topic Good FICO Score For Apartment Rental in General Credit Topics

Good FICO Score For Apartment Rental

bobif31 — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 22:57:25 GMT

What would be considered a good FICO score for renting an apartment in New York City, preferably Manhattan ?

Re: Good FICO Score For Apartment Rental

Repo-ed — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 00:59:57 GMT

bobif31 wrote:
What would be considered a good FICO score for renting an apartment in New York City, preferably Manhattan ?

That's a great question. Most that high-end, usually have that info listed on their sites or through review sites like apartmentfinder or something.

Re: Good FICO Score For Apartment Rental

bobif31 — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 04:55:47 GMT

I was hoping for a more direct answer than that, but thanks anyway. I'll try your suggestion. I am also disappointed that nobody else answered the question.

Re: Good FICO Score For Apartment Rental

pizzadude — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 15:31:13 GMT

bobif31 wrote:
I was hoping for a more direct answer than that, but thanks anyway. I'll try your suggestion. I am also disappointed that nobody else answered the question.

I have no experience in the Manhattan rental market, but IME most landlords aren't looking for a particular score so much as they are looking for red flags on your credit reports, like BKs, judgements, liens, etc....

Re: Good FICO Score For Apartment Rental

SwiftTone — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 19:48:52 GMT

I agree. They're just looking for recent baddies.

Re: Good FICO Score For Apartment Rental

bobif31 — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 20:52:39 GMT

Thank you. That's a good answer.

Re: Good FICO Score For Apartment Rental

bobif31 — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 20:53:26 GMT

Got it, thanks.

Re: Good FICO Score For Apartment Rental

LS2982 — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 23:42:23 GMT

pizzadude wrote:

bobif31 wrote:
I was hoping for a more direct answer than that, but thanks anyway. I'll try your suggestion. I am also disappointed that nobody else answered the question.
I have no experience in the Manhattan rental market, but IME most landlords aren't looking for a particular score so much as they are looking for red flags on your credit reports, like BKs, judgements, liens, etc....

They are also looking at your prior rental history, more than anything else.

Re: Good FICO Score For Apartment Rental

bobif31 — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 04:17:43 GMT

Thank you.

Re: Good FICO Score For Apartment Rental

FrugalRican — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 10:29:02 GMT

I know you pretty much already got your answer, but my experience was that they never looked at your score, they just looked at your credit report.

They just want to know if you have baddies floating around, but they never actually find out your score, nor do I think it matters to them.

Re: Good FICO Score For Apartment Rental

WunderCard — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 14:08:29 GMT

bobif31 wrote:
What would be considered a good FICO score for renting an apartment in New York City, preferably Manhattan ?

Hi, NYC resident here!

Pro Tip: Do a local craigslist apartment search for the keyword "FICO". The apts with hard requirements will often have them listed. You'll notice a trend: Harlem (650); Lower Manhattan (700); nicer areas in the outer boroughs like Forest Hills, etc (725).

For a high rise apartment your FICO definitely matters. For independent landlords, not so much.

Re: Good FICO Score For Apartment Rental

Idiotsavant — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 15:51:34 GMT

This thread has been fascinating for me to follow and I'm glad someone finally was able to provide the OP the needed information. I'll definitely use the pro-tip when I am apartment hunting in the future, because in my experience in Los Angeles, your FICO score absolutely matters. I wasn't able to provide help because I've never lived in NYC.

Re: Good FICO Score For Apartment Rental

FrugalRican — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 15:55:45 GMT

Interesting, Wundercard.

Thanks for your response. I live just across, but have only rented from independent landlords as well. In New Jersey, we're pretty much required to have a credit check done, but haven't heard of getting the scores as well, probably because of the added expense.

Re: Good FICO Score For Apartment Rental

bobif31 — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 16:06:25 GMT

Thank you very much. This is the best answer I've gotten so far. The answers keep getting better and better.

Re: Good FICO Score For Apartment Rental

bobif31 — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 16:08:08 GMT

Thanks for replying anyway. Every little bit helps. There are no useless answers so far.

Re: Good FICO Score For Apartment Rental

bobif31 — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 16:20:24 GMT

Another great answer. I doubt if anybody can top this one, but you never know .......... I'm so glad I started this thread. You guys have been terrific. The answers so far are better than I could have imagined. I think I have enough answers now, but I never turn down good advice.

Re: Good FICO Score For Apartment Rental

aussiesareforever — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 03:40:17 GMT

Not at all useful but just a general comment. I'm glad I live in the boondocks :)

I've never had a landlord pull a CR and I've been renting in different towns for almost 12 years. My credit report is way cleaner now (2 baddies left-one BK and one account dropping off in 2014) but I still don't want anyone peering at it unless they absolutely have to.

Re: Good FICO Score For Apartment Rental

CreditScholar — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 07:25:59 GMT

We ask applicants bring a copy of their most recent credit report when they see the apartment. While there are exceptions, virtually all of our successful applicants have FICOs above 700. 725 is preferrable, but 600-anything is unacceptable.

Re: Good FICO Score For Apartment Rental

clocktick — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 14:42:45 GMT

I rent out apartments and single-family homes, while not in NYC, but a couple hours north. What I look for:

- time since last baddies, if any

- judgments - especially from previous landlords (I've been there and got judgments on prior tenants and I hope that future landlords/property managers are "warned" from my experience and not have to go through what I went through with the same people)

- car loans/any other loans, even in good standing - can be a deciding factor if tenants can afford an additional rent payment or not, I don't want the rent to basically max them out

- utility collections (or any other for that matter) - I don't want to be responsible if they get their electric shut off in the winter, which I would be, etc.

Like many of us, I know people have stories behind their baddies - job loss, divorce, wrong information, etc. so I do not 100% rely on the CRs but they do help and I examine everything on a case by case basis.

Some people flooded by recent "reds" and excuses I won't look at twice.

Edited to add: Even on blemish-free reports, high utilization makes me nervous. The last thing I want is someone to over-extend themself and I've also noticed some people, not all, will gladly pay their bills/cards/car loans, etc. before they pay their rent. It's as if the rent is lower on the priority list.

Re: Good FICO Score For Apartment Rental

bobif31 — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 15:22:22 GMT

Thanks. You've got me nervous now. The last time I checked my FICOs, they were all over 700, but there have been recent judgements and collections. We need a larger apartment with 1 1/2 - 2 bathrooms (special needs), as opposed to the one bedroom, one bath we have now. However, based on your criteria, finding another landlord who will accept us (my girlfriend lives with me and has some FICOs below 700 and some collections also, but no judgements), may be a substantial problem. Maybe we need to wait awhile and continue to improve our FICOs. I now make sure I pay my credit card bill as soon as I get it (online), sometimes several payments a month and always make sure I do not run it up to excess. I pay cash or debit for most things, trying only to use credit for some recurring monthly expenses and major purchases. I rarely use checks anymore, except for a few regular recurring expenses. My girlfriend is in a similar boat, but no longer has credit cards (I only have one and it is a reward points card, so is worth using to pay for some things every month). We both get some financial help from our families, when needed.