Somali Home: A Financial Blog

Getting An Apartment on Rent After Bankruptcy
Written by Kevin Rose   
If you have a past bankruptcy record with a bad credit after bankruptcy and are planning to rent a home or an apartment, you may face some difficulties in executing the plan . There are a few things you should know in this regard as this will help you in getting lots of renting options in the market.

First of all, you should decide if you want to rent from a private owner or a property management company. But why does this even matter, as it is only a case of renting?

Both the parties approach the rental procedure in a different manner. When you don't know their process, you might end up paying $30-$50 as credit report fees.

There are a number of strategies that might help you in increasing your chance of getting a home or apartment rental. While applying for a rental with any property management company, you should know that many people submit their rental application but it gets rejected due to their bad credit history. Don't do this to yourself. Find out the rental criteria in advance and get an idea if you actually qualify for it.

Having a bankruptcy record does not mean that the company will decline you. It depends on the guidelines of the property management company. There are chances of the firm still renting after bankruptcy, but it will ask for a higher security deposit.

Private owners are somewhat less rigid in the rental screening procedures. There are a few things you should not do during the process or else you will be turned down.

The Initial Step

It is good to purchase your FICO credit scores and make a list of every apartment you are interested in renting. You can make a call to each apartment complex and ask about the details from the apartment manager.

Questions to Ask

You should ask some questions to the apartment manager to find out if there are any chances that you will get the apartment. Proceed in the following way:
  • Has the apartment been rented to people with a bankruptcy record?
  • The credit-reporting agency being consulted for taking the rental decision.
  • What are the credit guidelines and how to get yourself eligible for them?
  • How important credit scores are, in influencing the rental decisions?
  • Find out how your credit scores sound to the manager?
  • What is the security deposit amount?
  • The income required for qualifying the apartment renting criteria (some agencies want your monthly income to be thrice the apartment's current market rate).
There are some other factors that will decide on whether you will get the apartment on rent or not:
  • Your good rental history will be a plus point in this case. There are some apartment complexes where you need to give your 12 months rental history before taking the possession.
  • There should be no utility collections in your credit report.
  • If you have ever been evicted – forget about getting through easily.
By keeping these factors in mind, you will come to know that every rental company has its own criteria. Some need two years after discharge, while others ask for four. In addition to these factors, the season, number of applicants and the general attitude of the property manager also contribute to the decision-making procedure.

You can also look out for “move-in specials.” If you come across a deal where you are getting one month rent free stay if you move before July, then the occupancy rates of the apartment would be low and the best part is that the owner or the company will be more willing to offer you the deal. Now days it is expected that there will be at least 20% decrease in the rates of rented apartments, which is certainly good news for you.

In most of the cases, apartment managers have the power to influence the credit decision, if you show them that you will be able to make monthly rent payments. Therefore the best thing is to approach the apartment manager, get answers to the above-discussed questions and then find out the apartment that is the best for you.

During the interviewing process, do not let the apartment manager to raise that credit report question again. It is always better to collect all the facts and just take one credit inquiry information to be compared. You can reduce the chances of credit inquiries by not signing on any credit application or by not giving your social security number.

Do not get attracted by the “you need a co-signer ” line. You can overcome credit guidelines by methods like larger deposit. It is always better to avoid apartment complex renting, as they have stricter guidelines. Rent from an individual landlord or find out a person who has a home to rent.
 
< Prev   Next >
[ Back ]
You are here  :Home arrow Basics arrow Getting An Apartment on Rent After Bankruptcy