ANATOMY OF A CREDIT REPORT As a property manager, there s nothing more painful than placing a new tenant, only to find they can t or won t pay their rent on time. And it s worse when you realize there may have been warning signs, if you d only known how to read their credit report. You want to mitigate risk and screening tenants carefully is a wise investment. Eviction costs average around $,000 and can run up to $0,000 while the cost of screening tenants through Buildium is less than $0. Buildium partners with TransUnion to provide a three-part screening report on your prospective tenants, including: Criminal records Eviction history Credit report Criminal and eviction reports tend to be straightforward, but credit reports are more complex. The information in this guide will help you understand all the details of the credit report.
HOW TO INTERPRET A SCREENING REPORT In this section, you ll see any potential fraud alert messages or fraud indicators. Refer to the Report details in the next page of this document to understand potential fraud alerts. Verification Here, you can determine whether the applicant information is the same as the information you submitted. Active Credit Lines Tradelines is another term for a credit account. The Tradeline Summary section will provide a snapshot of the active credit accounts the applicant has (e.g. Revolving, Mortgage, etc.) ResidentScore This is based on TransUnion s proprietary credit-based score model which determines risk in the rental industry with an emphasis on evictions as the worst possible outcome. Scores typically fall in the range of 0 and 80 (see Report details and glossary of terms for more details about credit scores) Tradelines in Detail You ll get more details on individual tradelines (credit accounts) in this section of the report. John Doe AKA Johnathan C Doe Addresses Current Address 0 Commonwealth Dr Philadelphia MN 790 Reported: 09/0 Address Discrepancy: The provided address does not match those in the consumers file. Description Current address mismatch - Input does not match file. Profile Summary Record Counts Tradelines: Collections: 0 Public Records: 0 Inquiries: Derogatory Items Negative Tradelines: 0 Tradelines with any historical negatives: 0 Occurrence of any historical negatives: 0 Tradeline Summary Count High Credit Credit Limit Balance Past Due Payment Available Revolving $09 $,00 $0 $0 $0 00% Installment $6,9 $0 $,7 $0 $8 N/A Mortgage 0 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A Open 0 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A Closed w Bal - N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A Total $6,768 $,00 $,7 $0 $8 N/A Credit Scores Credit Bureau Score 77 Tradelines Tradelines Total Count Total Credit Limit $,00 Trades TransUnion Credit Report SSN Message: SSN Match (confirmed by bureau) Phone -867-09 (Phone) Score Factors Average limit of bankcard accounts is too low Not enough available installment credit Length of time since most recent bankcard account has been established is too short Length of time accounts have been established is too short Balance Total $,7 Total Past Due $0 Requested By: Ace Properties LLC Buildium Property: Ace Properties, LLC (D) Date/Time: //06 :6 PM (Central) Applicant Data as Entered Name: Date of Birth: SSN: Address: John Doe XX/XX/97 XXX-XX-78 0 Washington Avenue Crystal Lake, LA 70608 CB/VICSCRT Industry: Clothing Opened: 0/ Balance: $0 More information on individual tradelines (i.e. lines of credit) on page of this overview.
ELEMENTS OF A CREDIT SCORE TransUnion s proprietary ResidentScore model is a credit score model that was built using over million real rental outcomes collected from the industry and is able to predict how likely a resident is to be evicted, skip owing money, or make late payments. There are several variables that are factored into any applicant s credit score. Here s an example of how five of those components can get weighted in a typical credit score: Payment history Someone s personal track record of paying bills on time. 0% Total debt How much someone owes to lenders. % 0% Credit history How long has someone been credit active. CREDIT SCORE % Credit mix Different types of credit accounts someone has. 0% Inquiries How frequently has someone applied for credit.
REPORT DETAILS AND GLOSSARY OF TERMS Fraud indicators and alert messages can appear if address, SSN or phone number have been used in suspected fraudulent activity; if the information on an application is inappropriate, such as a commercial or institutional address; or if the SSN has not been issued by the Social Security Administration or is that of a deceased person as reported by the Social Security Administration. Address Discrepancy Too many recent inquiries SS Not Found City to zip code discrepancy SSN Discrepancy 6 Not enough debt experience SSN Not Provided 7 Few recent accounts increase likelihood of fraud Not bankcard accounts 8 Low account utilization increases likelihood of fraud 6 Lengthy bankcard experience increases likelihood of fraud 9 Too few bankcard accounts 7 Not enough debt experience 0 SSN Reported ad Deceased 8 Few derogatory items increase likelihood of fraud No Consumer File Found 9 Invalid phone number Suppressed, Restricted, Or Minor File 0 Phone to zip code discrepancy Consumer Statement on File Lack of delinquency increases likelihood of fraud Active Duty Alert on File Lack of collections increases likelihood of fraud 6 Extended Fraud Alert on File Tradeline Summary The Tradeline Summary section provides a snapshot of activity on the consumer s credit report, and includes a view of the highest balance on each account, as well as payment history, the last payment amount, and how much of the credit limit is available. The credit limit is an important attribute that informs you on how leveraged this applicant is. Payment history demonstrates whether the applicant has met their monthly payment commitments.
Credit Scores Credit score ranges vary, but typically run anywhere between 0 and 800, and the higher the score the lower the predicted risk. If you re using Buildium s Premium Tenant Screening product, a TransUnion account manager can help you set custom thresholds for each of your properties. If you are using Basic Tenant Screening, you can simply use your own discretion about applicants credit scores. Tradelines Each credit card, auto loan, student loan, etc., would have its own tradeline on the credit report, and that tradeline will include payment history information. Example below: Loan Type: Automobile Verified: 0/6 Past Due: $0 Loan Terms: Installment 60 Monthly Closed: 0/6 Credit Limit: N/A Account Type: Joint account Paid: Payment Amount: $ Status: 0: Paid or paying as agreed Remarks: Closed Notes: Automated account Payment History Jan 0 0 Late Payment Summary (9 Months) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Dec Nov We hope this guide will help you make more informed decisions to bring in fantastic tenants. If you have any questions about this or other Buildium tenant screening offerings, please give us a call at -888--988. Buildium. Property Managed.