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How do I do a soft pull of someone else's credit?

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axxy
Regular Contributor

How do I do a soft pull of someone else's credit?

I'm in the process of buying a condo that has a tenant.  Before I close on the condo, I want to make sure the tenant is legitimate.  The seller of the condo claims, verbally, that the tenant has been paying the rent on time, and has had the same job ever since moving in.  But what if the seller is just saying that to make it easier to sell the condo?  For all I know, the tenant might actually be a problem, and part of the reason why the condo is being sold.  So I want some way to verify, just to be sure, that the tenant is really as stable as the seller claims.  A soft pull of the tenant's credit seems like it should be the best way, if I can find out how to do it.  It seems to me it should be an account review inquiry, since tenancy is actually an account relationship.  But how do I go about doing the actual soft pull and getting the report?

 

Message 1 of 13
12 REPLIES 12
alvon123
Super Contributor

Re: How do I do a soft pull of someone else's credit?

A moderator may be better suited  to comment on your question


Message 2 of 13
DaveSignal
Valued Contributor

Re: How do I do a soft pull of someone else's credit?

Experian offers screening services for landlords if the tenant is willing to purchase a report.

 

Other than that, you would be looking at some kind of Metro2 reporting software and could be paying a lot of money, especially if you only want 1 credit check.

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Message 3 of 13
notfancy
Valued Contributor

Re: How do I do a soft pull of someone else's credit?


@axxy wrote:

I'm in the process of buying a condo that has a tenant.  Before I close on the condo, I want to make sure the tenant is legitimate.  The seller of the condo claims, verbally, that the tenant has been paying the rent on time, and has had the same job ever since moving in.  But what if the seller is just saying that to make it easier to sell the condo?  For all I know, the tenant might actually be a problem, and part of the reason why the condo is being sold.  So I want some way to verify, just to be sure, that the tenant is really as stable as the seller claims.  A soft pull of the tenant's credit seems like it should be the best way, if I can find out how to do it.  It seems to me it should be an account review inquiry, since tenancy is actually an account relationship.  But how do I go about doing the actual soft pull and getting the report?

 


I don't think you can. Until you're the landlord, and have them sign a document allowing you to pull their credit, you do not have permissible purpose. I suppose you can ask what terms are on the lease and go over it all with an attorney, but as of right now, all I can be sure of is that you can't pull their credit with out their permission.

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Message 4 of 13
DaveSignal
Valued Contributor

Re: How do I do a soft pull of someone else's credit?


@notfancy wrote:

@axxy wrote:

I'm in the process of buying a condo that has a tenant.  Before I close on the condo, I want to make sure the tenant is legitimate.  The seller of the condo claims, verbally, that the tenant has been paying the rent on time, and has had the same job ever since moving in.  But what if the seller is just saying that to make it easier to sell the condo?  For all I know, the tenant might actually be a problem, and part of the reason why the condo is being sold.  So I want some way to verify, just to be sure, that the tenant is really as stable as the seller claims.  A soft pull of the tenant's credit seems like it should be the best way, if I can find out how to do it.  It seems to me it should be an account review inquiry, since tenancy is actually an account relationship.  But how do I go about doing the actual soft pull and getting the report?

 


I don't think you can. Until you're the landlord, and have them sign a document allowing you to pull their credit, you do not have permissible purpose. I suppose you can ask what terms are on the lease and go over it all with an attorney, but as of right now, all I can be sure of is that you can't pull their credit with out their permission.


I am not sure why my previous reference was deleted, but, with permission from the tenant, Experian offers a service for landlords to screen prospective tenants.  You initate the request, and then if tenant agrees, he/she can pay for their own credit report and authorize the landlord access to view that copy.

EX:694 TU:744 EQ:777
Amex ED $19.5k - BoA Travel Rewards $15k - CSP $5k - SDFCU EMV $15k - NFCU goRewards $20k - Barclays Arrival $6.5k
Message 5 of 13
RecoveredDebtaholic
New Contributor

Re: How do I do a soft pull of someone else's credit?

If you don't have an application to lease from the tenant with language indicating that you check credit I don't believe you legally can check credit. However, I highly recommend a screening service like rentprep, it'll cost you about 20 bucks but you get a pretty in depth background check and the tenant need not be informed or even aware that you've checked their history. I've used them twice and the depth of information provided was a bit shocking.
TU FICO 10/2/14 826
Message 6 of 13
vanillabean
Valued Contributor

Re: How do I do a soft pull of someone else's credit?

You can't simply ask the tenant for a paper copy of a current report?

 

Message 7 of 13
09Lexie
Moderator Emerita

Re: How do I do a soft pull of someone else's credit?

Without the tenants permission, you will not be able to pull their credit  You will need to be an owner, landlord or property manager to have access and you will need to show proper documentation to the tenant screening companies. 

Message 8 of 13
MrCrabs
Regular Contributor

Re: How do I do a soft pull of someone else's credit?

You should request a copy of the lease agreement from the seller and see what is all in there. Who knows if it was properly drafted to protect your best interest or not. Far more important than the credit check IMO, worse case you evict them if they don't pay rent, but if they're keeping the property up and paying on time, their credit report is irrelevent. My gf is a realtor and we own a few rentals, and that lease agreement is very important and if you have bad tenents they will exploit any loopholes in there so I would get a copy of that and go from there.

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Message 9 of 13
CreditPlay
Frequent Contributor

Re: How do I do a soft pull of someone else's credit?


@axxy wrote:

I'm in the process of buying a condo that has a tenant.  Before I close on the condo, I want to make sure the tenant is legitimate.  The seller of the condo claims, verbally, that the tenant has been paying the rent on time, and has had the same job ever since moving in.  But what if the seller is just saying that to make it easier to sell the condo?  For all I know, the tenant might actually be a problem, and part of the reason why the condo is being sold.  So I want some way to verify, just to be sure, that the tenant is really as stable as the seller claims.  A soft pull of the tenant's credit seems like it should be the best way, if I can find out how to do it.  It seems to me it should be an account review inquiry, since tenancy is actually an account relationship.  But how do I go about doing the actual soft pull and getting the report?

 


I think the seller( who is the present landlord i suppose) can only pull tenant report .


         
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Message 10 of 13
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