General Leasing Standards

Misukonis Enterprises' general leasing qualifiers.

A prospective tenant:
Must not owe a previous landlord.
Must have an acceptable credit history (see credit scores below).
Must have the income to support the property.
Must have an acceptable job history.
Must have no criminal history.
Must have solid references from previous landlords.

All information on the application must be truthful and free from errors.

Deviation from any one of these requirements or combinations of requirements will disqualify an applicant from consideration.


What is a credit score?

A credit score is a number lenders use to help them decide: "If I give this person a loan or credit card, how likely is it I will get paid back on time?" Credit scores are also called risk scores because they help lenders predict the risk that you will not be able to repay the debt as agreed. Scores are generated by statistical models using elements from your credit report, and sometimes from other sources, such as your credit application. However, scores are not stored as part of your credit history. Rather, scores are generated at the time a lender requests your credit report and then included with the report.
Credit scores are fluid numbers that change as the elements in your credit report change. For example, payment updates or a new account could cause scores to fluctuate. There are many different credit scores used in the financial service industry. Scores may be different from lender to lender (or from car loan to mortgage loan) depending on the type of credit scoring model that was used.


How scores are calculated

Designers of credit scoring models review a set of consumers – often over a million. The credit profiles of the consumers are examined to identify common variables they exhibited. The designers then build statistical models that assign weights to each variable, and these variables are combined to create a credit score.
Models for specific types of loans, such as auto or mortgage, more closely consider consumer payment statistics related to these loans. Model builders strive to identify the best set of variables from a consumer's past credit history that most effectively predict future credit behavior.


What's in a credit score?

The information that impacts a credit score varies depending on the score being used. Credit scores are only affected by elements in your credit report, such as:
Number and severity of late payments
Type, number and age of accounts
Total debt
Recent inquiries
If a business card/corporate card or gas card does not appear on your credit report, it will not affect your score. Credit scores do not consider:
Your race, color, religion, national origin, sex or marital status. U.S. law prohibits credit scoring from considering these facts, as well as any receipt of public assistance, or the exercise of any consumer right under the Consumer Credit Protection Act.
Your age.
Your salary, occupation, title, employer, date employed or employment history. However, lenders may consider this information in making their approval decisions.
Where you live.
Any interest rate being charged on a particular credit card or other account.
Any items reported as child/family support obligations or rental agreements.
Certain types of inquiries (requests for your credit report). The score does not count "consumer disclosure inquiry" requests you have made for your credit report in order to check it. It also does not count "promotional inquiry" requests made by lenders in order to make a "pre-approved" credit offer – or "account review inquiry" requests made by lenders to review your account with them. Finally, inquiries for employment purposes are not counted.


History of credit scores

Credit scores came into wide use in the 1980s. Long before credit scores, human judgment was the sole factor in deciding who received credit. Lenders used their past experience at observing consumer credit behavior as the basis for judging new consumers. Not only was this a slow process, but it was also unreliable because of human error.
Lenders eventually began to standardize how they made credit decisions by using a point system that scored the different variables on a consumer's credit report. This point system helped to eliminate much of the bias that previously existed; however, it was still tied to intuitive measures of creditworthiness and was not based on actual consumer behavior.
Credit granting took a huge leap forward when statistical models were built that considered numerous variables and combinations of variables. These models were built using payment information from thousands of actual consumers, which made scores highly effective in predicting consumer credit behavior. When combined with computer applications, scoring models made the credit granting process extremely fast, efficient and objective, facilitating commerce and helping consumers quickly get the credit they need.


Improve your credit score

Some suggestions
Scores reflect credit payment patterns over time with more emphasis on recent information. In general, a score may improve, if you:

Pay your bills on time. Delinquent payments and collections can have a major negative impact on a score.
Keep balances low on credit cards and other "revolving credit." High outstanding debt can affect a score.
Apply for and open new credit accounts only as needed. Don't open accounts just to have a better credit mix – it probably won't raise your score.
Pay off debt rather than moving it around. Also, don't close unused cards as a short-term strategy to raise your score. Owing the same amount but having fewer open accounts may lower your score.
Review your credit report regularly so you know what is being reported. It won't affect your score to request and check your own credit report.

Items that make scores better

Paying your bills on time is the single most important contributor to a good credit score. Even if the debt you owe is a small amount, it is crucial that you make payments on time. In addition, you should minimize outstanding debt, avoid overextending yourself and refrain from applying for credit needlessly.

Applications for credit show up as inquiries on your credit report, indicating to lenders that you may be taking on new debt. It may be to your advantage to use the credit you already have to prove your ongoing ability to manage credit responsibly.

If you do have negative information on your credit report, such as late payments, a public record item (e.g., bankruptcy), or too many inquiries, you may want to pay your bills and wait. Time is your ally in improving credit. There is no quick fix for bad credit.

One common question that many consumers have regarding their credit score involves understanding how very specific actions will affect their credit score. For example, someone might ask if closing two of his/her installment accounts would improve his/her credit score. While this question may appear to be easy to answer, there are many factors to consider. A credit score is based entirely on the information found on an individual's credit report.

Any change to the credit report could affect the individual's scores. Simply closing two accounts not only lowers the number of open installment accounts (which generally will improve your score) but it also lowers the total number of all open accounts (which generally lowers your score). Furthermore, such an action will affect the average age of all accounts that could either raise or lower your score. As you can see, one seemingly simple change actually affects a large number of items on the credit report. Therefore, it is impossible to provide a completely accurate assessment of how one specific action will affect a person's credit score. This is why the score factors are important. They identify what elements from your credit history are having the greatest impact so that you can take appropriate action.

How long does it take to rebuild scores?

Actually, you don't rebuild scores. You rebuild your credit history, which is then reflected by credit scores. The length of time to rebuild your credit history after a negative change depends on the reason behind the change. Most negative changes in scores are due to the addition of a negative element to your credit report such as a delinquency or collection account.. These new elements will continue to affect your scores until they reach a certain age. Delinquencies remain on your credit report for seven years. Most public record items remain on your credit report for seven years, although some bankruptcies may remain for 10 years and unpaid tax liens remain for 15 years. Inquiries remain on your report for two years.