Where to rent with bad credit? (Chicago, Lincoln: 2014, apartments, rentals)

[newtochi74]

I did a search but most of what I'm finding is from like 2007. So maybe some of these southside neighborhoods have gotten better because it seems that any place offering to work with bad credit is either south or west.

I'm new to chicago so don't know any of these areas that well. But I figure there has to be some nice areas on the southside other than Bridgeport? Not that I have a problem with Bridgeport.

That being said. Does anyone know of any property management companies and/or private owners that will work with bad credit tenants? Possibly just pay an extra security deposit? My gross income is $36400.

I saw the pangea apartments but every single one of their apartments seems to be in a "bad" neighborhood but I'm just googling these things so what do I know. Should I just quit my job and join a gang?

Any help is appreciated. Tyvm!

[squirrels]

Maybe walk around some neighborhoods and look for For Rent signs. Find a place you like that's owner-run and not from chicagoapartmentfinders.com or something and they're a lot more likely to work with you.

[marothisu]

Other than Bridgeport, well Pilsen is kind of South-ish side (more near SW side). Hyde Park is nice, and a number of parts of Kenwood are too. Bronzeville in some areas, yeah not bad as well, and Chinatown (Armour Square). Some areas near Chinatown too considered "Near South Side" too. Chinatown might be expensive sometimes for a 1 bedroom, but I've seen 3 bedrooms listed there for $1250/month so who knows?

And then there's other parts of the south side that are fine that are closer to Midway airport, and some even further, but that may be too far for what you're looking for if you mentioned Bridgeport.

[Lorielicious]

Are you new to renting and have you been turned away due to your credit history before? In my experience, nobody really gives a sh*t about credit for renting apts, unless it's a very nice place and/or they're not entirely confident you can pull it off with your income. If you have stable income that'll comfortably cover the rent and good renting history, they do not care about your credit card delinquencies. I had truly abysmal credit when I first started renting, but I had money for the deposit and a good job. The hardest part was finding an apt I could afford, and not working with my credit history. And this was in LA where apts are much, much more expensive and much harder to come by. I even said to the landlord "Hey, I have sh*tty credit. Should I even bother?" She asked me one question: "Do you have any evictions or repos?" Nope. Her response was that I was fine then. According to her, even the biggest deadbeats in the world will pay for their car and rent because they need those things. When people have a history of not paying those, then you know you have trouble.

So in answer to your question, you can likely rent anywhere you can afford, assuming you have nothing egregiously terrible in your credit history.

[eevee]

Originally Posted by newtochi74

I did a search but most of what I'm finding is from like 2007. So maybe some of these southside neighborhoods have gotten better because it seems that any place offering to work with bad credit is either south or west.

I'm new to chicago so don't know any of these areas that well. But I figure there has to be some nice areas on the southside other than Bridgeport? Not that I have a problem with Bridgeport.

That being said. Does anyone know of any property management companies and/or private owners that will work with bad credit tenants? Possibly just pay an extra security deposit? My gross income is $36400.

I saw the pangea apartments but every single one of their apartments seems to be in a "bad" neighborhood but I'm just googling these things so what do I know. Should I just quit my job and join a gang?

Any help is appreciated. Tyvm!

Yes, absolutely quit your $36K/year job and joined a gang. That is the common sense, rational route to take.

Okay, now that I've address that ridiculous question, on to the rest of the post. There is no one section of Chicago more willing to accept bad credit than another. There are places on the South Side that may require a credit score of over 650 and tax stubs and there are places on the North Side that may not even ask for your employer's phone number and won't do much of a check at all. The issue you're likely having is that you're looking at management companies like Pangea, which is the last thing you should be doing. It will take more effort, but your best bet is to find a private landlord, someone who only has less than 10 rentals. You want to be able to directly talk w/ the landlord on a one-on-one basis. You're more likely to establish a rapport w/ the landlord and that landlord may be more likely to overlook certain negatives. My credit isn't horrible, but it isn't fabulous and I've rented two spots in Lakeview. I know students w/ crap credit renting in Andersonville, Lincoln Park, and the West Loop. Obviously, if you're looking to live on the South Side for work reasons, then you can still find decent housing using the same methods. I almost rented a studio in Hyde Park but decided against it due to distance, but that place didn't care about credit, just whether or not you had evictions or judgements against you (and before you ask, sorry, I don't have the info about this place any more). You're just gonna have to put in some extra legwork to find a place that will work w/ your circumstances.

[newtochi74]

[quote=eevee;31228188]Yes, absolutely quit your $36K/year job and joined a gang. That is the common sense, rational route to take.

I think it's weird that you felt the need to respond to an obvious joke. And you responded with sarcasm which makes it all the weirder that you didn't pick up on mine.

Thanks for the rest though.

[Vlajos]

[quote=newtochi74;31319413]

Originally Posted by eevee

Yes, absolutely quit your $36K/year job and joined a gang. That is the common sense, rational route to take.

I think it's weird that you felt the need to respond to an obvious joke. And you responded with sarcasm which makes it all the weirder that you didn't pick up on mine.

Thanks for the rest though.

Why?

[mplebris]

It's August of 2014 and I'm currently working with Pangea to find a decent apartment that is clean, safe and that I can afford and most importantly that will accept me with my horrible credit. On Friday I will be looking at a place and I hope that the area is decent. Has anyone worked with this company current that would have any advice or thoughts on the situation?

[Freefall18]

Pangea bought up a bunch of distressed properties during the recession on the cheap, fixed them up a bit, and they're now renting them out. But I believe all of their properties are in 'bad' areas.

[Carson9]

Originally Posted by eevee

Yes, absolutely quit your $36K/year job and joined a gang. That is the common sense, rational route to take.

What the OP originally said about joining a gang was clearly a joke.