Posted on Thursday, 20th October 2011 by Sarah Sullivan
I know the feeling of being a first time renter and you now narrowed down the apartment search to a couple of places that are of interest to you. It is an exciting but scary process. There is one lingering question that has got to be driving you up the wall, “what is my credit score“, and “will it affect my chances of getting accepted for this apartment?” There is a good chance that just because you don’t have much history or bad credit that you will be denied and be forced to look elsewhere. This article will show you what tenets actually look for in order to put your mind at ease.
It is not just a black and white answer and will take a bit of explaining to answer this question, “what credit score is needed for an apartment?” One of the factors is actually where you live. For instance, if you are applying for a place in New York or California your score will need to be hirer than if you applied in the midwest where the cost of living is much lower than the east and west coast . Also, is it in the hotspot of the city or way out in the boonies? Some places like Atlanta the market is just horrible and they will pretty much except most anyone as long as they haven’t been evicted or filed for bankruptcy.
For instance, from a landlords perspective they need to make sure you are not a huge risk and if you are on your way to bankruptcy in some states they are not obligated to evict you. However, check with your state laws for this.
They will be checking your income and seeing that you can actually afford the apartment. It is a range from 30%-50% varying from place to place. This means that if you are applying for a place they want to make sure you are making double the amount per month of what the rent would be. So if you rent was $1,000 a month they would want you to be making $2,000 dollars per month. In some luxury apartments they even want to make sure you can afford it; they will make sure that you are making 2 1/2 times as much as rent per month.
However, to ease your mind you might want to go ahead and check your credit score. Also, consider that if you are applying for an apartment that is $1,600 a month the rules and regulations would be much hirer than a place that cost $400 a month. Each and every state varies and you will have to check your state laws, take this into consideration.
So what credit score do you need to get accepted for an apartment? There is again no black and white answer put here are some general guidelines to follow:
780+ – Shouldn’t have much of a problem getting accepted for an apartment and generally will not have to pay a big deposit. In their eyes you are a low risk and have proved yourself with an excellent credit score.
720-779 – Generally, you are a low risk to them and might have to pay a little security deposit. Clearly, a good credit score, but it might be worth your while to see if you can do something to help improve your credit score just a little bit. It will end of saving your money in the long run.
659-719 – You are average and some places will charge you a medium sized security deposit. This is where most people stand with their credit score. Some apartments might turn you down if you score falls into this range.
619-658 – Your of high risk and expect to pay the max security deposit. Some apartment complexes might just turn you down with a credit score in this range.
Below 618 – Your a very high risk and you will certainly be paying a huge security deposit. Not to mention, some apartments will just turn you down based on your credit score. You should really consider working with a credit repair service because you need it badly.
Again, these figures are kind of broad and from apartment managers I have talked to over the years sometimes they don’t even really look at your credit score. They will look at your credit report to see if you have missed a lot of payments over the last 6-12 months.
Tags: Apartment, First Time
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