Do you have a scorecard?

Question

After interested residents fill an application, do you use a scorecard to tally up their answers in order to make consistent decisions?

For example:

Applicant lived at the same address
>3 years = 2pts
1-3 years = 1pt
<1 year = 0 pts
multiple moves in a 12 mo period = -1pts

Same with employment, income, etc...

and then anyone that got 80-100% gets qualified, 70-80% - explanations and additional Security Deposit/ Rent / Co-Signer may be required, less than 70% gets rejected...

Do you mind sharing your scorecard?

James Mc Ree · Answer

No. You are WAY over-complicating the decision making process with busy work. You aren't likely to have that many simultaneous applications for a property where you need something like this. You do need a written qualifying criteria for prospects you will consider. After that, it is usually a qualitative analysis among few choices.

Creating a model like this will cause you to spend far more time "perfecting" the arbitrary model than actually talking with your prospects to get to know them. It is far more important to know who you are renting to than score them.

In your example, why did they move? That is more important to know than how many times. Try to connect with their former landlords to get the other side of the story.

Kenneth Garrett · Answer

@Vladimir Lukyanov

I have been using a scoring model for the past ten years.  Every qualified applicant goes through the model.  It’s a pretty quick analysis.  A couple minutes.  I generally take the first qualified applicant, but in the case of multiple qualified candidates the scoring model allows me to decide who the best applicant is and to avoid using discriminatory practices.

Rene Bee · Answer

I’ve experimented with scorecards like this, and while I understand the appeal, I’ve moved away from hard point systems. They can create a false sense of precision and can be risky if they’re applied too mechanically.

What I’ve found works better is a consistent review process rather than a numeric score — looking at the same core categories every time (income stability, employment consistency, rental history patterns, documentation quality), and then documenting why something is solid, uncertain, or needs follow-up.

Two applicants can land at the same ‘score’ but carry very different types of risk, and that nuance is usually what matters.

Scott Nachitilo · Answer

We don’t use a formal point-based scorecard, mainly because it can create fair housing and consistency risks if it isn’t set up very carefully.

What we do use is a written screening criteria checklist that’s applied the same way to every applicant. Things like minimum income-to-rent ratio, credit standards, rental history, eviction history, and employment verification are all clearly defined upfront. Applicants either meet the criteria or they don’t.

Point systems can be helpful internally, but the challenge is when exceptions start creeping in, such as extra deposits, co-signers, or subjective explanations, which can open the door to inconsistency. In some states, additional deposits or conditional approvals aren’t even allowed.

If you do use a scorecard, I’d recommend having it reviewed for fair housing compliance and making sure it’s applied uniformly with no exceptions.

Vladimir Lukyanov · Answer

@Kenneth Garrett, could you share your scoring model?

Do you have a scorecard?

Most Popular Reply