How can I get a rapid rescore when trying to rent an apartment?

[elsullivan]

I am selling my apartment and plan to use some of the proceeds to pay off all my credit card debt. Then I need to rent an apartment almost immediately after that. How can I get a rapid resore done before a credit report is pulled for my rental application? I won't be dealing with a lender. What should I do?

[john398]

Usually people renting apartments don't care too much about utilization, you must be selling a condo...as long as no baddies as far as utilities or mortgages , I think you will be ok

[nicholasyud]

+1

[webhopper]

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@john398 wrote:

Usually people renting apartments don't care too much about utilization, you must be selling a condo...as long as no baddies as far as utilities or mortgages , I think you will be ok

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+1....  The credit report for renting an apartment looks for collections and chargoffs..  major derogs.   You should be fine if your only problem is utilization

[TheConductor]

+1 to the above.  In addition, many of the corporate apartment building chains will accept borderline tenants without a cosigner if they just add an additional half- or full-month rent to their security deposit.

Worst comes to worst, you can always get a discounted 1-month rate at one of those extended stay hotels, giving you an extra month for your report to smooth out and for you to find an apartment you really like.

So don't sweat the rescoring...just focus on selling your current property and the rest should fall into place.

[elsullivan]

Thanks  everyone for the advice. It's my first time on the forum and it's been very helpful so far.

[Chadsnana]

A rapid rescore is not necessary. Most non-corporate landlords do not run credit. They are most likely to verify your employment or check your references. I am a landlord. Here is what I do: I review the application and collect a check to run credit-but rarely do. If they do not want me to run credit then I know there are issues and most likely, they tell me at that point. It is not all that helpful to run a credit check. Instead, I follow the applicant out to their car. The inside condition of their car tells me how they will maintain the inside of my apartment (try this with our coworkers-if their car is a disgusting mess, so is their house, and most likely their financial situation too) and I check to see if they have current tags on their car. Deadbeats do not care about expired tags. People with expired tags are more likely to ignore your phone call and fail to open their mail.  Running credit is not all that helpful because even people with poor credit will often pay their rent on time. If they had perfect credit and high income they would not be renting from me.

[Cesarlopez]

Right now in most metro areas it's a landlords market. I hear horror stories everyday of people renting foreclosed homes and getting evicted. If you are worried about your credit score and find an availible apartment with good management then ask them for their criteria. They should have printed criteria so that you are aware what would possible disqualify you from being approved. If your only worry is your credit score then waiting a month might be a huge benefit to you. Depending on where you live you might even get a special by signing a lease in November or December.

Remember to follow the manager out to his or her car though. If their car is dirty then they might be a slum lord. lol