Looking to Rent With Lousy Credit?
Posted by Lee Cameron on Thursday, May 13th, 2010 at 11:48am.
You don't have to go to the ends of the earth to find it!
With unemployment and foreclosures the highest they've been in decades, many people are watching their credit scores tumble. If you've lost your home and are looking for a new place to rent, this can be a huge worry.
First of all, if you earned your low credit score through a lifetime of bad spending habits, this won't help you. There are certainly things out there to help you get your credit back up but it's going to take a great deal of time and work and landlords will be unlikely to take you in on faith. But if your lower credit score is the result of a recent, unavoidable financial crisis, many landlords may be surprisingly willing to give you a break if you work with them.
The first thing you should do is get a copy of your credit report from all three of the credit reporting agencies - Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. You can get one free credit report from each of these companies once a year through annualcreditreport.com. Go through the reports for any inaccuracies. If you find any, do what you can to clear them right away. Also, pay off as many open accounts as you possibly can.
Once you've done whatever you can to fix and improve your credit, sit down and write a letter of explanation to your new potential landlord. Don't worry about writing down your life story or a tear-jerker, just carefully explain the circumstances that have led to your recent drop in credit rating and list the current steps that you are taking to bring it back up. In this economy, landlords - like anyone else working in real estate right now - will have seen many people in your position and may be inclined to be more understanding than they would have been some years ago. It might also help if you agree to a higher security deposit, or if you get a co-signer with good credit.
If you have trouble finding an apartment manager willing to help you out, try second-home owners and investors. Like you, many of them are suffering from a bad economy and they may be having trouble finding any renters. They might be willing to accept you even with bad credit.
Just remember that, if you do find a place to rent, you're in a new home because someone was willing to take a chance on you. Make good on your promises and be a model tenant and your landlord will be more willing to give you a future recommendation or be more lenient should financial troubles strike again. Let me know if you need any help!
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Posted on Friday, May 14th, 2010 at 2:44 PM.