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
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Many people come to the Boston area with some uncertainty of how long they will stay. Some might be transfer students for a semester or two, researchers, or corporate employees here for a specific project. Maybe they’re someone who wants to test out the Bean Town magic before they settle down in a specific area. They might rent something long-term perhaps on their way to buying a home.

Whatever the case, there are three ways to secure short-term housing in the Boston area.

1) CORPORATE RENTALS
These are apartments that are being rented on a weekly and monthly basis. The apartments come fully furnished and equipped top to bottom. These units are being priced out in comparison to a hotel room stay, so if you compare them to a regular rental rate they are very expensive. The units are usually very well cared for, like a hotel, and include internet connection, cable TV, linen, and a fully applianced kitchen.

For example:
Standard hotel room rates in downtown Boston are, on average, $250 per night. Multiply by 30 nights and you’ve just spent $7500 that month on housing.

The corporate rentals will run about half that. So count on spending around $3000 a month for a one-bedroom or studio apartment in the downtown Boston area.

There are exceptions to that rule but I don’t know of any corporate rentals that are renting for less than $1400 a month for a studio or $2000 for a two-bedroom.

2) BED AND BREAKFAST
There are quite a few B&B’S in the Greater Boston area. You will most often find them in Cambridge, Brighton, Brookline but not so much in the heart of downtown Boston. They range in quality from a run-down motel/hostel feel to a homey, almost hotel-like feel.

Renting is usually done on a nightly basis with the option of a longer-term stay (per week or month) for a reduced rate.

Prices range from $100-300 per night for an apartment-like unit, not just a room. Weekly and monthly rates are priced around $600-$1500 per week and $2000-$3000 per month.

3) RENT A SHORT-TERM UNIT, RENT THE FURNITURE TOO
This is by far the most economical way of securing short-term housing in Boston. However, it requires a little more work on the renter’s part.

What you do is find a regular non-furnished market-rate apartment that would accept a month-to-month lease or a Tenant-at-Will agreement. Some landlords will be agreeable to this sort of arrangement from the get-go or sometimes only after some negotiations.

These arrangements are far and few between, but they are out there.

Once you have secured the apartment, you use a furniture rental company to furnish the apartment to your liking. This will cost you $70-$350 per month depending upon the quality of the furniture and how detailed you want to get. Do you need just a bed? Or do you require a living room and dining room set with chandeliers, a plasma TV and matching area rugs?

Companies that rent furniture in the Boston area are: Cort Furniture, Rent-a-Center and probably a few others.

Hope this helps.

IG

Filed under: Apartment Renting, Tips and Tricks by IG on 10.21.2007
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Most experts recommend not spending more then 35% of your income. Many landlords will take your gross annual income and divide it by 35-40 to feel comfortable taking you on as a tenant. For example, a $35,000 a year income earner should budget $875 – $1,000 per month for their rent.

GrandCentralApartments.com created a rent calculator to make budgeting for your rent simple.

Keep in mind your responsibility for utilities. Obviously the best case scenario is finding an apartment where the rent includes all utilities. If not, be sure to get an idea of what your heating bill, electric, phone, cable and internet expenses will be and factor that into your budget as well. Your landlord should be able to help you estimate your utilities.

A recent article in the Boston Globe reported that the amount of low-income renters that spend upwards of 50% of their income on rent increased dramatically over the last 8 years (almost doubled).

Low income refers to people making no less then the minimum wage and no more then 120% of the median income for an area.

IG

Filed under: Apartment Renting, Current Trends, Tips and Tricks by IG on 10.14.2007
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