By Aaron Swartz
Credit scores are one of the big mysteries of this world, especially for anyone who hasn’t started the process of building their credit. Your credit score is an important part of pretty much every decision you’ll make that involves a decent chunk of money, such as buying a car or renting an apartment. For a lot of college students who are thinking about post-graduation plans or simply want to get out of the dorms, the idea of renting an off-campus apartment can be very appealing. Unfortunately, a lack of credit can make it much more difficult to find someone who’s willing to rent to you. For help navigating the rental process with little to no credit, read on for some top tips on how to land your first apartment, with or without a credit score.
1. Rent from Private Renters
Sometimes it isn’t about money (or credit in this case), it’s about people, and private owners are a great resource for renting when you haven’t built up your credit. While most property management companies reject applicants out of hand if they don’t meet a requisite credit score, a private landlord can be much more willing to rent to you regardless of your credit score, so long as you make a good impression. If you can find a privately owned apartment as opposed to a corporate-controlled one, you’ll be that much more likely to net the place, even without a credit score.
2. Prove Your Income or Savings
While credit scores are complicated and have a lot of strange rules to them, at the end of the day they exist for one simple reason: to prove you can pay people. Renters look to your credit score to see if you’re a trustworthy person to rent to, but there are other ways you can prove that to them even without credit. Providing several months of W-2s or other proof of income can be a great way to show a potential landlord you have the money to pay rent. Similarly, if you have a robust savings account it may put renters at ease to see you have money to fall back on. At the end of the day, the owner of an apartment wants to be sure they’ll be paid their rent each month, so showing your income or savings can be a great way to prove to them you can be trusted.
3. Pay More Upfront
Speaking of money, there’s another great way for you to show your potential landlord you’ll be a good source of it, and that’s paying more money upfront. Now, this won’t work everywhere — some states in the U.S. actually have laws against it — but in a lot of places, putting more money down when you first move in will make landlords more likely to rent to you. Just another option to consider, so long as you have the money to invest in the venture.
4. Move In Immediately
This is pretty simple, but it can definitely help to tip the scales in your favor. Keeping an apartment empty for any length of time costs renters money, so if you offer to move in immediately then they may be more willing to have you do exactly that, credit score or no credit score. If you have the flexibility to move in ASAP, then this might be a good trick to use when apartment hunting.
5. Rent Month-to-Month
Most of the time a lease is set for a longer period of time when a new tenant moves in, but if your credit is lacking (or nonexistent) then there’s another option that might work well for you. If you rent on a month-to-month basis it can remove a lot of risk for renters, as if you fail to pay rent on time they can end your stay immediately and begin looking for a replacement. It can be a bit more pressure on you as an occupant, but if you can stick it out month-to-month for a while then you’ll be able to get settled in and probably sign a more traditional lease in the end.
6. Co-Sign
Last but not least, there’s one more option you have available, and it’s an incredibly useful one. If you have a poor credit score you can invite a friend or family member with good credit to co-sign your lease with you. Essentially, this means that they’re liable to take responsibility should you fail to pay your rent on time, and act as insurance for the renter to make sure they get their money. This is a great option for you, especially if you’re just starting to build your credit, so if you have someone willing to co-sign a lease with you, take advantage of it.
Apartment hunting is difficult. So is building a credit score. The place where they overlap is its own complicated mess. Hopefully, these tips have given you an excellent place to start with your own apartment hunting, whether you’ve got great credit, poor credit, or no credit at all.
Equal Housing Opportunity
