Easy Guide To Read A Credit Report

Personal Information

This shows where a person lived when they applied for credit.  This will not show everywhere a person has lived.

Employment Information

This shows where a person worked when they applied for credit. This will not show everywhere a person has lived.

Report Summary

This area of the report shows the number of 30, 60, and 90 day late payments a person has had.  This section also shows credit limits and the amount of debt a person has.

Scorecards

This is where you see a person’s credit score.  This shows what type of a credit risk a person poses to a potential creditor.  Here is a simple break down:

550 and below is poor

600 to 650 is fair

651 to 700 is good

701 to 750 is great

750 plus is excellent

Collections

This section shows which accounts have gone to collections.   You can view the amount and if they have been satisfied.

Public Records

This area shows bankruptcies, liens, judgments, and evictions.

Trade Lines

This gives a detailed account of extended credit.

Inquiries

This lists out inquiries into a person’s credit.

If you need to screen another tenant, click here

www.rentingauthority.com

Easy Guide to Read a Credit Report

Credit Score 

The credit score indicates what type of a credit risk a person poses to a potential creditor.  Here is a simple break down:
550 and below is poor
600 to 650 is fair
651 to 700 is good
701 to 750 is great
750 plus is excellent
Report Summary 
This report shows the number of 30, 60, and 90 day late payments a person has.  This section also shows credit limits and the amount of debt a person has.
Collections 
This section shows which accounts have gone to collections.   You can view the  debt amount and if the debt is  paid off.
Public Records and Judgments
This area shows bankruptcies, liens, judgments, and evictions.
Creditors and Financial Obligations
This gives a detailed account of extended credit.
Other Reports
We have created an Applicant Rating Report.  This helps you know how one applicant compares to other applicants across the country.  Use the drop down menu in the credit report to view the Applicant Rating Report.
If you need any assistance, please call, email or chat online.
Thanks,
Troy Boldt
888-647-9181
tboldt@rentingauthority.com
http://rentingauthority.com
Online support at:
https://messenger.providesupport.com/messenger/chazing.html

3 Reasons a Landlord Should Require Tenants to Have Renter's Insurance

Landlords are in business to make a profit and protect their assets, and requiring tenants to have renters insurance helps them achieve that goal. The concern is that if you’re not protected with a policy, they may be financially responsible in part if someone brings legal action against you. It’s not illegal, but it can prevent you from renting an apartment if you choose for whatever reason not to buy a policy. There are a number of reasons why a landlord would require you to buy renter’s insurance. Let’s look at 3:
1. Legal Protection
The landlord’s primary concern is that there will be more than enough money to protect you and them in a lawsuit arising from accidents or injuries of others who visit you in your apartment. For example, if you invite a guest who slips and falls in your apartment and breaks a bone, you could be sued for liability. If you don’t have money to defend yourself in a lawsuit and pay a judgment awarded against you, your guest may include your landlord in the lawsuit to recover damages. They might do that anyway, but your landlord is protected if you own a renter’s insurance policy. This is the main reason why a landlord requires tenants to have renter’s insurance.
2. Avoid Additional Claims on Property Insurance
Another reason why landlords require renter’s insurance is to avoid filing claims on their own insurance. Each claim they file will result in higher premium payments for them, and there may come a point where their insurance company will decide to stop insuring them. If you live in an apartment building with many tenants, there’s a greater chance of this happening. Each tenant has the potential to cause the landlord to file a claim to pay for liability, medical payments or other damages. A landlord views this as a burden, and wants each tenant to take that on themselves.
3. Protection for Other Tenants
It’s also to ensure that the other tenants are protected. If you live in a duplex, or a building with multiple units, each tenant is potentially at risk due to negligence of other tenants. For example, if one tenant floods their apartment by mistake, such as by leaving the tub on while at work without realizing it, it can destroy the belongings of tenants on the bottom floor or even tenants in the adjacent apartment. Those tenants will have to pay to replace any damaged items, such as electronics, and they may not have enough money to pursue you in court. However, if the landlord requires everyone to buy renter’s insurance, then all tenants can sleep at night knowing they can file a claim if necessary.
A landlord who requires renter’s insurance should provide property security for the apartment, such as dead bolts, security cameras if appropriate and the prompt removal of tenants engaging in illegal activity. They should also be held accountable for maintaining the premises

from: www.ohmyapt.com – staff writer

Before You Buy Renter’s Insurance

Renter’s insurance is something every renter should have. It is inexpensive, depending on the amount you take out and your area you will likely pay between ten to twenty dollars a month for the coverage. It will protect you from theft and loss from fire. Most people have been robbed or know someone who has been robbed. This policy will protect you from paying for everything out of cost.
What Does Renter’s Insurance Cover?
Your renter’s policy will protect you if you are robbed, or if your apartment burns down. Additionally renter’s insurance includes liability protection. This protection will cover medical expenses if someone is hurt inside your apartment. This insurance will help you to replace items that are damaged or stolen. The liability insurance is also nice, because it will protect the assets and savings that you have acquired.
What Isn’t Covered by Renter’s Insurance?
It is important to realize that a renter’s insurance policy does not cover everything. Most insurance policies will not cover a flood. You will need to purchase an additional policy to cover flooding. This is especially important if you live in a flood plain area. Many apartments will let you know if they are located in a flood plain.
How Much Coverage Should You Purchase?
You need to determine the amount of your insurance policy. When you do this, you should carefully consider the costs of everything you have. If you are robbed, you will likely only need to replace jewelry and electronics. If you are the victim of a fire, then you will need to replace your clothing, your furniture and other personal effects in addition to your electronics.
Read the Fine Print for Limits and Exclusions
It is important to read your policy carefully. Some insurance companies put a limit on the amount that they will cover in different areas. They may limit the total amount that they would pay in electronics to $500.00. If this is the case, then you would need to purchase an additional policy to cover those items. If you work from home, you need to consider the cost of the equipment that you use. You may need an additional policy to cover your liability in relation to your job.
Take Advantage of Discounts for Your Policy
When you purchase your renter’s insurance, it is important to shop around. You can receive a discount when you get it through the same company as your car insurance. You should check for discounts through your job, professional associations, and alumni associations as well.
By Miriam Caldwell, About.com Guide

