If two people are signing the lease, then I would look at the on

who has more credit cards. Sometimes one has great credit only because the other spends money, and pay you rent! Credit report does not show the income, but the amount of debt plus past payment history is a good indication of how responsible the person is. If he did not pay a credit card bill frequently, how can you trust he can pay your rent on time? The only exception I take is if people lost points for short sale. But I will not take another late payment over 30 days on top of this. Of course, you may need to wait a while to find the right people, but better than getting a horrible one in your house!