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So myself and my fiance are planning on relocating from Orlando, Florida to Brooklyn, New York in March 2015. We'll be getting an apartment with a friend who currently lives up there, but his lease ends right before we move there, so it works out for all of us.
My questions are, I have a relative bad credit score from a ton of medical bills from an emergency surgery when I was 18 (currently 26), but mainly from student loans, that I'm currently still paying off, and my fiance has no credit. We have very good rental history, and our landlord, and past landlord, are both writing us letters of recommendation. We won't have jobs when we move up (except the one who already lives there), but were moving up with about 4-5 months worth of rent, plus a security deposit to offer. We both have very good and stable employment history as well, and always pay our bills on time. What are the odds? We've always gone through private owners, and plan on doing the same to avoid broker fees. Do we have a good chance with offering multiple months of rent upfront?
Hi Watchmesink,
I love Brooklyn! I suspect that it all depends on WHERE you decide to move to in Brooklyn. Some areas would be more strict (in terms of credit history) as others. I imagine that if you are able to put 1st month, last month, security as well as a broker fee-- you will be ok.
If the bills are nearly 10 years old, they shoudln't be reporting any longer. If they are, you should dispute them as obsolete. The only negative things allowed to stay on a credit report negative for longer than 7 years are judgements and bankruptcies (and I believe tax liens possibly)
In BK, you will need to pay a broker for an apartment or pray you get lucky with a LEGAL private owner rental. The majority of NYC/Long Island rentals, including private owners, that are legal tend to be listed by brokers since the landlord isn't the one paying the fees. The fee is usually at least 1 month's rent, but some realtors work on a percentage of 1st year's rent
You have time to fix the credit report. Continue paying your student loans and rent etc and you should be OK on that front. You normally need to show income of at least 3.5-4 times the rent to be able to rent in NYC/LI area, so unless your friend can cover the entire amount on his/her salary, then you may be denied for that.
Also, go up and set up interviews for a week and try to get employed prior to moving up there. And you could see about extending your friend's current lease for a short term while you get settled in as well.
Your lack of income is going to be a bigger hurdle than your low credit score.
Your fiance needs to at least open a credit card and start putting gas or groceries and such on it.
The rule of thumb that most landlords in NYC go by is that your annual income needs to be 40x the monthly rent.
New York City apartments have a very high occupancy rate - somewhere around 97% - 98%, so landlords can afford to be pretty picky. It's not at all uncommon to bring a checkbook, a copy of your credit report, and recent bank statements when going to view an apartment for the first time because they get snatched up so quickly, you need to be prepared to sign right away.
Do you have anyone that can be a guarantor? If the primary applicants of a lease don't make 40x the rent, many landlords will accept them if they have a guarantor that makes 80x.
So myself and my fiance are planning on relocating from Orlando, Florida to Brooklyn, New York in March 2015. We'll be getting an apartment with a friend who currently lives up there, but his lease ends right before we move there, so it works out for all of us.
My questions are, I have a relative bad credit score from a ton of medical bills from an emergency surgery when I was 18 (currently 26), but mainly from student loans, that I'm currently still paying off, and my fiance has no credit. We have very good rental history, and our landlord, and past landlord, are both writing us letters of recommendation. We won't have jobs when we move up (except the one who already lives there), but were moving up with about 4-5 months worth of rent, plus a security deposit to offer. We both have very good and stable employment history as well, and always pay our bills on time. What are the odds? We've always gone through private owners, and plan on doing the same to avoid broker fees. Do we have a good chance with offering multiple months of rent upfront?
There are always owners who are willing to rent with 6 months paid upfront. Once you're in, it's much easier to just renew for a monthly lease after you've been there for 6 months. Hopefully you'll have jobs and income during that time. Will most likely just need the standard income paystubs, and letter of employment and that's about it when you renew a lease.
bad credit score ..........., and my fiance has no credit. ...... We won't have jobs when we move up ....... We both have very good and stable employment history as well, and always pay our bills on time. ..........
First off, you don't have a very good and stable employment history if you are unemployed. You have no job; no job means no income. No income means no way to pay the rent until you do find a job. By good employment history, the landlord means you currently have a job that you have been at for awhile; long enough that the boss is happy with you and less likely to fire you. You have no job history in New York. An ex-job in Florida is not going to pay the rent.
"No credit" is fine with me and with most landlords. It means the applicant owes no money to anyone and has never paid a bill late.
If you always paid your bills on time, you wouldn't have bad credit.
So, you've got two people with no jobs, one with bad credit. Does the New York roommate make enough to pay all the rent by himself? Is there anyone with substantial income and good credit who will cosign for you?
I suggest trying for a month to month in a less nice part of town. Once everyone has a job, then start applying for better apartment.
Check your credit report, OP. Medical bills 10 years old might have fallen off the report. Student loans never go away, but if you have been making the payments all along, they should not show as a negative on your report. The report will show that they are there but have had no late payments.
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