New Enhanced Background Reports

Landlords and property managers like you, rely on fast and effective information.  We are constantly searching for the best information and solutions for you.
In the past weeks, Renting Authority upgraded our background reports.  We now search over 16,000 data bases to give you the most current national background reports available.
You receive in-depth:
-Felony Checks
-Sex Offender List (most with photos)
-State Level Criminal Checks
-County Level Criminal Checks
-Misdemeanor Checks
-National Criminal Checks
-Terrorist Watch List
Our searches match a person based on first and last name and date of birth.  We also search known aliases.
The sex offender search is broader than the other criminal record searches.  You may see names that don’t match or are similar to the person you are looking at.
This is because the algorithm takes the first three letter of the first and last name and matches with any name with those same letter combinations.  IE Jason Hancock can also match Jasmine Hansen.
As an enhanced feature, most sex offenders have a picture attached with their criminal record.
We want you to have as much information as possible when making your decision.  If you ever have questions about the background report, please feel free to call us at 888-674-9181.
Have a great day,
Troy
888-674-9181
tboldt@rentingauthority.com
http://www.rentingauthority.com

Thank you for the valuable information!

Thank you for the valuable information!
Vadim and Veronique
This week I had some great conversations with many of you. A couple of issues were brought up that you should all know about.
Issue #1
The applicant doesn’t want me to run his credit because he doesn’t want his credit score affected. What should I do?
When you as a landlord check a person’s credit, it is called a soft hit on their credit. This means it will only stay on their credit report for 2 to 3 months. Their credit score will not be affected long term when you check their credit.
I have found often that a person who does not want you to check their credit has credit issues that they are hiding from. You need to establish your own rule that you check everyone’s credit.
Another thing to consider is if an applicant is trying to dictate how you run your business now, they will continue to cause you issues in the future.
Issue #2
My tenant wants to pay cash. What should I do?
Cash is king, but not in the landlord business. This is big red flag. Why? People often want to pay cash because they do not have a checking account and they have money gotten from illegal means. Drug dealers are some of the biggest offenders of this. Now this does not mean that everyone who wants to pay with cash is doing something illegal nor is a drug dealer. It is better to be safe that sorry.
Last week I received an email from a landlord who rented to a person who seemed to be a great applicant and wanted to only pay in cash. The tenant paid the deposit and first month’s rent in cash. That was all he ever paid. The landlord is now going through the eviction process.
In summary, screen your applicants and don’t take cash.
Visit our new site at http://www.RentingAuthority.com

Cash Flow Isn't Always Easy

My wife watches all sorts of TV shows with one of her favorites being with Scott McGillvray. He has a great show about cash flowing properties and at the end of each one he shows how much money the person will be pocketing each month and I just have to laugh. That number is always assuming that nothing goes wrong.
Lets look at our own housing situation. How many months have you had nothing go wrong with your house? Just last month we had a broken door, broken door handle, broken garbage disposal and some plumbing problems as a result. Other months it is always something else and we are no different. When you buy a cash flow property you are buying the good and the bad so sure you will have some months when you make money, but you’ll also have months where you lose money. In the end you are banking on the appreciation of the home while having good renters or leasers who take care of the place. It just isn’t as easy as a half hour show makes it out to be.

I have a rental property, now what?

At Renting Authority, we have so many customers who accidentally have a rental property. What I mean by that is that we have customers who bought a house and couldn’t sell it so they decided to make it a rental. These are average every day people who are building wealth and don’t even know it. Here’s a scenario:
Bob Johnson lives in a basic 3 bedroom/2 bath home when the real estate market is going great. He buys another property when the market is going well and plans on selling his other house after the fact. Well, once he buys the 2nd house he can’t sell the 1st house for whatever reason and you have an accidental real estate investor.
Like I said, we have customers like Bob Johnson by the dozen and they are great people who are doing a great service for our country. See, not everyone has a 20% down payment and can buy a home. Not everyone has perfect credit. These people need good solid places to live and with the interest rates where they are now, these people can rent these homes under affordable circumstances.
One of the most important things someone can do when in this situation is to setup as a business entity first. If you have a rental property you should keep that property separate from everything else you have. When you rent a home you don’t want the liability of that property to effect you personally should something happen and that means to create a basic entity like and LLC and put that property under that umbrella.
Next, when you decide to rent the absolute most important thing about the rental property is who you rent it to. This is a marriage in a sense so it is key that you are comfortable with that person and that the rent is being paid and able to be paid. Let me be very clear, don’t rent a house to your friend if you friend has no job and a history of drug abuse. Unless you want to make 2 mortgage payments every month, be very picky about who you rent to. It is better that the home has a lapse in a renter than getting the wrong one.
Good renters: pay on time, treat the home like their own, have good communication with you about the property. Can fix things themselves if necessary.
Bad renters: Don’t pay on time, break rental/lease agreements, damage the property or don’t care about the property and are high maintenance.
When I say ‘high maintenance’ I’m talking about the renter that is always calling you for something. It might be a squeaky floor board or a light bulb issue. Maybe the water pressure isn’t exactly up to that persons expectations. You don’t want that person.
People ask me how I can tell if I’m getting a good renter and I ask them to always do a solid background check on the renter and then ALWAYS call past landlords. Find out about their history and take the extra 5 minutes to get it done right.