Posted: September 03, 2021
The three largest credit bureaus are Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian. All three bureaus collect credit information, credit histories, and may tabulate a credit score (FICO score) on you. Landlords, property managers, and real estate agents, can use StarPoint Screening as a resource to pull a tenant credit report.
It's not unusual for all bureaus to have slightly different credit scores for one individual because of a variety of reasons:
- Lenders and creditors may only report to one bureau or all three credit bureaus, which means a score could be very different at each bureau.
- Bureaus have multiple scoring models for determining scores.
- Credit bureaus receive credit information updates daily. Therefore, credit scores may change dramatically from day to day.
Credit Scores
Credit scores on individuals are typically on a range of 300-850 and are derived from:
- Amount of available credit used
- Payment history
- Length of your credit history
- Varieties of credit currently used
- New credit
Landlords
Landlords may run a tenant credit report to check your financial stability, whether you pay bills responsibly and would be a good candidate as a tenant. Credit reports might give them insight into:
- Monthly debt range
- Reasons Affecting your Score
- Evictions (if reported by the courts)
- Current past due amount
- Bill paying habits
- Debts and type of debt
- Minimum monthly payment towards debt
- Collections
- Bankruptcy
Renters
Renters with low credit scores could put off apartment hunting until they get their scores up or explain to the landlord why their score may be low on the tenant credit report.
It's very important to pay your bills on time and maintain a good credit score, so you'll have good credit when applying to rent a home, purchase an automobile or home, and apply for other types of accounts.