Where to find an apartment with bad credit (Rancho Cucamonga, Corona: real estate, apartments)

[2boysandagirl2017]

Hi all....my family and I (husband, 2 boys and a girl) are relocating from the DFW area back to CA....I am originally from the San Fernando Valley so I am familiar with all of the areas. My husband will be taking a job in Chino Hills In the mortgage industry and I will be looking once relocated. We have savings and the new income is substantial. I myself am in the medical related field. My kids are all of school age, 2 elementary and 1 in middle school, so areas and schools are important. The problem that we are having is credit. We have an eviction from 2011 due to extreme financial complications (1 income and I had an aneurysm)....due to all of the medical bills that were accumulating we just started sinking fast and fended up getting the eviction. We filed BK last April...since then we have been building our credit back up and saving and things are going well. We came out to CA a few months back and could not find a place to live....everyone turned us down...we weren't even given the opportunity to give an extra deposit or let alone a co-signer. TThe crazy thing is that we thought the eviction was in the BK (which it is and it shows on the credit reports) and was wiped out. The area that we are looking in is Corona, Chino Hills, Rancho Cucamonga....can anyone give any suggestions on where to rent? We are leaving Dallas in the next several months. I was wondering if there are Real Estate Agents that deal with rentals and working with challenged credit (i.e. evictions/bankruptcy)? Any suggestions would be so appreciated.

[CALGUY]

Being a landlord myself, I would never rent to anyone with poor credit.

They pose a threat to anyone who rents property..

How one got to the point of bad credit is not important to most landlords, especially in Southern California.
Renting is a business, and most landlords don't or won't take the risk of renting to someone with poor credit.
That is why you are having difficulty finding a rental.

Don't like raining on your parade, but facts are facts.
What I would suggest is for you to stay where you are, and spend a year or so rebuilding your credit.
It will require that amount of time at a minimum.
A bk stays on your credit report for 7 years.
That along with a recorded eviction, is going to haunt you for some time.
I wish I could give you better news, but that is the reality when it comes to looking for a rental.

You might find a landlord willing to take a larger deposit because of your credit situation, but more than likely that would be in an area where crime is a major concern, and you would be afraid to walk in the neighborhood.
Again, best advice is to stay put until your credit is at the point where any landlord would be glad to rent to you.
It will take time, but that is the best advice I can giver you.

Bob.

[Mr_Geek]

Most apartments pay their bills on time I'd imagine so it's really hard to find an actual apartment that has bad credit.



Joking aside, your best bet is a mom and pop small rental that will give someone a chance. Avoid the large corporations.

[2boysandagirl2017]

Thank you both for the advice.

Bob, I did forget to mention that I now have 6 years of excellent rental history as we have been in our new place for several years. Does that count at all?

Mr_Geek that was a good one! I had to laugh at that��

[ryanms3030]

The biggest problem in the LA area right now is competition. Most decent apartments have no shortage of applicants so there is likely always going to be someone applying for the same place that is a better option for the landlord. Things that shoudl be considered before accepting a job and relocating. Good luck. Maybe you have some friends and family you can stay with temporarily while looking

[CALGUY]

Originally Posted by 2boysandagirl2017

Thank you both for the advice.

Bob, I did forget to mention that I now have 6 years of excellent rental history as we have been in our new place for several years. Does that count at all?

Mr_Geek that was a good one! I had to laugh at that��

That is a plus for you.
If you paid the rent on time and can prove it, that will help, but the credit is uppermost in most landlords mind.
Don't know a great deal about how other landlords view a credit report, but to me, a report tells me how a perspective tenant handled financial obligations, and in most cases if credit is poor, and coupled with a bk, that tells me the perspective tenant does not handle financial obligations very well, and I would pass on renting to them.

Bob.

[Maliblue]

There are many landlords who won't run a credit check or are willing to take a chance on you if they like you and think your explanation sounds realistic. Usually, these are persons who only have one or two rental properties. Big companies will usually turn you down.

If you have open credit and credit cards now, it will help a lot. It also depends how "bad" is "bad". A FICO score of 600-630 or so is pretty weak, but not necessarily a deal-breaker. If your score is 500 or so, then you'll have problems.

If you are dealing with a mom or pop type landlord, you could always offer an extra month's security deposit to set their minds at ease. Not everyone will negotiate, but some people will prefer to have those units occupied than empty, and will work with you if you seem all right. The areas you mention are difficult to rent in, but there will always be somebody willing to take a chance.


Personal anecdote: I spent 8 years living in Japan, from age 27 to 35. When I returned to LA, I was a compete ghost. No credit history, no rental history, no drivers license, no credit cards, no job, nothing. I had about $5000 cash, a US passport, and a backpack full of stuff, and that was it.

I called about 25 places over the course of three days. Every single one turned me down. On my 26th call, I reached an elderly but robust Italian-born woman who was very friendly and outgoing and very chatty. She was fascinated to hear that I had lived in Japan, and we made some small talk about that. She owned a 12-unit well-maintained building in an edgy, but not unlivable, part of east Hollywood. She was also the type of person who liked to "collect" tenants that she found "interesting". She invited me to see the apartment and even brought lunch for me. We signed the papers that day.

I landed a job after 3 weeks, got a credit card within 2 months, and stayed in her building for 6 years.

[Juventas]

Or with little to no credit?

[ryanms3030]

Originally Posted by Juventas

Or with little to no credit?

find someone looking for a roomate where you don't have to be on the lease

[ryanms3030]

Originally Posted by Maliblue

There are many landlords who won't run a credit check or are willing to take a chance on you if they like you and think your explanation sounds realistic. Usually, these are persons who only have one or two rental properties. Big companies will usually turn you down.

If you have open credit and credit cards now, it will help a lot. It also depends how "bad" is "bad". A FICO score of 600-630 or so is pretty weak, but not necessarily a deal-breaker. If your score is 500 or so, then you'll have problems.

If you are dealing with a mom or pop type landlord, you could always offer an extra month's security deposit to set their minds at ease. Not everyone will negotiate, but some people will prefer to have those units occupied than empty, and will work with you if you seem all right. The areas you mention are difficult to rent in, but there will always be somebody willing to take a chance.


Personal anecdote: I spent 8 years living in Japan, from age 27 to 35. When I returned to LA, I was a compete ghost. No credit history, no rental history, no drivers license, no credit cards, no job, nothing. I had about $5000 cash, a US passport, and a backpack full of stuff, and that was it.

I called about 25 places over the course of three days. Every single one turned me down. On my 26th call, I reached an elderly but robust Italian-born woman who was very friendly and outgoing and very chatty. She was fascinated to hear that I had lived in Japan, and we made some small talk about that. She owned a 12-unit well-maintained building in an edgy, but not unlivable, part of east Hollywood. She was also the type of person who liked to "collect" tenants that she found "interesting". She invited me to see the apartment and even brought lunch for me. We signed the papers that day.

I landed a job after 3 weeks, got a credit card within 2 months, and stayed in her building for 6 years.

Cool story but good luck to anyone trying to find an apartment without a job today in LA, let alone with bad credit and bankruptcy. It's possible but you'll be in a very undesirable area. There simply aren't units in good areas just sitting around unoccupied. The place I lived the last couple of years whenever someone moved out the unit was usually repainted and cleaned up and rented out within 2 weeks. And people were signing leases before the apartments were even ready to move into.