As part of our services for Resident Screening, we offer “Soft Pull” Credit Inquiries. Typically, when a company makes an inquiry on a consumer’s credit file, that inquiry is a “Hard Pull,” meaning that the inquiry itself will cause that consumer’s credit score to dip a few points. This happens because when a consumer is looking to borrow money, for a car or a credit card, their credit risk increases slightly for additional credit.
In the past, tenant screening inquiries were always hard pulls, but this could have a significant impact on a consumer if they were applying at a number of properties. Some Credit Reporting Agencies have recognized this problem and are now allowing Background Screening Companies to make Soft Pulls for tenant screening purposes. Not all Credit Reporting Agencies offer this service yet. If you would like to learn more, please give us a call. If you are an existing customer, and would like to take advantage of this service for your prospective residents, please reach out to us so we can make sure that this service is available for your account.
We are always looking for ways to improve service for our customers. You can learn more about how hard and soft pulls affect resident applicants here.