The Apartment Blogger

It’s quite true that buying a home will be just short of impossible after bankruptcy or with terrible credit, especially now with current mortgage conditions being extremely strict.

But when it comes to renting an apartment not all is lost. Many people who have declared bankruptcy have most likely rented apartments in the past.

My first advice would be to try and avoid large apartment complexes and the larger professionally managed properties. The reason is that with the larger companies there is much less of a chance that somebody will care about your personal situation. Furthermore, almost 100% of the time they will rely heavily on your credit report as an approval method.

You will have much better luck with private owners who only own 1-5 apartments. They might show some sympathy if you leave a good impression when you meet for the showing. Before you go to the showing make sure that you have prepared an application that will impress the landlord. This is especially important if you have bad credit.

When all is said and done, getting approved for an apartment is all about making the landlord comfortable with your ability to pay the rent consistently on time.

Here is what you should present to the landlord:

1) CO-SIGNER/GUARANTOR
This can be someone in your family or a very close friend that has good or much better credit and income than you, and who is willing to co-sign the application agreeing to take legal responsibility to pay the rent if you should default on your rent. Many students with bad or zero credit use their parents as guarantors.

2) BANK STATEMENTS
If you have a few months worth of rent in a saving account in your name and you can prove it on a bank statement, show it to your landlord.

3) REFERENCE LETTERS
Get a reference letter from your employer verifying the length of your employment and your income. You can also ask your employer to put in a good word for you in terms of reliability. This will all give confidence to the landlord.

A reference from a past landlord is huge. This is basically a letter from someone you rented an apartment from in the past that states how much money you paid for rent and that you paid consistently on time. Make sure they include their contact information and get permission for a follow-up call from your future landlord.

A personal reference can also be used, but personally I would not make too much of it if I were the landlord, unless it’s from someone who has some clout like your good friend the State Senator and is willing to vouch for your being a stand up guy or gal.

4) CREDIT REFERENCE
Although you might be recovering from bankruptcy or just have terrible credit, you might have a few bills that you keep paying on time (cell phone, cable TV, car payments, student loans, etc.). Ask the companies for a credit reference letter and supply it to the landlord.

Hope this helps!

IG

Filed under: Apartment Renting, Tips and Tricks by IG on 10.28.2007