Issue link: https://nest.uberflip.com/i/1198770
HOW TO CHECK YOUR CREDIT SCORE Y ou are given one free credit report a year by each of the three major reporting sources, Experian, Equifax, and Transunion. You can claim yours at Annualcreditreport.com You can also check with your bank, credit card company, or an online personal finance company like Credit Karma, since some offer a free credit score. And luckily checking your own credit report (what is called a soft inquiry) won't negatively affect your score, so check as often as you like. A hard inquiry—in which you apply for a new line of credit and a potential lender reviews your credit information—can affect your score. LOWEST CREDIT SCORE NEEDED TO RENT PROPERTY A high FICO score on your credit report shows you're good at paying your bills, whether they're from a car loan or credit cards. But a low score could cause your potential landlord to think you are more likely to miss rent payments. That's why if you're looking to rent, your credit score is important. Anything 700 or higher is usually good, in general, if your score is under 680, you will begin to have difficulties renting. I always recommend to owners that a 680 credit score is the lowest they should go when considering potential tenants. Credit scores below 600 means an individual probably has at least two collections on their credit report, which means they are a credit risk, and more likely to default to some extent on their rent obligations. Most often the owners have the last say in who gets the home, however some owners are out of state or out of country and prefer to leave all decisions to the property managers. Note that in the city of Seattle we are now held to a "first come, first serve" law, but this only means that the first person to apply that meets all requirements—income, landlord references AND credit score, gets the opportunity to rent. If the credit score falls below the minimum (even if you are the first to apply) the landlord or property manager does not need to rent to you.