Renting An Apartment After Bankruptcy

Ok, so if you're bankrupt and you categorically need to rent an apartment here's what I would do:

o Purchase your Fico prestige scores. You'll see why in a minute.

Apartment Rentals

o Make a list of all the apartments you're curious in renting.

o Call each apartment involved and interview the apartment manager.

Here are some prestige questions to ask:

1. Have you previously rented apartments to citizen who've filed bankruptcy?

2. What are your prestige guidelines? (How do I get approved?)

3. Which prestige reporting agency do you use to make a rental decision?

4. How foremost is my prestige score in your decision?

5. I purchased my prestige scores last week and my Fico scores are [insert your Fico scores here]. How do these scores sound to you?

6. How much do you need for a protection deposit?

7. What revenue do I need in order to qualify for the apartment I'm considering (some agencies will need your monthly gross revenue to be three times the apartment's market rate)?

Three other factors that will have a major influence on whether you get proper or declined are...

1. Whether you have a good rental history. Some apartment complexes will need you have at least 12 months of rental history before they rent to you.

2. That you have no utility collections on your prestige reports.

3. And obviously, if you've ever been evicted--that sure won't help you.

So keep these three factors in mind when interviewing for apartments.

What you will speedily learn is that each rental firm has their own prestige guidelines. Some will need two years after discharge...Others four years...Most will only need you to be discharged. In addition, some will also look to see if you're on ChexSystems. (If you've never heard the term ChexSystems, it means you're not in it--and that's a good thing!)

In addition, depending on the season, the whole of vacancies, or the normal attitude of the asset manager, you may have more flexibility than you think.

One thing to look for is a "move-in special." If an apartment is running a extra deal like, "one month free rent if you move in before August," that ordinarily means that their occupancy rates are low. They may be more willing to work with you.

Also, most apartment involved managers have the quality to override a prestige decision if you can show them evidence that you will be able to make your rent payments every month.

The best advice I can give you is to be upfront with the apartment manager. Get answers to the questions I listed above. Interview many apartment managers. And then pick the apartment that works best for you.

Whatever you do during the apartment interviewing process, do not, I repeat, do not allow the apartment boss to pull your prestige reports. It's great if you regain all the facts and take one prestige inquiry hit compared to several apartment prestige inquiries.

You can minimize prestige inquiries by not signing a prestige application and/or not giving out your group protection number.

If the apartment boss is perplexed as to why you refuse to allow them to run your credit, simply illustrate that you're trying to keep your Fico prestige scores as high as possible by avoiding unnecessary prestige inquiries. Each time you sign a rental application you're giving permission to the apartment involved to retell your credit, and prestige inquiries lower your prestige scores.

And don't fall for the "you need a co-signer" line. There are other ways to overcome prestige guidelines. One way is a larger deposit.

With that said, I still feel there is a great way to rent if you're unable to purchase right now. Avoid the apartment complexes altogether and rent from an individual landlord or man who has a house for rent. Major apartment complexes approximately always have much stricter guidelines than individual landlords.

Some citizen have even moved into homes on a "handshake" deal. No prestige checks, no outrageous protection deposits, no hassles.

Another advantage is a landlord will often look at a prestige record you contribute him, and not pull one on his own--saving you a prestige inquiry on your prestige reports.

And when you rent from an individual, as opposed to an apartment complex, there's more of a human element to it. Who knows? Maybe the man you're renting from filed bankruptcy a while ago, and will be more insight of your plight.

Renting An Apartment After Bankruptcy