How to Land No Credit Check Apartments: Renting Without Credit
Moving is one of the most stressful things that happens to almost everyone.
You have to worry about packing up your entire life up to that point, arranging for your things to be taken to the new place, cleaning the old one, making repairs, handing keys back, sorting utilities and much, much more.
So what about adding the stress of being unable to find somewhere to live due to your credit score?
That’s where no credit check apartments come in. These make it possible for you to rent a new place no matter what your credit score is, which is especially useful if you’ve gone through bankruptcy, or just missed a few regular bill repayments.
Sadly, things aren’t as simple as “get a no credit check apartment”. There are dangers specific to these apartments, and ways to navigate renting credit check apartments by making a few concessions.
That’s why, today, we here at Grow Credit will this post will cover:
What are no credit check apartments?
Why do landlords check your credit?
What is the ideal credit score for renting?
How to rent with no (bad) credit
The best way to boost your renting options
Time to get started and find your dream home.
What are no credit check apartments?
No credit check apartments are exactly what they sound like - apartments where the landlord doesn’t require a credit check in order for you to rent it.
Traditionally a credit check would be performed as part of the initial candidate screening process for an apartment. However, some properties require no such checks, which can be fantastic if your credit score isn’t all that good.
There are a few things to bear in mind though.
The most important thing to be mindful of are scams. These come in many forms, but the gist of it is that someone might be trying to rent a property without having the authority to do so. This could be because they’re not the legal property owner, or because they do not have permission to let out the property according to their mortgage’s terms.
Don’t pay any kind of upfront fee or wire transfer before you’ve verified who the landlord is. Not every property without a credit check is a scam (far from it), but it pays to be certain when dealing with upfront costs and your deposit.
Why do landlords check your credit?
Your credit score serves as a general indicator to lenders of your ability to repay your debts, and your reliability in doing so. Thus, a landlord might want to perform a credit check in order to be more confident that you’ll be able to pay your rent on time.
This is especially important from the landlord’s perspective, as not only will they lose out on the money from renting the apartment, but they may have to incur other costs in the unfortunate event they need to evict you.
Not only that, but a low credit score can also be an indicator of whether you’ll be a long-term tenant or a short-term one.
Generally speaking, long-term tenants serve landlords better. It means that they don’t have to put their property back on the market every couple of months (and incur the costs related to that with estate agents and whatnot).
If you have a low credit score, not only will a landlord be worried that you might not be able to consistently pay rent, but they could also consider you to be less reliable as a long-term tenant as a result.
After all, rent is one of the biggest costs of modern living. If you can’t consistently afford rent, you’re more likely to be searching for a different (cheaper) place to live in the near future.
What is the ideal credit score for renting?
For most properties, a credit score of “fair” will be sufficient to calm any fears that a landlord might have about you not paying on time.
While the exact number differs slightly depending on the organization assessing you, this usually means that you’ll need to have a credit score of around 637.
Obviously, the higher your credit score, the better position you’ll be in for renting an apartment. A “fair” score will get your foot in the door for many standard apartments, but for anything more upscale or luxurious you’ll need to have a better score.
The higher the rent for a property, and the higher quality the apartment is, the more likely you’ll need to reach as close to a credit score of 800 as possible.
Don’t have a credit score of 637 or more? Don’t worry. There are plenty of people in the same situation as you, and it’s far from the end of the world.
All you need to do is to do a little bit of negotiating with regards to the points below...
How to rent with no (bad) credit
While it’d be fantastic if everyone could have a perfect credit score, that simply isn’t the reality. Credit scores exist entirely because your credit history can come back to bite you, possibly through no fault of your own.
We understand - sometimes circumstances largely out of your control will make you take a hit to your credit rating. Maybe you had a credit link to someone who declared bankruptcy, or maybe you inherited debts that you couldn’t reasonably keep up with.
These things happen.
However, the following tips can help you to secure a new apartment without the need for a good credit score.
Before we dive in, it’s worth noting that all of these are part of negotiations rather than any set-in-stone rules. Some landlords will be happy to rent to you with a lower credit score if you’re willing to pay more up-front, while others will steadfastly refuse.
It’s a case of working out conditions that are acceptable to both you and the landlord.
Pay a bigger deposit
The first and simplest thing that you can do is to pay a bigger safety deposit to your landlord. Most of the time this will be requested by the landlord if they’re still considering you despite your credit score, but it can be worth offering to pay extra if you already know that yours isn’t up to scratch.
