Home What do I need to know about credit checks?

[JulieN]

Looking to lease an apartment. Last year I lived really close to the school, and I don''t remember being asked for one...

 

[Hera]

What would you like to know about them? I know they do them and depending on your credit rating will decide if you get the apartment. If your credit is not so hot, most places will make you pay additional deposit, usually an extra month. Mostly, they are looking for evictions and that sort of thing. If they are a large company (or whatever you call them) they are usually more stringent. Smaller places are usually more lenient when it comes to credit rating.

 

[LuckyTexan]

Date: 9/4/2008 3:06:48 AM
Author:JulieN
Looking to lease an apartment. Last year I lived really close to the school, and I don''t remember being asked for one...

If I remember correctly, my leasing agent (last time I rented) explained that it''s a ''soft hit'' and potential lenders will not ever see it... something to do with because they won''t ever REPORT to your credit... so they don''t get to make a ''hard hit''.

 

[funtobewith]

I have known places to show up as a hard inquiry.

 

[DivaDiamond007]

Date: 9/4/2008 6:07:55 AM
Author: heraanderson
What would you like to know about them? I know they do them and depending on your credit rating will decide if you get the apartment. If your credit is not so hot, most places will make you pay additional deposit, usually an extra month. Mostly, they are looking for evictions and that sort of thing. If they are a large company (or whatever you call them) they are usually more stringent. Smaller places are usually more lenient when it comes to credit rating.

That''s how it usually works around here. If you have "baddies" on your report then bring it up first to see if it will be a problem. No use wasting an inquiry for no reason. Evictions are probably the #1 thing a potential landlord is looking for - not so concerned about other baddies - such as a bankruptcy or low credit score. Good luck in your hunt!

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 9/4/2008 2:12:59 PM
Author: funtobewith
I have known places to show up as a hard inquiry.

How much does your credit score go down with either a soft or hard hit?

 

[JulieN]

No, no evictions, no bankruptcy.

About soft and hard hits, inquiry=hit, right?

 

[neatfreak]

inquiry does mean a hit. But unless you are applying for a mortgage or other really large loan very very soon (which obviously you are not because this is for an apartment) I wouldn''t worry about it. It won''t impact your score long term if it impacts it at all.

 

[funtobewith]

Date: 9/4/2008 5:14:42 PM
Author: MC

Date: 9/4/2008 2:12:59 PM
Author: funtobewith
I have known places to show up as a hard inquiry.

How much does your credit score go down with either a soft or hard hit?

Inquiries abslolutely affect your credit score, but I don''t have an exact number. I''m sure it varies. However, unless you are applying for a large purchase it is really nothing to worry about. They also stay on there for 2 years.

If apts are treated the same as mortgages and auto loans, multiple inquiries in a very short time frame (days) should only be counted as a single inquiry.

You can also be denied credit due to too many recent inquiries on your report.

 

[DivaDiamond007]

Date: 9/4/2008 9:03:16 PM
Author: funtobewith

Date: 9/4/2008 5:14:42 PM
Author: MC

Date: 9/4/2008 2:12:59 PM
Author: funtobewith
I have known places to show up as a hard inquiry.

How much does your credit score go down with either a soft or hard hit?

Inquiries abslolutely affect your credit score, but I don''t have an exact number. I''m sure it varies. However, unless you are applying for a large purchase it is really nothing to worry about. They also stay on there for 2 years.

If apts are treated the same as mortgages and auto loans, multiple inquiries in a very short time frame (days) should only be counted as a single inquiry.

You can also be denied credit due to too many recent inquiries on your report.

Funtobewith has it right - inquiries do affect your credit score, but not significantly unless there are a lot of them. If you start applying for credit willy-nilly that can be bad if you then try to apply for a big ticket item but otherwise you should be fine.

Also, if you want more information on credit-related issues you can visit the forums on www.creditboards.com and there is some great information on there. We direct our clients to that site all the time with no complaints. I don''t post there but I do enjoy lurking in the general discussion forum.

 

[Libster]

Here is some more info regarding Credit Issues - Bureaus, Reports & Scores:

http://clarkhoward.com/shownotes/category/7/42/

Clark Howard always has lots of good information.

Good luck with the apartment hunt

 

[miraclesrule]

My daughter works at a bank and if I remember correctly, two credit checks within a 12 month period results in 50 point hit to your credit score. It happens with cell phone contracts, credit apps and loan apps, but I am not sure if a rental app has the same effect as they are primarily interesed in whether or not you have undergone an unlawful detainer action.

But it would be best to investigate it more fully.

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 9/5/2008 1:57:31 AM
Author: miraclesrule
My daughter works at a bank and if I remember correctly, two credit checks within a 12 month period results in 50 point hit to your credit score. It happens with cell phone contracts, credit apps and loan apps, but I am not sure if a rental app has the same effect as they are primarily interesed in whether or not you have undergone an unlawful detainer action.


But it would be best to investigate it more fully.

I think that refers to "big hits" like loan apps...this really shouldn''t drop your score by 50 points, that is a lot!

 

[DivaDiamond007]

Date: 9/5/2008 1:57:31 AM
Author: miraclesrule
My daughter works at a bank and if I remember correctly, two credit checks within a 12 month period results in 50 point hit to your credit score. It happens with cell phone contracts, credit apps and loan apps, but I am not sure if a rental app has the same effect as they are primarily interesed in whether or not you have undergone an unlawful detainer action.

But it would be best to investigate it more fully.

I could be totally wrong, but I''m pretty sure 2 inquiries in a 12month period does not equal a 50 point drop - that''s really a huge leap!

The biggest chunk of your credit score is your repayment history and your debt-to-limit ratio. Number of accounts open and inquires are a smaller portion of your credit score. Also, the #1 thing that lowers your credit score are inaccuracies on your credit report. We strongly advise all of our clients to pull their reports 2x per year and nitpick them for errors. Creditboards has a ton of info on how to correct them and succeed.

 

[miraclesrule]

I know, it''s crazy. When I found out about it, I was pissed that we didn''t learn stuff like this in school anywhere. So now, whenever I am about to have any credit check I always check in with my daughter first. I was tempted to apply for a Macy''s card just to get an addtional $150 dollars off the BM''s dresses and she said "NOOOOOOOOOOO", not worth the hit to your credit, so I declined.

She was really mad that I opened a Banana Republic account just to get a huge discount on a large purchase even though I told her I was going to pay it off the next month. It is a very complicated and not so sane system. In order to get the best credit rating you have to have at lest 5 sources of credit that have been sustained for 5 years. That is what gets you to the cream of the crop and Amex is sending you apps every month. I was surprised that I needed to get a Visa card to catapult me in to the best of numbers. My car payment, my mortgage and my equity line wasn''t enough. She determined I needed a Visa and then after 6 months of payment on that I would increase my score to the ideal credit rating so that I could qualify for the best rates on equity lines. And she was right. But then again, she has worked for Wells Fargo for over 12 years. She knows a little bit about that stuff.

I was disgusted to find out that when we wanted to add her to our family plan with Cingular that they ran an additional check and my daughter told me that it would hit me because I had already had the initial credit check when I signed up with them on my own initially. It''s all in the complicated details that most people don''t know about. It''s crazy really.

 

[pennquaker09]

That''s news. I think I was told that for every inquiry, it knocks off 2 points. However, say when you applied for the BananaCard, if you were denied, it would have docked you 2 points. On the other hand, if you were approved, it wouldn''t change your score.