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Hi! I've noticed a lot of landlords on this forum, so I figured I would give this a shot.
I'm 21, moving from Arizona to Alabama to attend college.
I don't qualify for housing from school, so I'm going to be renting (or trying to rent) my first apartment.
I visited a month or so ago and have a job lined up and a place to stay while I collect a few paychecks, and I have enough in my savings account to cover 3-4 months rent at most places that are within my budget, and at my job I will be making 3x the monthly rent at most studio apartments in the area. The only thing I'm worried about is my credit, which is not only fairly new, but it's also not so great due to me making some irresponsible choices with credit cards when I was 18/19. I'm back on track and everything is paid off or current now, but my credit score hasn't yet recovered and is still in the "poor" range. Will this completely prevent me from being approved anywhere?
I don't have family or anybody able to co-sign a lease for me.
According to the source I get my own scores from, there is no "poor" range. The ranges are as follows:
Exceptional 800-850
Very Dependable 740-799
Good 670-739
Below Average 580-669
Very Risky 300-579
Anyway, you might want to call apartment management offices and see if they just go by the score or whether they take other criteria into consideration
Last edited by adjusterjack; 09-16-2017 at 08:35 PM..
In college areas, most landlords are pretty lenient when it comes to credit. Few college students have good credit and almost none have 'excellent' credit (a full 15% of your score is 'length of history'--until you've had credit for about ten years, you can't really improve on this portion of your credit).
I'm not sure my landlords in college even pulled my credit score. But just in case one does, do you have references that can speak to your financial maturity (other than family)?
In college areas, most landlords are pretty lenient when it comes to credit. Few college students have good credit and almost none have 'excellent' credit (a full 15% of your score is 'length of history'--until you've had credit for about ten years, you can't really improve on this portion of your credit).
I'm not sure my landlords in college even pulled my credit score. But just in case one does, do you have references that can speak to your financial maturity (other than family)?
Unfortunately I don't have anyone who can speak on my behalf in that sense
According to the source I get my own scores from, there is no "poor" range. The ranges are as follows:
Exceptional 800-850
Very Dependable 740-799
Good 670-739
Below Average 580-669
Very Risky 300-579
Anyway, you might want to call apartment management offices and see if they just go by the score or whether they take other criteria into consideration
My credit score is right around a 600, so it's in the below average range.
My credit score is right around a 600, so it's in the below average range.
Again, I think your best approach is to call apartment managers in advance and see if they go by just the score or will they look at your reports to qualify you.
If it is a college town, there are landlords who specialize in students. You might try there.
I think someone will take you, but you are going to have to hunt. If the landlord seems reluctant, try offering extra deposit; that might help.
You might save some money if you order a copy of your credit report and carry that with you. A landlord should be able to tell you yes or no on the credit report and if it is no, don't apply and waste your application fee.
If the landlord will accept the credit report, you still have to pass the screening, so you might still not get the apartment. Also, you will get charged for the landlord to run his own copy of the credit report. But if you take a true copy of your report, the landlord can give you a better idea of whether or not he will reject for the credit report.
A private LL would consider you a decent risk. A property mgmt company, probably not. So many students can get parents to cosign for them.
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