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Why does someone credit score matter so much when renting? I have great rental history but credit is under 600 because of old credit mistakes. A lot of homes won't even consider me even with having enough income. Funny enough my vantage score is 640 and rising. God I wish they used them over FICO.
Landlords want to be sure they get their money. So, if the market is hot for them, they find many ways to discriminate. And if it is not so hot, they'd be happy to get any tenant they could...
I was able to rent after my FICO score crashed down to 500. But my income was fairly good and extra security deposit cured whatever FICO deficiency I had.
I also lease a couple of houses of my own - and since I am small and simple guy, not a big corporation, I make up my mind when I see a potential tenant in person. If I like the person (or if I really don't have any other tenants to lease my property to), I don't even bother to look at credit history.
Your credit score indicates how well you manage your finances. Landlords must screen for risk.
I once used a screening service that approved or denied applicants based on a number of factors. On occasion an applicant would have no credit score. They might have been the perfect tenant but the service would not approve them with a zero credit score because they had no way to assess the risk, see their repayment or management history, etc...
Work to improve your credit score. It will pay off in the long run.
Try small landlords that you find on Craigslist (watch out for scams), Zillow, realtor.com, Facebook Marketplace. Small landlords are often willing to be more flexible, and take someone with bad credit, but good rental record, adequate earnings.
I might suggest to being upfront and state in your application that you do have low score for some reasons in the past, but willing to make sure the Landlord is comfortable to rent apartment to you with an extra security deposit.
That worked for me twice with not-so-small property management companies (managing good sized townhouse & apartment communities). It's always coming down to a person making a decision... If you can get on his/her good side past multiple screens...
It doesnt take long to improve a credit score. A low score indicates poor payment history, and no landlord, especially in these hard-to-evict times, want to have to deal with that. A score under 600 doesnt give a landlord any confidence in you. And it shouldnt.
Rental history and LL references/POCs can be faked . . . I certainly wouldn't trust those, alone. Your credit score is what it is. You have time to make up for mistakes in the past and improve your score. You may be in for some rough patches, but if your past mistakes are truly mistakes, your score should improve over time if you have changed your ways and pay your debts in a timely manner.
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