Apartment Hunting questions

[Jonathan P]

Hi all, I was accepted into a program about three hours from my hometown. I've rented once before from an apartment complex and it went well for the most part.

My fear is I won't find an apartment for school this time around because my credit score dropped pretty significantly, low 600's, and I won't technically have a job there since I am moving to a new city to show proof of income.

How should I go about the renting process under these conditions? Will I be able to find an apartment? I'm saving now with my summer job, but I'm not sure of anything. I thought the admission process was hard, but I'm fearful getting into a program and not finding housing could be worse.

[quincepessa]

Some places will check your credit, others will just call former landlords. Places near schools, that are used to renting to students may want to see any financial aid award letters you have. Does your school have an off-campus housing office? They may have recommendations of places students rent.

[perpetuavix]

Will you have a stipend from your school? Most rental companies are happy to accept an offer letter in lieu of pay stubs for the income requirements. If your credit score is low and you're saving some money up, one thing you can do is offer more money up front. If they ask for first month's and deposit, offer last's month rent as well. Obviously, you need to have enough money to do this saved, but it can encourage a landlord who wouldn't otherwise consider you. 

You can also look into subletting an apartment. Most people don't run credit checks on the people they sublet to; some rental history (which you have) is likely enough. Good luck! 

[Jonathan P]

Thanks! I will try to save as much as possible. I didn't receive any funding for my first semester because there were budget cuts in the department, so I'm taking out loans to get me through my first semester. I wonder if they'd consider the loan as a form of income. I definitely plan on working full time while going to school and will most likely secure a job within a week once there. (Hopefully)

I may end up subletting or something similar. I really would prefer my own place though. I can't stand a lot of noise, and I like to come home from work and school and just plop on the couch in silence. Lol

Though if I did end up subletting, I'd spend the majority of my time in the library or at work which is doable too.

[quincepessa]

If the landlords work with students at all, they will definitely consider loans as a form of income. Good luck!

[maelia8]

Do you have other people who can vouch for your credit history, or stand surety for you to pay (relatives, for example)? That might calm some landlords.

[rising_star]

You might consider renting through a private owner because they might not care as much about your credit score.

[microarray]

If needed you could get a relative to be a cosigner for you

[danieleWrites]

If you haven't already, get your free credit report and see what's on it. (I always go through the ftc.gov website to find the annual credit report website so I don't accidentally try to get it from one of those fake free credit report websites.)

Anyway. Landlords check your credit report because they want to know if you're stable, have a history of paying your bills, and can afford the rent. They credit score itself isn't as important to them as having a history at living in one place, paying your bills, and so on.

You can get reference letters from your current landlord, if you have one that isn't your parent, or other creditors. People with bad credit do get into apartments (homelessness tends to be about not having money rather than not having good enough credit), but you may find yourself paying more for security deposits and whatnot. You can get around that by having someone with good credit sign the lease with you (if you can find someone willing to stick their neck out for you).

Since you live close by (relatively), you should spend as much time as you can looking for un-advertised rentals. These are often well priced and away from the party-central that is a college, apartment complex. You should check into roommate situations, as well. This can involve driving around and looking through the local newspaper. You can do some double duty here by renting a storage space and bringing stuff down with you every trip.

Landlords in the area know college students. They've been renting to people like us for a long, long time. Show up like you're ready for a game of golf with your boss (khakis and a polo shirt), in a clean vehicle, without music playing. Shut the ringer off on your phone. The image to project is mature adult; the image to avoid is college student.

[Jonathan P]

You guys have made many great points. I have found a roommate since my first posting which is both a good thing and possibly a bad thing.

Her credit score is around 550 and my credit score is around 650 (wasn't as bad as I thought). I didn't know her score was so low, but we both have good rental history. She has a salaried job which I think helps and makes around 40k a year.

Collectively, we make around 60k and that's including student loans. I hope this will be enough to get us by.

A side question: when I lived in Iowa for a year, I rented a room from a friend. Would a letter still work from her even though she was not an official landlord? (Everything was paid in cash)

It just struck me that many, if not all of my questions should be targeted toward my future landlord. Sorry for posting so many questions, and thank you everyone for the help!

[PhDerp]

A side question: when I lived in Iowa for a year, I rented a room from a friend. Would a letter still work from her even though she was not an official landlord? (Everything was paid in cash)

 

Just tell her not to call herself a "landlord"; ask her to write a generic letter about paying rent on-time.

I took a call once for my friend who unofficially sublet from me. The caller was none the wiser, even though I was clearly not the owner of the entire apartment complex.

EDIT: To make it clear, all the person asked was if my friend paid her rent on-time, which she did, and they checked my information to make sure I was indeed the person listed as "current rentor" on the paperwork.

Edited April 21, 2014 by PhDerp