topic Re: Moving into a new apartment in a few weeks and need furniture in Credit Cards

Moving into a new apartment in a few weeks and need furniture

Anonymous — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 23:06:36 GMT

Was wondering what options do i have?

my scores are 607/617/627

can i get approved for a loan from my bank or a credit card for around $2000?

where should i look first? the furniture store cards have really high rates and i dont want to apply if im probably going to get turned down

Re: Moving into a new apartment in a few weeks and need furniture

Anonymous — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 23:11:07 GMT

I am on macys today like white on rice!!!!!!

Re: Moving into a new apartment in a few weeks and need furniture

haulingthescoreup — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 00:55:36 GMT

I'd check out local credit unions and banks, looking at either loans or secured credit cards. (Secured = you give them X amount of money, and they give you X amount of credit.)

You might want to start out with bombshelter furniture style, and add pieces one at a time. The problem is that with your scores, unless you can get a straight bank card (Visa, MC, etc.) you're going to be worked over by lenders, including the furniture store loans as you mentioned. Even if they accept you, I would avoid the furniture store loans if at all possible, because their rates are rapacious, and they often (not always) report as CFL's (consumer finance loans), which aren't as helpful to your scores as regular installment loans.

There's a lot to be said for the poor-but-proud style of decorating. A lot of us here ate off of refrigerator boxes for many months while saving up for real furniture.

Re: Moving into a new apartment in a few weeks and need furniture

Anonymous — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 01:28:00 GMT

@haulingthescoreup wrote:

There's a lot to be said for the poor-but-proud style of decorating. A lot of us here ate off of refrigerator boxes for many months while saving up for real furniture.

"QFT", as internet kids everywhere appear to say, and I took upwards of a year to figure out the meaning of. That bears repeating so much that I'm quoting it rather pointlessly to drive the point home. What furniture do you REALLY need for your new apartment? Can you buy some secondhand, off Craigslist, by looking at the classified ads in your local paper, etc etc etc? Do you really really really need to take out credit and pay the kind of usury-level interest rates you'll likely be looking at? Of course things like beds tend to be a bit of a necessity, but other than that, I can't really think of much furniture that's vitally essential straight off the bat.

And in case I sound like some preachy old mother (I'm neither especially old nor a mother!) hen type, we just bought a house... we love our house... but most of the rooms have no furniture in them, and the ones that do have furniture in them have the same falling-apart stuff that we moved from my husband's last apartment into our old apartment, always with the vague idea that 'one day' we will upgrade to less falling-apart stuff. But only as and when we can afford it, bit by bit. Oh, and we have a table we bought off a colleague of my husband's because he couldn't be bothered to move it to his new place - we got that at a steal. (edit - oh yeah, I forgot that we do also now have a new bed for my stepdaughter to sleep in, and a dirt-cheap kitchen table & chairs, courtesy of 50% of our economic stimulus payment and a trip to IKEA!)

I'm probably not really helping much here, but those loans you get at furniture stores etc will do not-very-great things to your credit, will almost certainly be appalling interest-rate rise... and really don't have much going for them. If you can get a low-interest loan from a credit union, or a semi-secured credit card with a good rate, that might be the way to go... to afford the bare essentials like something to sleep on. Otherwise... getting decent stuff secondhand, or piece by piece as and when you can save up to afford it, has to be a lot better than the 'new place, must furnish it right now' trap I've seen a lot of friends fall into. It sucks when you're still paying this stuff off years down the line and can't afford to buy one single new thing even if you wanted to!!

Good luck!

Message Edited by fevmlo on 07-25-2008 09:28 PM

Re: Moving into a new apartment in a few weeks and need furniture

Anonymous — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 01:27:49 GMT

haulingthescoreup wrote:

There's a lot to be said for the poor-but-proud style of decorating. A lot of us here ate off of refrigerator boxes for many months while saving up for real furniture.

Agreed. Since I can't find the perfect dining room table and do not want to buy something just for the sake of having a nice table until I can decide, I'm planning on putting the powder blue card table and chairs in the brand new kitchen.

I had dreams of new living room tables and a gorgeous entertainment armoire. Nope, not right now. My little 'assemble it yourself' furniture will do until I can upgrade.

I do have one piece of advice. Go to an auction. I did that when I furnished my first apt. I got a couch and two tables for under 40 bucks. It's quite thrilling to bid on things -- imagine ebay w/o computers! A grumpy old man was trying to out-bid me for the couch, tho. His wife looked over and convinced him that I needed it worse than they did. Awwwe.

Re: Moving into a new apartment in a few weeks and need furniture

tianapb725 — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 01:36:48 GMT

I hope I can provide some decent advice since I just did this less than two months ago! If you MUST borrow money, my best recommendation is getting a small loan through a credit union/local bank. That way it's fixed and you know it will be paid off in a certain amount of time.

But realllyyyy, what I recommend is saving up money and then purchase furniture. The last thing you want to do in your new apartment is a new bill. I saved up quite a bit of money and then bought basic furniture (all brand new) that could go translate into a new apartment or eventually become furniture in a guest room.

If you're going to definitely get a loan, use it to buy a good mattress. That is one thing you should not be cheap on!

