Moving from Wisconsin/ Guatemala. Need advice on house rental and areas? (Dallas: real estate, apartment complex)

[ladulce]

Hi. We are from Wisconsin originally but have spent the last years in Antigua, Guatemala. We have decided to move back and my husband's job has just switched him to outside of Dallas- Sunnyvale area.

To move to Guatemala we sold our home and vehicles, so we will be renting in Dallas. Hence, the worry; our credit scores aren't great. His mid 600's, mine low 600s. This is a result of us just having credit cards, which we paid on time, but, our 'longest account' is then only 4 years. Anyway, how much of a problem is this going to be to rent a home? And, if someone doesn't like the scores, do they usually just request additional security deposit or co-signor, or what can we expect here? Any ideas welcome.

Lastly, since we are looking at a map, what is within 20 minutes drive of Highway 80 near Sunnyvale? I realize that really depends on traffic, but, we are just trying to get a feel for homes or cities that we may be able to look at.

We are moving with three children (3,13, 15), so need to figure this out for schools, non-gang violence, etc. Any suggestions are truly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

[ChristieP]

What's your budget for the house?

Sunnyvale itself is a nice community with good schools, but homes are expensive. Forney is the next town east on highway 80, and it has good schools and is less expensive. Mesquite is west of Sunnyvale, but be careful about the schools as some are good, but others are not.

[WorldKlas]

Its very rare to find a Landlord who accepts co-signers. Sometimes two months security deposit is asked for. I don’t accept credit scores lower than 650. You will likely have an easier time renting from an apartment complex than a private home. A bit of a drive but not too bad is also Rowlett. Sunnyvale and Forney are good suggestions.

[MarshaBrady1968]

Third vote for Forney

[HoneyBadger302]

My FICO scores are in the low-mid 600's (divorce destroyed my credit for awhile), but my pay rate is decent middle class, and I had no problems getting approved for a nice townhome - my rental and real estate history is spotless, however, so that helps too since, from my understanding, your regular FICO vs what a Landlord looks at are two different systems.