Credit Applications: How to Be Prepared

So, you have decided to lease a new office space or rent an apartment using a local real estate broker. One of the first items the landlord will ask for is for you to complete a credit application. Most landlords require credit applications and have certain credit criteria they use to qualify tenants so that they can see your excellent payment history, lack of collection accounts, and absence of eviction records.

A credit history paints a picture for the landlord as to what type of tenant you will be and whether they can trust you to pay rent promptly and be a good quality tenant. Depending on the benchmarks the landlord uses, you may or may not qualify to lease whatever space you are interested in, and most likely you will have to pay an application fee to have the landlord pull your credit.

Before you go down that path, and pay a usually non-refundable application fee, you should ensure your credit is in good shape to meet the highest standards of any landlord.

There are many ways to prepare for a credit verification such as getting a free credit report using www.annualcreditreport.com. Here you can request a copy of your credit report from the three credit bureaus, Experian, TransUnion and Equifax.

Once you have your credit reports on hand, you can review them for any bad debt, closed accounts, collections, charged-off accounts, or any other negative attributes that would detrimentally affect you passing any credit check. If you need help reading your credit reports or dealing with debt, you can contact the National Foundation for Credit Counseling at www.nfcc.org. Here there are resources that will help you read your credit report, deal with bankruptcy, assist with debt counseling and much more.

Knowing your FICO score and reviewing your credit annually will give you the confidence to apply for a lease knowing your credit will meet all criteria set by any landlord.

Written by Sarah Davis our Senior Leasing Administrator