Remember that, as long as you have the money to pay the deposit, it’s theoretically money that you’ll get right back at the end of your tenancy. As long as you keep the property in good condition and leave it as you found it there should be no need for the landlord to call in professional cleaners, plumbers, and so on.
In other words, if you have the money to pay a larger deposit, it’s one of the best ways to keep yourself in the running for renting an apartment.
Just don’t set your sights on a specific apartment and get carried away with offering a higher deposit when that could impact your ability to cover moving costs, any required white goods, or even whether you’ll be able to pay the first rent installment.
No apartment is worth compromising your ability to keep up your payments.
Get a cosigner
Another great way to boost your chances of a landlord being happy with renting you their property is to get yourself a cosigner. These aren’t quite the same as a guarantor, as they are equally responsible for making sure that the rent gets paid, instead of only being responsible if you (the tenant) default on rent.
Think of them as another tenant (as their name will be on the lease) who doesn’t necessarily have to live there. It’s a fantastic way to give landlords peace of mind and make them more confident with letting you rent their property.
This is especially true if you have a low credit score, and thus wouldn’t want a landlord to perform a credit check to see if you can rent from them.
Typically a cosigner will be someone similar to who you might choose as a guarantor, only with the responsibility for paying the rent on time rather than covering anything you can’t pay.
This could be a family member or close friend - it doesn’t necessarily matter what their on-paper relation is to you, as long as they have a good credit history and are able to cover for you if you can’t afford rent.
Just make sure that whoever you pick won’t bail out on you should you need their help.
Have proof of income
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. While it sounds cheesy, this little saying holds true for everything from sports to investments.
Unfortunately, your potential landlord might not see that as a good enough reason to let you rent their apartment.
So, instead, you need to show them why your lack of good credit shouldn’t be held against you. The best way to do this is to provide proof of your income, be it through pay slips, bank statements, or your tax filings.
As a general rule (and for your own quality of life), you want to demonstrate a pre-tax income of at least three times the amount that the apartment’s rent would be.
Provide solid references (ideally from landlords)
Similarly to providing proof of your income, having good references from previous landlords is a great way to demonstrate your reliability in paying rent despite what your credit score might say.
After all, it’s easy to say “don’t pay attention to my credit score - it’s not bad because I can’t pay rent”. It’s another thing entirely for your last two landlords to have provided a written reference stating how they’ve never had a late payment from you, and that you’ve kept the properties in good condition.
I know it sounds corny, but a good word from previous landlords about payments and the condition you left their property in works wonders. It’s the only reason I was able to snatch up the last property I rented!
Consider renting with a roommate
Source by chintermeyer. Image used under license CC BY-SA 2.0
Renting with a roommate provides a very similar benefit to having a cosigner, with one core exception. The landlord will be able to perform a credit check on them too and see how reliable they are in terms of paying back their debts.
Having a roommate will also provide you with an informal cosigner. Since you’re both on the lease, you’re both equally responsible for paying the rent, giving you a 2-for-1 deal in terms of helping your new landlord be more confident in your ability to keep up payments.
Finally, a roommate will reduce the personal pressure of paying rent on yourself, since you’re cutting the rent that you have to pay in half.
The best way to boost your renting options
Negotiating with landlords is always done on uncertain grounds.
Some landlords will be happy to have you as a tenant no matter what your credit score is (especially if they offer no credit check apartments). Some will want you to put down a larger deposit to cover potential eviction costs if you can’t pay rent, some may require you to have a cosigner or roommate who has a good credit score as security.
Others will flat-out refuse to let you rent their property without a good credit score.
So, what’s the best way to open up your options for renting?
Boosting your credit score of course!
If you’re in the 52% of US citizens who have a Netflix subscription but you don’t have a Grow Credit account, you’re literally wasting the potential to grow your credit score.
The Grow Credit Mastercard is the easiest way to grow your credit score, because it requires little effort on your part. Just sign up, and watch your score grow.
Grow Credit provides you with an account solely for tracking, paying, and managing your subscription services.
You can’t take out money or go on a shopping spree with it, so there’s no temptation to reduce your credit score by using up your potential credit. Plus you can see exactly how much money is going on your subscriptions every month, making it easy to get rid of services you don’t use or can’t afford.
Start building your credit score today with Grow Credit and open your options for renting apartments today!