I am looking for a new apartment. I have been calling around to different complexes, and the most solid answer I can get on credit requirements include " your credit report should contain no more than 20% negative information". Now what does that mean? Also, for the rent to income requirement, is that gross or take home pay? My scores range from 599 to 699, no lates in 2 years. One report has an unpaid collection and an r4 account on it (EQ). Any advice on how to successfully get a new place? Thanks.
keltexx, I don't think you will have a problem. The application usually asks for your gross income and they don't want to see any evictions, foreclosures, BKs, etc. If you have two years of excellent payment history you should be fine. The application charge is usually $20-30 per person and there is usually a security deposit involved (ranges anywhere between $0 and one month's rent). Good luck. Dani
depends. Some apartments, like the ghetto ones, are filled with folks that have bad credit. They will search your eviction court records, check your job, and look for past due amounts owed to other apartments. Previous evictions are a 99% denial.. Nicer places, goes either ways, depending on the mgmt group. I've seen some owners require flawless (no baddies) as a requirement, period end of story. The place im in now, is upscale, and required a full months deposit, refunded after 12 payments on time, plus the normal deposit, plus the app fees, etc. They called to verify employment for sure.
I don't have any evictions or owe any past apartment money. I called another complex, that happened to be owned by a management company that I had lived in a few years ago. Its brand new, and they are almonst empty right now because they are on a borderline "sketchy" part of town, where there are 300,000 condos on one side of the street and slums on the other (I am in Houston, there isn't any zoning). But they are nice places. I definitely make enough for the income/rent ratio. I spoke with the manager, and told her of my credit situation. She said that they look at the entire picture, not just your report. And I threw in the part about living in one of their complexes in the past-she sounded encouraging.
I always have had bad luck trying to get apartments in the past... It really depends on the company you are looking at.. they all have very varied guidelines... a few years back I had only some late pays on my accounts at that point, DENIED, over two years ago, DENIED, both times I got someone to sign on the lease and got in anyways.. Its sad, because I have never been late on a rent payment, but they didnt care.
Question: Last year, my rental office dragged their feet on making some necessary repairs. As a result, I sent them a certified letter letting them know I would hold payment until the repairs were made. They did come in and fix the repairs and I paid. HOWEVER, their policy is that they send your "account" to be filed with the courts for an eviction. I never went to the hearing because I had paid by then and they said to just ignore the notice. Does this notice from the courts mean I have an eviction on file? Anyone have experience with this? I'm still in the same apt so it would make sense that I have no evictions on file, right?
Ok a subject I Know About hehe.... I have been working in the apartment industry for 11 years now.. first off you could have avoided court LBOWMAN by putting the money in an escrow account with the courts for further info ok on requirements im assuming you dont want Gheto Land or Slum World... Most apartments want you to make 3 to 4 times the amount of your rent Gross... Bk is iffffy if you have had good credit since the BK and BK is 4 plus years your ok.. credit needs to be average over all and you need to have stable income we prefer 1 year at least same job.... all so you need 1 year of stable rental verification whether its from another complex or Landlord (HINT you can have a Family member do this if need be) we charge 35 per person for application or 35 per Husband/wife if your credit is still not good enough but you make the income requirement and rental verification we have asked for an additional security deposit (but you allso have to rember most apartments dont have ther corporate office make the decision on who gets aproved they just give us there rough requirements and leave the rest up to the Manager so if you go in dressed like a bum or being rude which happens alot you just hurt your chances.... if u need any other info just ask if I dont have an exact answer for you i will have it friday when i get home from work .....
Biju what about a judgement that was a result of an eviction. when you look at my credit report the only thing under the judgement is the courts name and docket #. do they ivestigate these judgements to find out what they are connected to? also, regarding employement, I have just started a job and have been there for only 1 month. by the end of July I plan on going out and trying to secure an apartment. how bad is this going to go against me? I assuming pretty bad. can you give me any advice or hope for that matter? I just can't seem to get on my feet with so much against me. kathy
I had trouble a few years back due to unpaid collections. They wanted all unpaid debts paid or settled. It depends on the complex.. jmart
I live in a really nice apartment and they took my SSN but they NEVER ran my credit. I've checked all my credit reports and there was never any inquiry. I also had a foreclosure that was like a year old at the time. Don't dispair. By the way, they want your monthly income to be 3x the rent.
as i said, many places now check residential eviction info (and/or credit). Even if they filed an eviction and it was dismissed, the bureau that stores these court records will show up as eviction (and the disposition). If such said apartment uses that form of checking, you will be pretty screwed. I used to write the software for pc's to run these reports, heh, many years back. They have folks scourge all the court documents on a daily basis to populate their database. The info, is tough as nails to get off, since they can go back and verify such information similar to a IRS lien. They are also very adept at matching similar name/addresses and ssn variations, much more so than a credit report, they use phonetic name matching, and have routines to detect the SSN switcheroo, which is common on many applications from people trying to avoid the system.
If on your report it does not say eviction you will be fine there we see lots of judgements and never have i seen them investigated... but the one month employed is tough is your new job by chance in the same field as your last job ??? if it is not i would say be ready tp provide an extra security deposit most complexes use a service for credit by the name of ASAP just a little extra info
I meet the rent/income requirements definitely. I have no problem with paying additional deposit if it secures me a place. No prior evictions, no fees from prior apartments, etc. I moved into the place I am in when I started grad school to save $$. Since I have graduated, and my job situation seems to have quasi stabilized, I am ready to make the move. I am going to look at this particular place this weekend. Will let you know what comes of it.
Why don't you call and ask what Bureau they pull from? Thats what I did before I went applying, saves you inquiries on the ify CR's.
keltexx, ask them for the main office number. I had to do this before I just moved. I knew if EQU was pulled for us we'd be declined, and I didn't want to waste $40 and the inquiries to find out the hard way. Also, majority of the complexes I talked to said, they look for in order: 1. Evictions/rental non-payment. 2. 2 years of good payment history on CR. 3. length of employment (1+ yrs.) Seems like the norm, although some places are a lot stricter than others.
Thanks. EQ is my worst, 599. TU is my best, 699. I have all of what you mentioned, and I will try their main phone number. BTW, I did previously live in an apartment complex owned by this company, with excellent history for 4 years. Hoping that will count for something.
Does anyone know about the implications of the 'Repair and Deduct' law in California (Ca. Civil Code 1942)? I am in the City of Los Angeles which has rent control. I know the Rent Stabilization ordinances are enforcible, but is the CA Civl Code still enforcable or does the City Rent Stabilization Rules overide it? I have a landlord that has been ordered by the city twice to fix some stuff and they haven't done it, so I am considering the Repair and Deduct. Thanks
But on the other hand, I can't tell you the difference between a '71 and '72 Chevelle, Ozzy. =========== =========== I can.I bought a new 71 Chevelle Convertible back then. Wish I still had it today in the same new condition. It would be worth several times what I paid for it new. LBrown59