Prospective Tenants only have student loans on their credit report

[Stephen Solano]

How do you treat a tenants credit application that only has student loans on their credit report that they just started paying 3 months ago? In my opinion, this is a very weak history of their ability to repay debt even though their actual scores do meet my minimum requirement of 650. There are no other loans or credit cards on either of the 2 applicants. Curious how others would approach this

My requirement is: "Minimum 650 credit score with sufficient credit history"

[Ghassan Jabali]

Hello Stephen,

I hope you're doing well. Generally, students can either be very good tenants as they focus on their schooling diligently or they can be very unreliable. I myself benefited by renting while going through law school and had no issues. Fortunately, student tenants in my properties have also brought up no issues.

Having a 650 credit score can be a good start but if you are wanting to adjust your requirements to include employment or longer history then you absolutely can during your tenant application process. If you are particularly concerned you could see if they are willing to have a guarantor sign also on the lease agreements, or do a short lease such as 3 months to test them out and then a longer lease afterwards.

Note: This information is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, financial, or investment advice. No attorney-client, fiduciary, or professional relationship is established through this communication.