Posted by David Krulac on April 19, 2007 at 22:11:16:
call/email NTN National Tenant Network, that was my source. Since it reduces their customers, I strobgly doubt that it is a company decision.
Can’t pull credit reports for tenants anymore??? - Posted by SteveA (FL)
Posted by SteveA (FL) on April 16, 2007 at 11:16:00:
The online service I was going to use says you can only pull a credit report on a perspective tenant if you have a business license and publicly listed business phone number, OR use a property management company. I called them and they said this was due to new regulations. Anyone heard of this? I said “So you mean no individual landlord anywhere in the USA will ever be able to pull a tenant credit report again w/o a business license?” She said that was correct.
I need to pull one this week!!! I only need to pull reports maybe twice a year.
Can’t pull credit reports for tenants anymore??? - Posted by Rich
Posted by Rich on April 17, 2007 at 22:48:53:
I have not had any problems with this. I have been asked to provide a signed release to pull a credit report from the person having it pulled and then to provide a copy of the report to the applicant. This is all part of existing Federal laws regarding handling of private or personal data. The credit companies who pull credit also have to have signed authorization to look at your credit report.
www.citicredit.net - Posted by rehabber
Posted by rehabber on April 17, 2007 at 10:19:28:
I’ve been using this site - basic credit check is 10 bucks:
www.citicredit.net
I’m not aware of any site inspection requirements
they have.
Can’t pull credit reports for tenants anymore - Posted by Eric (MI)
Posted by Eric (MI) on April 17, 2007 at 24:01:37:
Read something about this not to long ago myself. Locally they had a report about how easy it was for anyone to pull anyone else’s credit file with only a social security number and mentioned needing an inspection, license, and some others.
Not a landlord myself but I can see the concern. What type of business license do you need?
Can’t pull credit reports for tenants anymore? - Posted by LK
Posted by LK on April 16, 2007 at 20:41:12:
It’s supposedly a new law requiring a site inspection. I just had mine done this evening. Pictures were taken with a quick questionnaire. No business license is required but they do want to make sure you have an actual office with files under lock and key. A room in your home with a desk and a filing cabinet should suffice. I recently started using Mrlandlord.com. If you sign up and pay the one time $59 inspection fee, you can go ahead and start pulling reports right away. But if you only need 2/yr, that may not be a good deal.
I was told that its a Federal law… - Posted by David Krulac
Posted by David Krulac on April 16, 2007 at 18:48:12:
by the owner of NTN. In order to get checks you need an annual inspection and you need to have the credit info that you pull under lock and key. The stated purpose of the law is to prevent identy thief.
Re: Can’t pull credit reports for tenants … - Posted by Frank Chin
Posted by Frank Chin on April 16, 2007 at 15:14:13:
Steve:
First, many jurisdictions DO NOT require a business license to be a landlord, so owners in these areas must have somewhere to get their credit reports, probably not the one you called.
Recently, our screening service of many years had us sign an updated agreement, PLUS send in a copy of my driver’s license. That’s it - no inspections, business license etc. My service can be accessed thru:
Your best bet is to call up a few more screening services. When I started landlording, screening services did not exist, and only large firms, such as banks, or the finance company I work for, have direct contracts with the credit bureau. What I did was I contacted a local PI firm to pull reports for me.
So, if you need something quick, a local PI firm should have a contract with a credit bureau, and can do an “investigation” for you. But it’s more expensive than getting it directly online from your own service.
Frank Chin
Re: Can’t pull credit reports - Posted by michaela-CA
Posted by michaela-CA on April 16, 2007 at 15:08:03:
Yes, that’s how it’s going. I’m not a landloard myself, but have been in several meetings, where this new policy has been discussed. Landlords will have to have a business address and get checked etc. The people that can still get this done without are lucky. It sounds as if those ocmpanies are still lagging behind.
Re: Can’t pull credit reports for tenants - Posted by phil fernandez
Posted by phil fernandez on April 16, 2007 at 14:22:23:
I use Screening One through my apartment owners association. Screening One 888-327-6511.
I’ve never heard of that business license stuff. Mr. Landlord is another good source for running credit checks.
Re: Can’t pull credit reports for tenants anymore? - Posted by Frank
Posted by Frank on April 16, 2007 at 12:20:29:
I use www.mrlandlord.com to pull credit reports and have not had a problem. I just checked their site and there is no requirement like you stated above. Sounds like whatever tool/company you were using before has changed their own policy. Just switch to another service that doesn’t require all this.
Re: Can’t pull credit reports for tenants anymore - Posted by SteveA (FL)
Posted by SteveA (FL) on April 17, 2007 at 07:33:08:
I don’t really know to tell you the truth. I think what I’ll do is get my broker to pull them. She’s a property manager too (although I don’t use that service from her) but I guess if I write some sort of letter saying she is my assigned screener or something, it’s legal.
Thanks for all the info.
Re: I was told that its a Federal law… - Posted by Rich
Posted by Rich on April 17, 2007 at 22:43:40:
Can you get a legal citation from them so we can check out for ourselves if this is real or just a company trying to reduce liability exposure.
Re: Can’t pull credit reports for tenants anymore - Posted by Frank Chin
Posted by Frank Chin on April 17, 2007 at 07:51:13:
Steve:
In my area, RE agents refer tenants for a fee, and they run credit reports as part of their service.
When I started, I advertised in the classifieds direct, and I got a local PI firm doing the investigations, and the investigation involved him pulling credit reports for me at $45.00/each.
You might have to check out the technicalities here. Some tenant applicant may squawk if they’re on some monitoring service and say “who is this XYZ broker” doing a credit check on me?? I didn’t authorize them to check on me. But if I used a PI firm, the tenant authorized me to pull a report, and the state licensed the PI firms to do investigations for clients, in this case, the client being a landlord.
The question in my mind is “are brokers licensed to pull credit reports for a fee”?? I know the answer is YES if it’s a PI firm since they’re licensed to do investigations.
Frank Chin