Your credit score can affect your ability to get loans, and it can also affect your ability to get approved to rent an apartment. If you have bad credit and really need to rent an apartment, there are several things you could do that might help you get approved. Here are three options you could consider using, depending on your situation.
Get someone to cosign
There are apartment managers that allow tenants to have cosigners on their leases, and this is often used when a person has no credit or bad credit. A cosigner is a person that agrees to be completely responsible for the terms of the lease, even though he or she will not be living in the apartment. The apartment manager bases your approval on the credit of the cosigner and not you in this situation. If you have a close relative that has great credit and is willing to do this for you, this might be your ticket in to getting approved.
Find a unit that doesn't do credit checks
There is also the possibility that you could get an apartment on your own while having bad credit if you can find a property manager that does not run credit checks. The best way to find a unit like this is by looking for a person that owns just a couple units. A person like this may not perform the same types of extensive background checks that a large property management firm may do. The hard part of this is knowing what apartment manager to call for an apartment, because you will probably have to ask them if they run credit checks. If they tell you that they do not, you might want to fill out an application with them.
Offer to pay extra
The other option you could use is offering to pay a higher rate for your rent; however, this option will assume that you have enough money in your budget to do this. If you are honest with a property manager and tell them about your bad credit, you could explain that you are working on improving it, and that you are willing to pay extra each month if the manager approves your application.
Finding an apartment with bad credit can be harder to do than finding one if you have good credit. To learn more about getting an apartment, contact an apartment manager.
