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My husband and I along with our kids may be moving to the Cary/Apex area in a few months and will be looking to rent a townhome or house. Our credit isn’t great (husband in the low 600’s, mine in the high 500’s) although we are trying to pay off some things that are keeping our scores down. We have excellent rental history though and I’m wondering how difficult of a time we may have trying to rent a place. Thanks!
My husband and I along with our kids may be moving to the Cary/Apex area in a few months and will be looking to rent a townhome or house. Our credit isn’t great (husband in the low 600’s, mine in the high 500’s) although we are trying to pay off some things that are keeping our scores down. We have excellent rental history though and I’m wondering how difficult of a time we may have trying to rent a place. Thanks!
This could be tricky for you. While you're paying down debt and improving things, I would definitely suggest looking at a private owner, not at a corporate complex, as that will definitely factor in and you'd probably need to pay a HUGE deposit. Good luck! Debt can be a total nightmare, so good for you for paying it down!
How do you find private owner options? We've been keeping an eye on Zillow and from what I can tell it looks like the landlords all work for rental companies or real estate agencies.
How do you find private owner options? We've been keeping an eye on Zillow and from what I can tell it looks like the landlords all work for rental companies or real estate agencies.
Private owner is definitely the way to go. Be up front about your credit scores because the last thing you want is a bunch of inquiries on your report that will drive it down further.
We only applied to one apartment complex but were surprised by how much paperwork and financial information they asked for. But at the same time, the security deposit was a fraction of what I was used to where we used to live.
I think you might have more luck like others have said with private owners, but maybe be prepared to pay more of a security.
How do you find private owner options? We've been keeping an eye on Zillow and from what I can tell it looks like the landlords all work for rental companies or real estate agencies.
Craigslist, Realtor, Zillow... they all do rental listings.
In the case of where I live now, the real estate agency just manages the property up until contracts are signed and keys are handed over. The landlord himself doesn't work for them at all. I suspect that's the most common scenario around here.
But at the same time, the security deposit was a fraction of what I was used to where we used to live.
I noticed that same thing when I moved here. The security deposit for the complex I live in was only $100. I thought it was a typo at first. The building is fantastic but a security deposit for something like this up in NY would be one month's rent.
Last edited by RedZin; 01-16-2018 at 10:59 AM..
Reason: Ack. Edited wrong post. All fixed.
To the OP's title, I don't think a landlord is picky if they want a tenant with good credit. I agree that a good many complexes here have a ton of red tape just to rent an apartment, but I guess they've been burned before.
I suspect that one's credit score could be lower, but with a year or more of on-time payments, an income that meets their standards, and good landlord refs, I would imagine a person would still qualify, even if he/she needed to provide a larger deposit or the like.
So, it's not the actual score so much as what is on the report.
Have a great score, a low income, and no rental refs and you'll still need a cosigner.
You could try walking in with a copy of your report and explaining your situation before you apply. Maybe try some places that are waiving app fees... see what happens. I doubt many are interested in trying to get you to apply only to be rejected and take a ding on your credit, but I also know that if you apply to several places in a short time period, it works much like shopping mortgages and buying cars. The whole event is the ding, not each pull.
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