Can a Tenant Backround Check Find Out of State Misdemeanors?

[thatswanlady]

Originally Posted by oudetart

I suppose I could always have my father apply for an apartment there and I could pay him the monthly fee instead. I'm pretty sure this last option is feasible, but I'm not sure.

Do not do this -- I'm near positive that your lease/application states something about everyone 18+ who will be inhabiting the apartment must fill out an application/be on the lease, and the last thing you want to do is cause trouble for your dad...right?

As far as the rest of it, your best option is to talk to the management company up front and explain your situation. I definitely wouldn't lie on the application, but in your case, I think the best thing to do is to explain it even before the application is filled out...especially as it's such a recent conviction. It's possible they'll deny you outright, but it's also possible that as you weren't selling drugs/involved in a meth lab/violent crime, there might be some degree of leeway here. I will say that it's not a great sign, as a potential tenant, that you have a criminal record before you have a credit score, but on the other hand, if you're going to make a mistake, I guess the time to do it is while you're young and learn from it.

Do you have the ability to pay the monthly rent if you are approved? If you are allowed to rent, this is not the time to then realize you can't afford rent and subsequently wind up with a conviction AND an eviction.

Talk to the management company, and go from there. Depending on the rest of your situation, and your relationship with your parents, it may also be worth considering living at home for awhile, saving up money, and putting some distance between you and this conviction. Best of luck.

[oudetart]

There's a good chance I may be rooming with a couple friends very soon instead of signing a lease by myself. Both they and I have a good rental history. As far as I know, their landlord wants to inflate their rent by a factor of 1.5, an unfortunate yet realistic impetus to relocate. Would this help my case at all?

As far as my lawyer goes, we haven't been in contact much. Frankly, he hasn't been all that helpful. I wonder if because my case was so far away and because it was being extended for so long that it might have been eventually dropped, but I guess it depends on the judge in rotation. I think it'd be easier to take advantage of a client across the continental US and tell him/her that the case can't be dropped and it's best to settle. Anyway...

Yeah, I'd be able to pay for rent. I'd have some financial help from my folks as well as a regular income from a nearby restaurant.