question about landlords and credit..?

Question

My husband and I dont have the best of credit, we're trying to find a cheap apartment (most likely low income housing) will they most likely deny us? Or would we just have to pay a bigger deposit? Obviously people need places to live, so not all landlords can deny people with bad credit!

Answer 1

Remember you have to crawl before you can walk. Do not apply at large complexes because most likely they are run by a management company.
Go to a small complex where you would be talking to the owner or the manager. Be direct and explain how you got into the situation that you are currently. I speak from personal experience, and people can tell when you are or are not telling the truth.

When someone wanted to rent an apartment and their credit was not very good, I would look at how long have they been on their current job? How long have they lived at their current place? What is the reason that they are looking for a new place? If all of the above seemed reasonable, then I would contact the owner for approval.

I would ask them for the money to run a credit report, and when I got the report back I would call the owner for approval or disapproval. If approved I would ask for a security deposit and two months rent in advance. If they paid their rent on time for one year, I would write up a new rental agreement and return the extra month rent to them.

Answer 2

I don't know if it's like this everywhere, but in Texas the only thing that apartment complexes look at on your credit is if you owe another apartment complex. They don't care if you have credit cards that have gone to collections, or unpaid medical bills or stuff like that.

If you've been evicted that will change things.

Look on the HUD website for a list of low income apartments in your area. Or call an apartment locator in your area and explain that you don't have the greatest credit. They'll know exactly which properties in your area work with renters with bad credit.

Once you have a few complexes to choose from, go to www.apartmentratings.com and check out your complexes to see what people who live there have been saying about them. If they complain about plumbing problems, high electric bills or tons of druggies hanging around the complex, stay far away from it.

Also, you can get your credit reports and see exactly what's on them. Once a year you can get a free one from each of the three major credit reporting bureaus. The website to do that is www.annualcreditreport.com.

Oh...one thing I learned the very hard way...when you turn in the condition sheet for the apartment when you're first moving in, ask the landlord or complex manager to initial and date it and to give you a photocopy...and then don't lose it.

Answer 3

Yes, they can and often will.

You have about 10 minutes to convince them that your are not a bad person. Don't tell them this!!! Act as professional as you can!! When they ask about credit, explain your circumstances in a mature way AND always pay your rent on time!!! They will give you a good referral in the future, considering you leave the apt clean and you're not rude to neighbors.