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I am currently apartment hunting, somewhat desperately (and somewhat venting).
Long story short, my mother went crazy. We were renting the unused upstairs apartment from her, but then she decided to kick my boyfriend out because he's not good enough for me (read: I'm not a gold digger in a loveless relationship like she is) Then a month later I get kicked out because I'm an ingrate, how dare I want our rental agreement to be IN WRITING. I know that she conveniently "forgets" anything not beneficial to her, so I wanted a nice reminder with her signature on it. Signed receipts too, I wanted a signature for my cash payment so that meant that I was the bad guy. Nothing to do with her being legally required to give me one at all. I overheard her crying on the phone to her mother about how hard we've made her life, when she's given me 13 days to get out. I'm entitled to more time, if it was just her I'd make her get rid of me the hard way, but my father has to deal with her daily (hes been on our side this whole time) and I just want him to have some peace.
Luckily we have a friend that needs to move to the area to trim down his commute. So apartment hunting I've gone. I wanted to avoid the "complexes" and go right for a two/three family house as I have a brand new washer/dryer that I don't want to leave here (as mother would claim them as her own) Landlords in this town don't seem to like to return calls. The ones that have either:
-Scheduled a showing for a perfect location for us, then left us waiting in the houses driveway for an hour before we were able to reach him. He tried to blame it on me when he was the one that suggested the time/date. He told me the two bedroom house might be too small for three people, I told him that it most likely wouldn't be an issue and we'd see at the showing. Finally reached him after standing around for an hour, he said he'd call me to reschedule the next afternoon. Four days later I finally reach him just to have him say they were in working on an agreement with someone else but he'd get back to me if it fell through. Thats nice.
-Asked if we were on section 8, then hung up when we said no, no "Sorry we only rent to section 8 tenants" or anything else.
-Said that nice looking house in a neighborhood where we'd feel safe is already rented out (just haven't bothered to take the sign down) but they'd be happy to show us the one thats not actually a two bedroom, in a neighborhood where there was a shooting just last week.
In neighboring, safer towns I've found complexes that have washer/dryer hookups and heat/hot water included. They are right at the brink of what I'd consider doable for us, but I'd rather feel safe than in a cheaper place that I risk having my car stolen or vandalized on a regular basis. None of them are open weekends of coarse so I have to wait until tomorrow to contact them to see if there are any openings.
Me:
Part time student
Part time worker, 3 years on job (6500 gross yearly, low hours decent college parttime gig)
First time renter
Practically blank credit report, just a 1000$ loan I recently secured against one of my CD accounts for the purpose of building credit for when I apply for a mortgage. Two ontime payments so far, not much to go by. Have enough for ~9 months of rent sitting in savings though if it came down to us having to put that much down to actually get a place.
Boyfriend:
Part time worker (Full time hours, but "no available full time positions" so the companies scamming him out of benefits) Roughly 15000 gross.
First time renter
He has student loans which are being paid on time, a plus. Only to be marred by identity theft five years ago which wasn't completely resolved, they canceled the cards but kept trying to get him to pay for the 400$ in booze that he apparently bought at 17 years old (back when he was making even less). Going to make him get one of his 3 free reports today to see how bad it is.
Friend:
At his current apartment for 5+ years.
At his prior job for 5+ years. Just got hired as a specialist in the things he used to sell retail for a much larger salary. 24000 gross from what I've heard, starting. Only been with them for about two months now.
I am not 100% sure on his credit background, as I understand it he was living paycheck to paycheck on his old salary because he was paying for that entire apartment he is in by himself, roommates didn't stick around.
So, I was wondering if in our situation you guys think its plausible for us to get a rent at one of these nicer 1100$ complexes. Or if we'd get laughed out of the office when they saw our application. Thank you for your time.
aside from the drama that will surely accompany your wake...
no sensible LL will do a 3 party lease with no legal ties between any of the parties
that the money isn't strong enough for any of you, even two of you, to qualify on your own
is just the icing on the cake
aside from the drama that will surely accompany your wake...
no sensible LL will do a 3 party lease with no legal ties between any of the parties
that the money isn't strong enough for any of you, even two of you, to qualify on your own
is just the icing on the cake
I'm not sure what you mean by, "no sensible LL will do a 3 party lease with no legal ties between any of the parties" as this is certainly not uncommon. All parties sign the lease agreement and are held jointly and severally responsible for its terns.
As for the rest of it, the OP was admittedly having a vent and if you were to be faced with an application from her there's no reason you would even know about what you call the "drama" involved.
The three of them way well be OK to rent to and all they can do is to put in some applications and see what happens. You've answered with an emphatic no but others may not be quite so quick to deny them.
I wouldn't rent to you. You are not earning enough money and I avoid renting to roommates; can't say I would never do that but I haven't so far. You will have to rent in a sub-par area with other people living on the edge of stability or make up with mom and live with her alone, leaving the BF to fend for himself.
Renting to roommates leaves open the strong possibility that life will change for one or all within the 12 month lease and the lease will be at risk. Roommates each has his/her own circle of friends which increases traffic on the property and risk of damage/abuse of the property and then 3 different people who will each blame the other when the LL wants to collect for damage. After loans/expenses, my tenants' rent must be min/verifiable 35% of the gross income ("roughly" will be impossible to validate) with at least one of the tenants able to carry the whole rent nut at 30% (for a $1000 rent, this means a $33K income min. with no major debts) and that tenant must (in my mind) represent a stable work history.
I'm not sure what you mean by, "no sensible LL will do a 3 party lease with no legal ties between any of the parties" as this is certainly not uncommon. All parties sign the lease agreement and are held jointly and severally responsible for its terns.
My point is that even with J&S language...
it's just too many cooks in the stew for my taste.
The couple (with enough income) sure?
A couple without the income between them? no way
A couple without the income between them, needing a third? no way in hell
Quote:
You've answered with an emphatic no but others may not be quite so quick to deny them.
Yep; I can be harda$$ but I've learned to live with it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Squirl
Renting to roommates leaves open the strong possibility that life will change for one or all within the 12 month lease and the lease will be at risk.
I would rent to you with no one else on the lease to many people just causes problems boyfriends come and go. You have the money so here is the contract 12 months lease you pay the last 6 up front in escrow nonrefundable. You pay the first 6 months every month on time and you will not get evicted and lose the last six months in escrow. If all goes well you stay for another year on a normal lease. win-win
I would rent to you if: 1. you all 3 have good credit according to our policy. 2. Your combined income is at least 2.5 times the rent. 3. You all 3 have good rental references. 4. If any of the above are lacking for one or more of the applicants, if you have a co-signor who is a local resident with a local bank account who will agree to also have their credit run and prove their income.
Some friendly advice, learn to deal with your personal drama privately and also stop second guessing everyone you meet. You're shooting yourself in the foot every time you open your mouth.
If you want to avoid an apartment, I would look for a one-bedroom house, just for you and your boyfriend - and let the other friend find his own place.
One-bedroom houses tend to be easier to rent - and they're cheaper - which is a good thing if one of you ever loses a job, and you have to make the rent on just one salary...
OP is there a college near where you're at? That may be the ticket to your rental woes as college area LLs are used to having several unrelated people on a lease.
If not I think your best shot is to either have you or the friend sign the lease either separately or jointly and sublet the room to the bf.
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