renting with bad credit? (Alhambra, Rosemead: apartments, rentals, hotel)

[davevjr]

I was wondering how to overcome the obstacle of bad credit when trying to rent an apartment. I am looking for a place in la/hollywood thats near public transpo.

[ragnarkar]

Rent from private landlords (i.e. classifieds, craigslist, www.padmapper.com, etc.) until you have a decent track record then rent your dream place. There are countless # of these rentals in the San Gabriel Valley (i.e. Alhambra, San Gabriel, Rosemead, etc.)

[CALGUY]

You might be able to find a building, or house that is owned by one person, or husband and wife, but the problem with some of them is, they are not up to scale when it comes to repairs, and other tenant concerns.
With bad credit, it is nearly impossible to get a rental unit.
Sometimes a landlord will take extra deposits when one has poor credit, but many landlords, including myself, want to see fairly decent credit, and extra deposits more often than not, are not acceptable.
What a credit report does is, give a perspective landlord a view as to how you handle financial obligations, and with bad, or poor credit, that tells us you are not handling these responsibilities very well.
Most landlords will not take the risk of getting a tenant in, only to have to evict them later for non payment of rent.
What I would offer for you as an immediate solution to your housing needs would be a hotel, motel, or some place where you can pay by the week, until you re-establish your credit.
Bob.

[davevjr]

Thanks for the info guys and I am considering A weekly hotel/motel or similair arrangement. But I keep reading reviews claiming bed bugs. I have never dealt with bed bugs before. Some reviews online make them sound like a plague. Is thee re any truth to this are bed bugs a big problem in LA. are the in fact as dangerous some of the reviews make them sound?

[Praline]

Originally Posted by davevjr

Thanks for the info guys and I am considering A weekly hotel/motel or similair arrangement. But I keep reading reviews claiming bed bugs. I have never dealt with bed bugs before. Some reviews online make them sound like a plague. Is thee re any truth to this are bed bugs a big problem in LA. are the in fact as dangerous some of the reviews make them sound?

This economy is a good time (if there is such a thing) to have less than perfect credit - Most landlords are aware that people have lost their jobs, have medical problems, etc. all of which would cause their credit score to take a nose dive. Depending on what is on your record, you could always say, "Listen, I was out of work for blah, blah, blah OR I had medical bills that caused me to get behind on other financial commitments which ruined my credit. . . " (whichever reason you want to use medical or unemployment), then follow up and say something like, "However, until that happened I alway paid my bills on time" or "Even though my credit is not perfect due to (whatever), I always paid my rent on time and lived in the same unit for _____ years. A call to my former landlord will confirm what I'm saying. I'm working to improve my credit score, but that will not affect my ability to pay my rent on time."

This can work both with a private owner or by letter to a property management group. As someone else suggested, if you are willing to pay more security because of your less than stellar credit, that could work for you as well.

Try applying for studio apartments in good areas so that you won't have to worry so much about beg bugs. Good luck to you.

[readymade]

My husband & I rented w/ bad credit (from across the country, no less). We were up front about our credit issues BEFORE anyone ran our credit reports. We also didn't have jobs when we moved. We had saved a lot of money and offered to pay several months in advance.

We were really REALLY lucky to find our landlord. She's awesome, and we've gotten to know her in the past 1 1/2 years we've rented from her. I asked her why she rented to us, one time, and she said she really liked my husband (he had flown out here to find us a place) and had a gut feeling that he was trustworthy. She said that there were other people who wanted the apartment, but that she rented it to us mostly because she liked him and wanted to give us a chance. She said she appreciated our honesty about our bad credit, too.

SO glad that she did! We had so many strikes against us! A baby, 2 cats & a dog, bad credit, no jobs, moving across the country. It's a MIRACLE we found a place!

I think/hope she's glad too. We've never been late with our rent. I've never been late on rent in my life, actually. My parents were/are landlords. I've been a landlord, too (never again!). I've seen/experienced how awful tenants can be. I would never put someone else through that.

Several months ago, our landlord gave someone else a chance (she owns several properties), and ended up having to evict them after 4 or 5 months of no rent paid. And they trashed the place. They also had bad credit. So you never know.

[davevjr]

Fake Employment References Home.

what about this place they can give references for a fee both apartnent reference and jobs.

[1200RT]

Originally Posted by davevjr

Fake Employment References Home.

what about this place they can give references for a fee both apartnent reference and jobs.

LOL.

Are you serious?

[davevjr]

Originally Posted by 1200RT

LOL.

Are you serious?

what if I am?
I have faked refernces in the past for jobs why couldn't this work for apartments.

[CALGUY]

Originally Posted by davevjr

what if I am?
I have faked refernces in the past for jobs why couldn't this work for apartments.

It may work for some landlords,but speaking for myself, N E V E R.
I need to see pay stubs, and tax records from perspective tenants.
Bob.