to know everything about their credit. i think this should be illegal.

Well - here's what I think they're actually getting. Maybe Bob can chime in and see if this sounds like the report he gets. Like I said earlier, the company I use does require a SSN. Bob says his doesn't. BUT what I'm getting isn't the actual credit report. I suspect Bob's is similar. Mine is a letter grade A-F that the company I use assigns to the person's credit history based on the report that they are looking at. Our first tenant who had a foreclosure on their record and about 60 days past due on credit cards in the past but currently paid as agreed had a "C" Our current tenant - whose dad signed the lease for her had an "A". The company called me to tell me that he had a 810 FICO score and only currently owed $350 to a credit card. Night and day comparison between these two - but hard to really see the true picture by how they rate them.

Again, I really just want to know that there are no evictions and that they have a steady income that can support the rent. If they've got that, we're good to go.