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I have a judgement on my credit... not an eviction. The lease was broken due to a roommate situation. I explained in my last post that no one commented on. I just need some advice.
long story short --- Roommate broke the lease, never told me... didn't receive court papers--- anyhow I was sued. And now I owe... The dumbest and sickest sh*t I've done by trusting... I'm the blame.
I am in a current payment arrangement with the apartment complex. I will be paying the remaining balance in the top of next year. My remaining credit is not good... I am in the process of building that back up.
Anyhow. I've been renting a house for almost two years from a private landlord... he didn't run a credit check, just background check... however, I still told him about the situation. I've paid my rent on time every month... no problems out of me. I kept the place clean, anything went wrong... I pretty much fixed it. I was never the tenant from hell. My lease is ending in December I get my security deposit back... and he said that I was the best tenant ever. He said I can use as a reference any time.
Here's where it turns to hell for me.
I'm moving to LA in January for a job offer. I've been looking around on craigslist for apartments... can't afford a house to rent in LA. I found a cheap studio in a not so hot neighborhood... I can't be picky; I'll take what I can... until I get this judgement handled. However, every single apartment told me that judgement is an automatic denial. I have only called like 5. However, I got discouraged and broke down in tears.
I can maybe offer like 6 months security deposit. I am going to have around $5,000 in my savings by then... (life savings). I am trying to do side hustles outside of my current job to come up with some extra security deposit???
Will extra security deposit help??? I feel helpless and been crying all day!!
I wouldn't worry about it. If you rent from a big management office ie in a big complex you will get folks more procedural as they are just employees and focused on risk mitigation. But if you rent from a small time landlord and explain your situation I think it wont be a problem. But having a job lined up would help tremendously. Some of my best tenants have had some financial setbacks including bankruptcy due to divorce. But if they have a good job, I rent to them anyway. You see from the landlords point of view you are also a stable low turnover tenant as your options might be limited. So from that standpoint you are an attractive tenant as long as they believe your story and your demonstrate ability to provide stable cash flow to them.
I wouldn't worry about it. If you rent from a big management office ie in a big complex you will get folks more procedural as they are just employees and focused on risk mitigation. But if you rent from a small time landlord and explain your situation I think it wont be a problem. But having a job lined up would help tremendously. Some of my best tenants have had some financial setbacks including bankruptcy due to divorce. But if they have a good job, I rent to them anyway. You see from the landlords point of view you are also a stable low turnover tenant as your options might be limited. So from that standpoint you are an attractive tenant as long as they believe your story and your demonstrate ability to provide stable cash flow to them.
Thank you. I really appreciate this so much. I've been searching google for other options and reading other people stories.
And, Yeah my current landlord works out of a small management company and he didn't even ask for a credit check... just income and background check. However, I hope I can find some apartments with individual landlords or small management company so I can explain.
You should take the ex-roommate to small claims court. If you file and they don't show you win. Winning and actually collecting are two different things. Then at least with the judgment papers you can prove your story should it ever be necessary.
What BAM said. The big property management companies are going to care about it. A small-time landlord more than likely won't. If you look normal and have solid employment it'll get you into a lot more doors than the judgement will keep you out of.
Ditto. Look for a small landlord. Also, consider guest houses. These are often rented cheaper than apartments with more privacy and free utilities. It just takes some digging around. I've rented three houses since I moved here, and only one of them checked my credit.
I have always been up front and honest about my past bankruptcy due to divorce and they have all been understanding. I have a good, stable job and good references, and that is sufficient for them.
January is a great time to move here. Rents tend to be cheapest around that time (and highest in the summer), so it's a good time to start a lease.
States with strong tenant rights make it harder for tenants to qualify. Because of the time and effort to evict, landlords must do all their qualifications up front. This is worse for rant stabilized areas as there are frequently more hurdles for the landlord to jump (which in LA is all apartments built before October 1978). Any blemish at all, a lot of landlords will pass because of the eviction difficulties.
A roommate situation is a little easier to qualify.
A residential hotel may work. They may ask you to leave before 30 days so your status remains that of a guest and not as a tenant.
Dry your tears, really. Everything will be okay. I know this, because we went through the same thing several years ago. We had major credit drama, much worse than yours. It was ghastly. in 2010 we tried to rent a house. We anticipated ALL KINDS of objections, so I wrote a letter to the landlady. In it, I explained the circumstances behind "the fall", what we had done to change our ways, and how far we had progressed. I also enclosed a nice, family photo (hokey, but true. )
Much to my surprise, the landlady agreed to lease to us--and this was no inexpensive rental. The house was located in San Marino and it was $3.2K per month. I was so grateful to the landlady for taking a chance on us, that I always paid the rent at least two weeks in advance, and planted flowers on my own dime.
Renting was a stop-gap for us. By renting, we had reduced our monthly expenses by $5K/mo. When we gave the landlady notice, her reaction bordered on stunned. She was terribly saddened to see us go, telling us that we were the best tenants she ever had. Additionally she refunded all of our security deposit, which she was not legally obligated to do, since we broke the lease 18 months early. Since then, we have purchased two houses. To this day, I remain grateful to her.
You're going to have a hard time renting with a judgment on your record....you're only 22 yrs old so your rental history is quite short and it includes that lovely judgment.
You can offer what ever you want, but some states limit the amount LLs can take up front (SD and rent)
Your best bet, besides paying the judgment off, is find a private landlord who is going to listen to your story and will rent to you anyway. The others are right, many, many complexes (and landlords and property managers) will deny you based on that one judgment.
You're going to have a hard time renting with a judgment on your record....you're only 22 yrs old so your rental history is quite short and it includes that lovely judgment.
You can offer what ever you want, but some states limit the amount LLs can take up front (SD and rent)
Your best bet, besides paying the judgment off, is find a private landlord who is going to listen to your story and will rent to you anyway. The others are right, many, many complexes (and landlords and property managers) will deny you based on that one judgment.
Good luck
Thanks for the negativity...
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