TransUnion Renter Report - Reliable?

Question

We recently had two applicants go through the screening process for a rental unit of ours. We realized that one would soon be unemployed due to their relocation and the other was starting grad school (also unlikely that they'll be making a meaningful amount of money). We asked for cosigners and sent them through the TransUnion screening tool. Rather than return a credit score, it returns a Resident Score. Seemingly, both co-signers are qualified based on the Resident Score, however, one of them has quite a few delinquent payments and I would assume a bad credit score.

Does anyone have experience with the Resident Score that TransUnion provides? Is it reliable?

Any advice/assistance is appreciated!

Does anyone have experience with the Resident Score that TransUnion provides? Is it reliable?

Any advice/assistance is appreciated!

Nathan Gesner · Answer

I screen my applicants through a system that gives a custom score, but we ignore it and generate our own score based on credit history, income: debt ratio, Landlord references, etc.

JD Martin · Answer

I use the TransUnion my smart move screening and I think it works well but I look at all the pieces individually and pay little attention to the score. I look at criminal, credit record, outstanding debt, whether their addresses match, etc. If you do it like that it's a great tool. If you abdicate your responsibility to a computer score you get what you get.