How do I check a potential tenant's credit?

Question

I have a house I have for rent - I'm a first time landlord. I have on the rental application that their credit might be checked, and that they are fine with this.

But how do I go about actually checking it?

Answer 1

call the credit bureau

Answer 2

You could ask the tenant to provide a credit report for you.  (It's not that easy to just check credit based on the Social Security number, as the companies also ask additional identifying questions you may not know the answer to.)

Most landlords use a credit checking service.  Here's a few:

http://www.e-renter.com/

http://www.mrlandlord.com/html/creditfaq...

Answer 3

There many companies that offer this service.

I personally use, Clearscreening.com

You do have to sign up and prove ownersip of the rental property. There are no set up or annual fees. You pay only per report.

As long as you have an application with all of the info needed (SS#, birthdate, etc) and a disclaimer giving permission to run a credit check, you should be fine.