Why was there no Fico Score or no Record Found on my prospective tenant?
TVS Credit Report
Important: In each instance you should query the Prospective Tenant about why there was no positive credit history; the answer should be reasonable and believable.
No Fico Score : Where the rating comes back as No Score Available this is likely the reason why:
- The Applicant does not have any credit history that has been reported in the last six months because there were no accounts or trade balances that were active and being reported on which would generate a FICO score. In this instance it is likely that the Applicant has OLD accounts that have not been paid and have been closed by the Credit Grantor. If there was a SCORE in this instance it would be less than 600 and a rating less than C+. Tenant Credit Check and/or Tenant Credit Report has not been established. Ask the Applicant for an explanation regarding unpaid accounts and unsatisfactory pay habits. No Score Available = red flag and further due diligence should be conducted. Refer to landlord criteria below.
No Record Found : Please note that this is different than No Fico Score.
- Prospective Tenant is young and has not yet established a credit file.
- Prospective Tenant has not been able to establish a credit history because of poor/sporadic employment. This is often the case when no credit history is available, request employer's pay stub to verify employment and bi-weekly income or copy of bank statement. Does he/she have a bank account?
- You entered the wrong personal information such as name, date of birth, SSN, address... OR
- Prospective Tenant has provided you with false information to ensure that you do not find his/her credit history. Many high risk tenants misspell their name, provide a wrong date of birth and will leave out the last one or two addresses that they have been at because they know that the reference will not be a good one. Be aware that this could happen to you. Look at two pieces of I.D. and request a pay stub or income tax return from the previous year to verify Identity information provided to you.
- Prospective Tenant is on a Disability or Income Assistance Allowance and does not have a credit file because it is difficult to obtain credit.
- Prospective Tenant is a new arrival to the country and has not yet established a credit history.
- Prospective Tenant has been incarcerated for a long period of time.
These are the reasons why there is no Fico Score or Credit History for an Individual.
Having no credit file = red flag and your tenant screening should include further due diligence.
Visit www.criminalfraud.com and click on Landlord Fraud.
Landlord Criteria should include:
- Credit Worthiness
- Tenant Credit Report/ Tenant Credit Check
- bank statement
- adequate bi-weekly or monthly income)
- Tenant Worthiness
- verify with current landlord that all obligations on lease agreement were met
- include criminal and eviction searches
- include employer reference that verifies job stability, character, dependability, responsibility.
Note: Every Individual that works in the U.S.A. is required to have a S.S.N. whether it is a temporary one or not. For further information on this topic visit this page from the U.S. Social Security Administration.
A Credit Report establishes the credit worthiness of a Prospective Tenant. It is just as important to establish the tenant worthiness, do this by contacting the current landlord. Click on TVS Recommendations at the bottom of the TVS Decision Credit Report for further advice and/or obtain the Landlord Checklist Form from the Forms section on the website to assist with questions that should be asked when contacting the current landlord.
