Are tenants hacking Zillow's credit score tool?

Question

So I just rcvd a rental application from Zillow and the credit score is showing 714 which sounds good... BUT there have been 24 late payments with the last late payment made in Nov 2024 and  0 paid on time. There's a 2nd account with 5 payments total and 3 of those were late. I know credit reporting... how is this possible?

James Hampton · Answer

What does the past landlords say? What is their previous rental history like?I suggest using a service like Mayistay. It's difficult to see how a tenant will be after screened and signing a lease. However, a lot of concerns can be mitigated with looking at their past rental behavior in a lot of different settings. Let us know how it goes.

Chris B. · Answer

I never trust a Zillow application.  I like them because they may point out information that can disqualify a tenant when that applicant has provided some truthful information. Low hanging bad apples.  Great initial screening material.  However the tenant may lie and Zillow doesn't verify much so another application may look great.  Zillow seems to do minimal verification of information provided and that just isn't good enough.

Your situation does seem strange though.  I would try to verify the negative information and if in fact true, then it would be a pass for me.

Greg Scott · Answer

Did they send you a PDF or did you download it directly from Zillow?

There is a ton of fraud out there. It is easy for people to download fake W2s, ESA paperwork, etc, with a few mouse clicks and a credit card.  We regularly have people apply with fake SSNs.  Our systems have caught people using SSNs from deceased people or the SSN indicates they are 2-3 decades older than their driver license birth date.

Michelle Gonzalez · Answer

It was from Zillow not a pdf which I found was strange.