All Forum Posts by: Dana R.

After some trepidation, I used Transunion Smartmove for the first time to do a tenant background check.

And, I'm a bit confused by their report.

I paid for their QuickCheck Plus version, the more expensive version, and it promised a full credit report.

But, there's no FICO credit score. Instead, they're giving me their own brand new and proprietary rating, their residential score.

I've got no reference to what this residential score means. A traditional credit score had its issues, but at least I understand what the credit score meant. When it promises a full credit report, I was also expecting a credit score.

When Smartmove gives you their residential score, they also give you a recommendation whether or not to accept a applicant. Do you trust these recommendations?

I also wish there were more explanations for the report. I'm reading their report, and trying to guess what it means because there's not a lot of help on their FAQ or anywhere else on their website.

Other credit scores are more thorough in explaining their report. For example:

http://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/credit-...

On Smartmove, for the late payment summary, it says 3 months but there are 0s over 30,60,90. and 120 days. Does it mean that there were no late payments in the last 3 months or that there were 3 months when there were late payments?

Is there any reason why I should stick with Smartmove instead of a more traditional credit report?

Does Smartmove capture more problems than other services? The applicant brought in his own credit report powered by appfolio, and I did notice that Smartmove showed more problems than the applicant's report.

But, if I gone with a more traditional credit report, would those reports have also caught similar problems too?

I would re-finish a tub to sell a property, not for a rental. A refinish is just a stop gap and only makes the tub more vulnerable to damage in the future.

Do I need to be concerned that wife's application was blank for rental history and employment?

I'm assuming they thought she didn't need to fill out rental history since it was already covered by the husband's application.

I have a applicant who's pretty eager to rent my place because several other places have already turned him down in favor of other applicants. I think the applicant has been looking for at least two months since he had a copy of a tenant screening report from two months ago, and even had a agent helping him.

But, since he hasn't found a place yet that accepted his application, is this a red flag?

And, is there anything in his application that's a red flag as to why you'd reject the application or was it just poor luck that there other landlords chose another applicant?

Credit score is fine, above 650 although there was 1 negative item- a debt collector creditor for a type collection account whose status is in collections. This was last updated a few months ago and it doesn't show anything for current balance but high balance was a thousand dollars.  

Current rent he's paying is much lower than my rent, but income seems sufficient to pay my rent.

Income is 3X month's rent, but he's a business owner so there's no pay stubs or anything like that to verify that. He provided income statement from his business, but I don't how valid that is. But, he did provide earnings statement ADP and a balance from his credit union to show there's good balance in that account. Do you think that's enough information I need for a independent business man?

The good thing is he's stayed at current SFH rental for a long time, and before that he owned a home. But, that means you can't pull the trick of checking with previous landlord for references if the current landlord might not be honest in their assessment. And, the current landlord's references will be positive because he said he's renting it from his friend.

I'm trying to figure out if there's something I'm missing as to why he couldn't find a place already if his income and credit are sufficient.  

So, there's no way or trick to untangle these cords? 

Ideally, I'd like to do that rather than deduct from the security deposit.

The tenant that moved out had a baby and I guess they must have tried to baby proof the home. I understand that that dangling cords are a concern, but what they did to the cord blinds was ridiculous:

They knotted and tied up all the blinds in all those various knots. I tried untangling them but its like a Gordonian knot and I can't untangle them. 

Can I deduct from the security deposit the cost to replace these blinds even if they still work because I can't untangle the cords? After talking to a employee at Home Depot, it sounds like it'd be cheaper to just buy new blinds than to replace the cords themselves.

Has anybody dealt with a problem like this before? Is there any secret or tip as how to untangle these cords?

Is there a way to only get a cellphone for just a few weeks?

Most of the time, I don't really need a cellphone or smart phone. I can see the obvious benefits and convenience about having one, but its not really a necessity for me. 

The only reason I'll need one now is when I'm showing a rental and I'll need a number for somebody to contact me while I'm at the rental.

There's no fence nearby, just my property. Its still a young tree so I don't think its roots will cause any damage but I'll have to check to see if I can use that argument. 

Today, I swung by to take another, closer look at it. And, I really do think my HOA or PM is trolling me and daring me to trim this tree.

Not only is the top of the tree growing and beginning to block my view, but the sides are growing out too. If the sides continue at this rate and are untrimmed, they will become a hindrance to get into the garage- your car will have to go through branches and leaves just to enter the garage.

Its bad enough that the HOA or PM planted this tree that's blocking my view for no good reason. And, on top of that, they spent my association fees to replace a fine tree with something so stupid is just so aggravating.

Its no state secret that my HOA and/or the Property Management in charge weren't that great with all those one star reviews from various homeowners about the PM on Yelp. But, even I'm dumbfounded by their latest move- they've recently planted a tree in front of my rental property in the common areas that's already starting to block and will soon completely block the view my place used to enjoy.

There used to be another plant or tree that was fine in that place, which wouldn't grow tall enough to block the view, which was uprooted and replaced with this current tree.

The premium my place has over its comps is all about the view; I even hired somebody to come over and take pictures of that view which I now can't use anymore. And, the kitchen had been remodeled previously to orient itself around that view even though it meant sacrificing valuable cabinets and storage space so they wouldn't block that view.

My place is now available for rent and I know the loss of this view will negatively impact its rentability. What can I do? Do I have any recourse or avenues to do something about this when dealing with my HOA?Anybody ever been in a similar situation with their HOA?

I've gone throught the CCRs and Bylaws, and I haven't found anything that might help. I can't find any ordinance view, but then I didn't find any master plan that says to plant trees that will block views and hurt property values either. 

Right now, I can only think of two options:

1) Wait till its dark and start trimming the tree myself so it doesn't block the view as much  without hurting the tree

or

2) Try to convince the PM and/or the Board that its a horrible mistake for everybody to keep that tree

First option seems like it would be an effective, short term solution to get the place rented. 

But, the CCR specifically writes that, "No person shall, mar, deface, paint, inscribe, damage or waste any common area. This action additionally applies to landscaping. Board action is required to alter, remove, or improve the common areas."

And, I've dealt with the PM before so I know that I won't really get anywhere with the second option. I'm having difficulty finding the next board meeting so I'm assuming it won't be for awhile so even if they decide to do anything, it'll be too late anyways. 

My concern is that if I tried to go through with the second option and that it failed, it would only draw attention to any subsequent trimmings that might not otherwise notice.

How do you take out the lock and bring it to the locksmith? Is it by unscrewing the screws on the side of the door? 

I was looking up on how to re-key doors in order to know what to bring to locksmith, but they all assume that you've already taken the lock out.

And, the lock works but its also hard to operate. Would re-keying make it easier to open and lock or this more of a lock problem so I need to get a new lock and not just re-key?