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I paid the deposit and 6 months worth of rent when I signed the lease and I paid in cash not a check and got a written receipt along with the copy of the lease.
Amazingly enough no background check or credit check was done......cash speaks very loudly to some landlords.
Good idea. Though that situation does make everything under the table and essentially provides me no legal recourse should things go wrong with the landlord / property.
We wouldn't have an issue to rent to you if you would agree to pay a higher security deposit, full last month rent and first month rent.
When we came to the USA we had savings but no jobs and not even allowed to work and we got a rental easily in an apartment complex.
Our situation was different since we had a big management (sports) making all arrangements for us, but still the apartment complex was willing to rent to us and we rented for 4 years without issues.
I'd have no problem paying that, but I don't believe that many people think the same way you do.
I'm landlord and I will accept a person just moving to my area with no job, as long as they can show me adequate savings to pay the rent for at least 6 months and they meet all my other criteria that I use to select a tenant. I'll want a double deposit.
In my state, I can get a person out pretty quick if they don't pay.
It depends upon what is on the girlfriend's credit. Shack-ups are treated as roommates and each roommate must qualify on their own merit. If the girlfriend is going to college, I am going to want to see some sort of enrollment verification and I want to know how she is paying for it.
I have written criteria about college students, grade point averages, source of income, that sort of thing and she would have to meet those criteria, along with everything else.
I suggest that you pull one of those free credit reports for the girlfriend to see what is on there and if it can be fixed or at least improved.
Thank you for offering a landlord's POV. This is what I was afraid of once I started thinking about the situation. One thing that does have me a little confused is why people are against receiving the whole year's payment (or 6 months or whatever) right up front from someone that has good credit, references, etc. If anything, I feel that puts me in a far worse situation than the landlord.
I don't accept advance payments. Its all about my risk. My brother in law was a self-employed writer. He had advances and royalties to show when he applied for an apartment. He leased a place and paid 6 months ahead. But when the 6 months were up he didn't have enough money to renew. I want tenants who have a regular, consistent income stream. I understand that can change, but an income stream coupled with steady employment history helps with the uncertainty. I think its also harder to evict someone for other issues if they have paid rent in advance; just complicates the eviction process. Again I am a small time landlord, I think you will just have more luck with larger rental complexes that have fulltime leasing offices onsite.
Here's my situation: I had a decent paying job until I left it in September to pursue a better work-life balance (a shade under 6 figures at time of departure). I left entirely of my own free will and have spent the past several months traveling, visiting family, catching up on health appointments, and other things that needed to be done. I am trying to move to St. Petersburg FL with my girlfriend in January to start a new chapter in our lives. Ultimately, I want to buy a house, but I want to rent first to find the right area for me. (I can work from home either as a contractor, back with my old company, or possibly another offer)
I'm looking to rent a place (pref small house) for about $1000-1400 / month and have the following in my favor: *great credit score (FICO is around 785)
*good rental history for the past 8 years or so
*no legal problems *enough money in the bank to easily cover a full year's rent up front and still live comfortably even if I didn't get a job (but I certainly plan to and have offers on the table despite no job searching yet) *only monthly obligation is student loans at $160 / month (no car payments, etc.) *girlfriend has no monthly obligations
Now the negatives: -only income I've had for the past 3 months is a tiny bit of work I did as an independent contractor recently to cover some expenses (about 20 hours at $75 / hour spread over 2 company-issued checks) -girlfriend likely has a low credit rating -girlfriend has no income (she will go to school in FL and try to get a job once we've moved)
I could probably get my dad to co-sign the lease for me. He's retired, but between his pension and social security his income is that of a fully employed person, and he should have great credit as well.
Is there anything that I can do to minimize the chances of getting rejected when applying for the rental? Should I try to go the route of the co-sign, or is there anything else that might work?
I greatly appreciate any help you can provide!
As an independent landlord, I'd happily rent to you, if you showed me your bank account, your credit record, and paid me the year's rent up front, along with a two month security deposit, just in case I had to evict you. BUT I wouldn't be so keen on renting to the girlfriend with bad credit, because I'd be afraid that you two would break up, and she would overstay the lease without paying rent, and I'd have to evict her (and you, too, even if you weren't still there, because you'd still be on the lease). I'd feel safer if the girlfriend had no record of evictions or judgements against her. What is the reason for her bad credit?
As an independent landlord, I'd happily rent to you, if you showed me your bank account, your credit record, and paid me the year's rent up front, along with a two month security deposit, just in case I had to evict you. BUT I wouldn't be so keen on renting to the girlfriend with bad credit, because I'd be afraid that you two would break up, and she would overstay the lease without paying rent, and I'd have to evict her (and you, too, even if you weren't still there, because you'd still be on the lease). I'd feel safer if the girlfriend had no record of evictions or judgements against her. What is the reason for her bad credit?
I know right, its always the bad tenant that gets left behind and have to evict. Its probably not the case here but if I was the OP i would run a credit report on her just to be safe. Hell I ran one on my soon to be wife before I tied the knot
I'd never, ever take one yrs lease up front. No way in hell would I ever do that for anyone. The risk is too great.
I'd rent to them but, both would have to pass the app, background check, and credit check and both would have to prove that they can handle the rent on their own. If not, then they would be putting down as much money as the law allows, if I decide to take that risk.
Smaller private landlords are more flexible and will agree to do this..large complexes and property management companies, normally won't.
It turns out that her credit is better than expected but not great due mostly to not having a long enough history / enough credit (at least according to creditkarma). She has no late payments or derogatory marks. Neither of us has ever been evicted, had any landlord disputes, or any problems with the law beyond the occasional traffic ticket. Here's keeping my fingers crossed.
In a somewhat related question to the landlords / PMs: what would you do if a good tenant that lived by his/herself had a relationship go to the next level mid-lease and a SO move in? Would you require him/her to submit to a full applicant background check? Would the lease need to be modified? What if the SO had bad credit or no income, but the tenant was already easily paying, and liable for everything with no assistance? Would you essentially force an otherwise good tenant to find another place to live?
It turns out that her credit is better than expected but not great due mostly to not having a long enough history / enough credit (at least according to creditkarma). She has no late payments or derogatory marks. Neither of us has ever been evicted, had any landlord disputes, or any problems with the law beyond the occasional traffic ticket. Here's keeping my fingers crossed.
In a somewhat related question to the landlords / PMs: what would you do if a good tenant that lived by his/herself had a relationship go to the next level mid-lease and a SO move in? Would you require him/her to submit to a full applicant background check? Would the lease need to be modified? What if the SO had bad credit or no income, but the tenant was already easily paying, and liable for everything with no assistance? Would you essentially force an otherwise good tenant to find another place to live?
To add someone other than a spouse to a lease, I require full app and all the background stuff I do. The addl tenant needs to prove income enough to support the rental. However, with a criminal background only being checked and if ok, I will let an approved resident live there. They will not be on the lease and have no rights or obligations to the property beyond that as a guest.
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