Trying to figure out the math formula that most Landlords use to qualify (Los Angeles: rental market, credit report)

[EscapeCalifornia]

Originally Posted by 2O13

sorry i dont understand your formula can you break it down btw this is for LA cali. not the rest of the world. thank you

I know where i live it has to do with your income and the amount of the rent. Example if the rent is $1,000 you times that by 1.5 and your income will have to be $1500 or more a month to qualify .

Do people not pay taxes or eat in your world?

[2O13]

Originally Posted by EscapeCalifornia

Do people not pay taxes or eat in your world?

landlords dont put that into the can you afford their rent formula. most are looking to see if your income is 1.5x the rent or more.

[CALGUY]

Not only do I take into consideration a perspective tenant's salary after taxes, but also their current debt, and monthly expenses beyond rent.
Things such as telephone, lights, gas, car payments, cable, food, etc.
All these expenses must be considered when renting.
Being able to "cover" the rent is not enough.
If tenants are not making enough to sustain these payments, guess which one is going to take a back seat to being paid on time?
Bob.

[Ingenere]

sounds like she is very financially prudent.

"what is the max I am allowed to afford"

[readymade]

Originally Posted by CALGUY

Not only do I take into consideration a perspective tenant's salary after taxes, but also their current debt, and monthly expenses beyond rent.
Things such as telephone, lights, gas, car payments, cable, food, etc.
All these expenses must be considered when renting.
Being able to "cover" the rent is not enough.
If tenants are not making enough to sustain these payments, guess which one is going to take a back seat to being paid on time?
Bob.

Hey Calguy, I'm curious. My husband & I are thinking about looking for a new place. My credit score is 780 and his is 809. Mine was listed as a C (according to TransUnion), and sort of implied that wasn't very good (said that 51% of Americans have a better score). His was listed as B. I called on a rental, and he asked me about our credit. When I told him our scores, he seemed flabbergasted. I thought because they weren't that good, and he said no, they're "off the charts great."

I don't really know anything about credit. Is this true?

[jw2]

Originally Posted by readymade

Hey Calguy, I'm curious. My husband & I are thinking about looking for a new place. My credit score is 780 and his is 809. Mine was listed as a C (according to TransUnion), and sort of implied that wasn't very good (said that 51% of Americans have a better score). His was listed as B. I called on a rental, and he asked me about our credit. When I told him our scores, he seemed flabbergasted. I thought because they weren't that good, and he said no, they're "off the charts great."

I don't really know anything about credit. Is this true?

Pardon me for jumping in, but to be clear, I don't think that is a FICO score, rather a different index TransUnion has called Vantage score. See here. VantageScore® - Consistency in Credit Scoring | TransUnion

I have a feeling the landlord assumed they were FICO scores. 780 and up are pretty much considered all excellent for a FICO.

[readymade]

!!! I thought I was paying for a FICO score!!

That's really awful. Nice TransUnion. Really nice.

[readymade]

So I just checked my FICO score. Mine is 706 and my husband's is 718.

How do landlords feel about that? Good? Bad? Iffy?

Thanks for your advice!

[Ingenere]

740+ is the highest bracket for obtaining a mortgage. Not sure about rentals.

[linden52]

I didn't know about this VantageScore thing. So, from some things I've just been reading here VantageScore vs. FICO Score - What's the Difference Between the VantageScore and FICO Score
it appears that in 2006 the three major credit bureaus - Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion - launched the VantageScore. So it isn't just TransUnion.

Also, I found this interesting. It's a FICO score calcualtor
FICO Score Estimator for home equity shoppers

Also, I've seen 2.5 times quite often for how much a person needs in income to rent an apartment. I was looking last year for an apartmen for my sister. The last time I rented an apartment, a long time ago, no one seemed concerned about my income. That was a good thing since for a couple of years I was paying about 75% of my income for rent, and that didn't include utilities. I lost weight during that time from having to sometimes eat so little. But, hey I paid my rent on time every month.

Originally Posted by readymade

!!! I thought I was paying for a FICO score!!

That's really awful. Nice TransUnion. Really nice.