Really? I just checked my bb -when I click on any msg (email or text) I get a big long menu. (open, mark unopened, save, reply, forward, forward as, delete). Forward as brings up a a 3-option menu, email, pin and sms. If yours is different, then you might be out of luck. So yeah, take a picture of your phone.

i think your great for doing this. ive worked since i was 16 and always worked hard to keep my credit score excellent. ive gone without food in order to pay my bills on time. now at the age of 38, my credit is in the toilet since losing my job in july. had to sell my house and havent paid a bill in 9 months except health insurance and vehicles ....because thats all i can do at the moment

when i finally get work and am able to get a place, i wonder how hard it will be with a credit score of zero...after 7 years of higher education, 12 years of professional work and after paying many thousands of dollars in student loans, the idea that i might not even qualify for an apartment is horrific and depressing

in my mind, a credit score these days must be examined in the context of what has happened in people's lives given the current state of the economy

i think you can learn alot more about a renter by talking to them in person than by reading a score

Spotless credit reports will become a rarity in the next few years, that's for sure. However, it's easy to read a credit report and determine whether the borrower is a lifelong deadbeat or is fine, but just hit some bumps in the road. When you see someone who has decades of perfect payment history on everything, mortgage, credit cards, cars, etc. and then a sudden cratering of payments and FICO, then you know they're not a deadbeat. Maybe a divorce, illness or job loss caused it, but you know they're basically credit worthy. When you see someone who's never been on time, has collections, judgments, accounts closed due to non-payment, delinquencies all over the map, well, that goes to character. There's no story a person like that can tell me and change my mind.

ive read alot of credit reports...but not in a while. i dont recall being able to see much of a history going backwards in time. all i can recall seeing are the various creditors and the pmt status...on time, delinquent 90 days, charge off...etc.

are you saying you can look and see 10 years of credit history? if so, then i dont feel so worried,, but again, i dont recall that being the case when looking at the reports

I haven't seen too many credit reports without also knowing the borrower's income. So I have a little more to go on. Let's put it this way. When you make $100k a year, have few debts and still can't pay rent on time, well, that's a problem. I had an ex who was a nurse, made $90k a year, paid about $1000 in rent, had no car, no student loans and never had two dimes to rub together. At the time I was making half what she was and she sometimes asked me to pay for stuff, claiming she had to wait for her next paycheck. Those kinds of folks will always have problems, no matter how much they make.

Good luck, Rick. I'm throwing in the towel on rentals. Getting rid of all of them. The last time I tried to rent a house, about a year ago, I answered the phone 10 times a day for 4 friggin months and could not find one person who wasn't:

Section 8
Owned 2 pitbulls
A single mom with 4 kids
Had a FICO greater than 500
Had medical collections from an accident
Recent BK

And this was for a very nice 3/2 home in a newish neighborhood.

I finally gave up and have been dumping my properties as fast as I can. I'm too old for this schit. Things were fine when the economy was good. Now, everyone's a deadbeat. Amazing how it turns so quickly. I do have a few good renters right now, and am just waiting for them to screw up so I can toss them and sell those houses. Your property value might come back, or then again, it might not. I personally feel we're in for 10 more years of a crappy economy, with stagnating or declining RE values, and inflation. I'm not willing to ride it out. I'd rather buy toys. That $150K 430 Spider will seem CHEAP 10 years from now! :D

I've been getting a lot of phone calls on the place now. My awesome nextdoor neighbor has been showing the place for me, as he works from home and refuses to take any money from me. I tried to shove some cash in his pocket last week. I will be sending him a large gift card when this is all done.

For future reference militarybyowner.com is the only place I list my houses for rent.
I have 5 homes & I have never had a problem with people in the military.

I am in Va. close to DC and it is an excellent location. I don't know where your property is but I would keep it in mind!!

I got it rented out! Lease is signed, sec. deposit and first month's rent were direct deposited on Friday. So I'm eating one month's rent.

Just read this for the first time and --boom-- the good news arrives as I finish - interesting ideas and observations from you all. I have thought that the car evaluation was a good way to see what they can afford and how they respect and keep their possesions maintained. Fast food trash, dents, bailing wire, aged dirt = bad.

Let us know who you closed the deal with and how it came about. Any compromises???