Questions about apartments.

[Lord-of-the-flies]

Will have zero credit keep me from renting an apartment? I'm moving out of state and hoping to go directly into an apartment -- I've never tried this before and there's credit checks and earning requirements.

Earning requirements are the other issue -- I won't have a job right away, there's just no way for that to happen. Suggestions/help?

Thanks!  

[xxstratus_affectionxx]

You will be asked for financial references to prove you can pay. They dont so much care how much you make vs. if you can make your payments. if you have current loans for cars etc. get a copy of your payment history through the bank . or show a statement from your credit card company showing you pay on time every time( helps if it is not just minimum balance) Another great credit/reference is parents if they are going to be helpong till you get a job they can be put on as a guaranteed lessor similar to a co-signer. if you have any other questions feel free to message me  

[LovelyMonkey]

I would contact some apartments before the move and give your current employment as proof of income, many places are understanding of the just moved to town situation. I lived with the in laws while I job hunted and saved for a deposit. Good Luck!  

[InSoMnIaTiC sMoKeR]

haveing no credit is way better that bad credit. but it depends on the apartment that you find. my last one is like sweet whatever gimme your money....... only one of my roomates signed a lease and we lived there for 3 years. the place i just moved to wanted paycheck stubs. they wanted to make sure that we made a little more than double what rent was in order to move in.  

[dragonacid16]

It really depends where you are moving. I know from personal experience having no credit and in the process of switching jobs

I needed
Co-signer for lack of credit
First and Last months rent
Safety Deposit

Some places will accept last months rent instead of a co-signer and some require a co-signer and won't require last months rent.

Most apartments will only let you rent if you do not have a job if you have a co-signer and/or roommate that make 3 times the rent amount (2x in some states/cities). So if the apartment is $800 your roommate or co-signer will need to make $2,400 a month before taxes.

The longer you worked at the job you have before moving will help too if you have worked there over a year. If you have a job lined up, that will also review better and usually make it easier  

[Shadow Ice Knight]

The one I am currently living in only required first and last month's rent. Albeit, there's four of us living here so I think they had pretty high hopes that a four person combined income could make $785 a month.
Again like everyone has been saying, just call ahead and see what the requirments are.  

[Lil-Jo]

Many places will accept a few months rent paid in advance to get in... they will look at your past work history and judge you getting a job based on that. Some will require a co-signer.  

[Tillisnut]

I have to have my parents cosign for me because I don't have that much income yet. It works for me until I build up my own credit more.  

[Kalstolyn]

Kals is questing again!

In my experience it really depends on whether you're trying to deal with the huge rental companies. I survived quite happily in privately-rented basement suites for quite a number of years. Sometimes they asked for references, but there were no credit checks. I hate credit checks, they lower your credit rating.

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[PCLong]

It depends on where you are. Every state has diff. requirements.

They might require double sec. dep. Oh and I speak from experience, I am a retired Residential Apt. manager (over 12 years)  

[Aldalote]

It depends on the make-up of the area you're moving to, my current apartment is near a bunch of college campuses so they just require a deposit and last month's rent. They did run a credit check on me, but they told me that unless there was a MAJOR problem (such as large defaulted credit card balances) there wouldn't be a problem.

Compare that with a friend of mine who got her apartment in just a normal residential area. They made her jump through every hoop in the book, deposits, extra rent deposits, credit checks, co-signer, income verification for both her and her co-signer... it was quite a headache, but her apartment is much nicer than mine for about the same amount of money.  

[Malheureux]

There's some very good advice here... but I agree with the Hot Grandma.. it varries from state to state.

However, you do have a rental history. All you need is a short letter from your former landlords/ladies stating that you were a good tennant and paid your rent on time.  

[Aiyana_of_Limdule]

Lord-of-the-flies

Will have zero credit keep me from renting an apartment? I'm moving out of state and hoping to go directly into an apartment -- I've never tried this before and there's credit checks and earning requirements.

Earning requirements are the other issue -- I won't have a job right away, there's just no way for that to happen. Suggestions/help?

Thanks!

Some places make you get a co-signer if you have no existing Credit. I manage Low income Housing in Oregon. We accept applicants with poor or no credit. They like to focus more on criminal background, evictions, or if the person has a history of not paying utility bills. If they have none of that on their Credit/Criminal Background Check, we accept them. That's my experience anyway.  

[Topaz Citrine]

All of the above is sound advice......I would go get a credit history report on yourself first just to make sure you haven't anything out there by chance some how got on your credit report....one never knows with identity theft these days.

It's not about good luck it's about being smart and think it through.  

[Kalstolyn]

Kals is questing again!

Just remember that getting a credit history report on yourself gives you a point against your credit rating. Every time a credit check is run on you, you lose a tiny bit of credit rating.

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