How can i get an apartment without a job atm (Levittown: sublet, 2013)

[techs]

Used to work for a telecom/it firm in upstate new york, last November, they fired most of the people there including me so they could outsource work. After that, got into a car accident and broke my leg.. fast forward to March 2013, interviewed with a company near Phily who said they would hire me once i am a local PA resident.

Been looking at multiple apartments on craigslist, every place wants "proof of income" which i don't have at the moment, but do have money saved up from a severance pay and getting unemployment that i can use to pay for rent for at least a year or two.

Where i live now is a dead area, no hope for work and moving near Phily opens up multiple opportunities, but it's so hard to get a apartment if you can't show pay stubs.

Don't want to live with a roommate if at all possible.

Anyone have any idea how i can make this work?

Thank you.

[Tangled Threads]

Do you have a relative or a friend with appropriate income/credit that would sign as a guarantor on your lease? This might entice a landlord to give you a lease on an apartment. Also, summer is coming up and lots of students look to sublet their apartments; perhaps you can sublet for a couple of months and get a job and be able to easily find an apartment in the fall.

[techs]

Originally Posted by Tangled Threads

Do you have a relative or a friend with appropriate income/credit that would sign as a guarantor on your lease? This might entice a landlord to give you a lease on an apartment. Also, summer is coming up and lots of students look to sublet their apartments; perhaps you can sublet for a couple of months and get a job and be able to easily find an apartment in the fall.

Got approved for an apartment in Chester, PA. It's near Philly, Delaware and South Jersey. Drive time to work would be under 25 mins. Every website says the crime there is bad. The apartment comes with an alarm and deadbolt locks. Anyone think i am crazy for moving there?

[HappyRider]

Have you signed a lease? I have only heard bad things about Chester. May be if you prepay they may not care if you have a job.

[phillies2011]

Originally Posted by techs

Got approved for an apartment in Chester, PA. It's near Philly, Delaware and South Jersey. Drive time to work would be under 25 mins. Every website says the crime there is bad. The apartment comes with an alarm and deadbolt locks. Anyone think i am crazy for moving there?

If it's what you have to do, then it's what you have to do. It is certainly not ideal but if you can't provide proof of income and you don't have anyone else who is willing to sign as a lease guarantor then you may not have better options. I would personally try and get a 6 month lease or at least something shorter than a year. Because ideally once you get a job and proof of income you want to get out of chester.

chester really is a terrible place to live right now unfortunately, like most places though, those who want to avoid crime can often do so even in the worst of neighborhoods. keep your head down, go to work, come home as early as possible, then lock up tight. don't show off at all, if you have a nice car, sell it and get a crappy one. try your best to not stand out in anyway. I grew up in a very tough neighborhood and have as a young adult been forced to live as economic necessity in neighborhoods many would consider crazy to live in. but it's not like i had other options so you do what you have to do and just be as smart as possible while you're doing it.

also this may sound crude, but what is your race? I don't believe there is racially motivated crime in chester, but if you are white it is kind of like waving a flag saying, i don't belong here, i don't know what i'm doing, which of course might make people think you're an easy target. I say this because even though I may be as much as 1/4 black, i have blue eyes and really just look Mediterranean. many of my black friends who like me wanted to avoid trouble, had a considerably easier time flying under the radar, and this seemed to be due to their skin color. I can't attribute it to anything else, some of them were bigger than me, smaller than me, the same size, etc, none of them got jumped half as many times as i did.

[Macadamia Nuts]

Honestly I would live with a roomate than live in Chester.

[techs]

Originally Posted by phillies2011

If it's what you have to do, then it's what you have to do. It is certainly not ideal but if you can't provide proof of income and you don't have anyone else who is willing to sign as a lease guarantor then you may not have better options. I would personally try and get a 6 month lease or at least something shorter than a year. Because ideally once you get a job and proof of income you want to get out of chester.

chester really is a terrible place to live right now unfortunately, like most places though, those who want to avoid crime can often do so even in the worst of neighborhoods. keep your head down, go to work, come home as early as possible, then lock up tight. don't show off at all, if you have a nice car, sell it and get a crappy one. try your best to not stand out in anyway. I grew up in a very tough neighborhood and have as a young adult been forced to live as economic necessity in neighborhoods many would consider crazy to live in. but it's not like i had other options so you do what you have to do and just be as smart as possible while you're doing it.

also this may sound crude, but what is your race? I don't believe there is racially motivated crime in chester, but if you are white it is kind of like waving a flag saying, i don't belong here, i don't know what i'm doing, which of course might make people think you're an easy target. I say this because even though I may be as much as 1/4 black, i have blue eyes and really just look Mediterranean. many of my black friends who like me wanted to avoid trouble, had a considerably easier time flying under the radar, and this seemed to be due to their skin color. I can't attribute it to anything else, some of them were bigger than me, smaller than me, the same size, etc, none of them got jumped half as many times as i did.

phillies2011, thank for the info, have passed on chester. i'm white with light skin btw. found a nice place in Levittown, moving there soon.

Originally Posted by Macadamia Nuts

Honestly I would live with a roomate than live in Chester.

Macadamia Nuts, My visit to Chester PA was less than thrilling. It looks like a 3rd world country as i drove though the area. The apartment itself was small and smelled like cat pee.

[Macadamia Nuts]

[quote=techs;29422617]phillies2011, thank for the info, have passed on chester. i'm white with light skin btw. found a nice place in Levittown, moving there soon.



Macadamia Nuts, My visit to Chester PA was less than thrilling. It looks like a 3rd world country as i drove though the area. The apartment itself was small and smelled like cat pee.[/quote]
Oh god that's so gross.

[Shikes]

How are you planning on paying for the actual apartment with no job? If you have money saved up you should print out a statement and give it to your landlord. I had enough money in my account for the entire year of rent and my landlord said he was cool with that once he saw it on an actual statement when I signed a lease with no job.

[techs]

Originally Posted by Shikes

How are you planning on paying for the actual apartment with no job? If you have money saved up you should print out a statement and give it to your landlord. I had enough money in my account for the entire year of rent and my landlord said he was cool with that once he saw it on an actual statement when I signed a lease with no job.

Took a job locally, not what i want to do for long term, but i can still look while getting income. Thanks for all the info.