Re: Moving into a new apartment in a few weeks and need furniture

Anonymous — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 01:39:57 GMT

thanks for all the "preaching" lol. yes i know the furniture stores and cards have terrible rates....which is why i stated that to begin with. I would not consider a store card due to the rate and i wouldnt take a credit card with a bad rate either although i only have two low balance cards right now the score simulator says it would be good to open a new card with a higher balance. I dunno, just wanting to know my options and the likelyhood of approval given my scores. I can piece the furniture together and pay it off month to month due to my having a great job now i just cant due it in full and i dont really have anywhere to go for hand me downs lol. no offense but i dont want anyones furniture...im kind of a germ-a-phobe lol

Re: Moving into a new apartment in a few weeks and need furniture

haulingthescoreup — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 01:48:54 GMT

What's on your reports that is holding down your scores? Credit apps aren't driven strictly by scores, and you'll see plenty of posts here by people who got a certain card with a 650, while others were denied with a 680 or better.

That being said, your scores are not quite there for most cards from the good national banks, which is why you're getting advice to check out local credit unions and local banks.

But some items on credit reports might be automatic score killers, while others are things that lenders might be willing to work with. Same score, but very different approval rates.

And it's a very smart move to get in with a local CU or bank, one that isn't enslaved to some giant regional or national chain. There are still some personal relationships left in banking, but you definitely have to go looking for them.

Re: Moving into a new apartment in a few weeks and need furniture

Anonymous — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 01:51:19 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
no offense but i dont want anyones furniture...im kind of a germ-a-phobe lol

Well I'm not suggesting you do something like buy old sofas or mattresses (I second the above advice - buy the best mattress you can possibly afford, those things are not worth skimping on!), but c'mon, a good secondhand dining table vs. some cheap piece of rubbish for the same price? That might be taking 'germ-o-phobia' a touch far. But what do I know...?

On the other hand, it is of course worth saving up to buy a brand new and utterly great one, I'm not one of the 'why waste money on new stuff when there's plenty of old stuff at the junkyard' school, believe me!

And I wasn't intending to preach, if you were referring to me. Just pointing out what I know *I* have fallen for before, although not to the extent of a few friends in particular who have really lived to regret it ('great jobs' and all)... hm, that and my husband who still carried a bit of his new-apartment-furniture-buying debt when we married, and that was from YEARS ago! Honestly not meant to be preaching, just 'noooo, your furniture can wait, apart from those bare essentials, and even better, you'll be able to buy stuff you don't hate without going into hideous debt for it!!!'

Oh yeah. Plus the fact that if you go the 'build it yourself' route with any kind of flat-packed stuff.... putting together an entire apartment's worth of dressers and beds and nightstands and bookshelves and the like all at once reallllllly sucks.

Re: Moving into a new apartment in a few weeks and need furniture

haulingthescoreup — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 01:57:53 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:

....Oh yeah. Plus the fact that if you go the 'build it yourself' route with any kind of flat-packed stuff.... putting together an entire apartment's worth of dressers and beds and nightstands and bookshelves and the like all at once reallllllly sucks.

DH and I spent an entire New Year's Day assembling a gi-normous crendenza thingy to rest the TV on. It weighs a ton (it's what we call "glue-wood": all sawdust and glue and laminate), and it's huge. At the end of the project, I looked at him and said, "Well, we'll never be able to divorce, because we would never be able to figure out what to do with this thing!"

--just another family held together by habit and an Allen wrench.

Re: Moving into a new apartment in a few weeks and need furniture

Anonymous — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 02:20:21 GMT

@haulingthescoreup wrote:

@Anonymous wrote:

....Oh yeah. Plus the fact that if you go the 'build it yourself' route with any kind of flat-packed stuff.... putting together an entire apartment's worth of dressers and beds and nightstands and bookshelves and the like all at once reallllllly sucks.

DH and I spent an entire New Year's Day assembling a gi-normous crendenza thingy to rest the TV on. It weighs a ton (it's what we call "glue-wood": all sawdust and glue and laminate), and it's huge. At the end of the project, I looked at him and said, "Well, we'll never be able to divorce, because we would never be able to figure out what to do with this thing!"

--just another family held together by habit and an Allen wrench.

Hauling, I'm faced with getting rid of one of those things. It was a nice thought (ha) when my uber-practical ex-BF bought it as a Christmas present for me, but it will NOT be moved. So if you need a spare.. hitch up the pick-up truck and drive north!

Re: Moving into a new apartment in a few weeks and need furniture

Anonymous — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 02:32:34 GMT

no i was kidding about the preaching lol. i appreciate all responses and am not one to look for what i want to hear. as for what is keeping my scores down. I have one collection being paid monthly now from an old aspire visa card that had a 5000 dollar balance that went to collection. that and i have a best buy card with an 800 limit and it sits at 690 right now my cap one card is a 300 limit and sits at 175 now so the available credit isnt good. other than that i had a 90 late on my car 2years ago but those are my only baddies

Re: Moving into a new apartment in a few weeks and need furniture

haulingthescoreup — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 02:42:43 GMT

OK, so one collection, one 90 day that is 2 years + ... I'm thinking that getting your util down to a barely visible figure ought to help you out a bunch. My advice would be don't apply for anything at all until both your cards are under 10%. Ideally, one would be at $0, and the other would be under 10%.

It's very possible that with as few tradelines as you have, that would be enough to swing your scores forwards big-time. And if nothing else, having very low balances will definitely cheer up future lenders.

Re: Moving into a new apartment in a few weeks and need furniture

Anonymous — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 03:53:51 GMT

Hauling, Whirled, you guys are spot on!!

My fave furniture is second hand stuff bought at yard sales and eBay!!

Bought an old, circa early 1900's farmhouse table (butcher block top) at a yard sale for TEN DOLLARS. A little (and I mean a LITTLE) bit of stripping and refinishing and it looks better than Ethan Allen!!

Another awesome find was an old sewing table, circa 1920s, on eBay for $16. Hubby picked it up for me about 6 towns over on the way home from a meeting/biz trip. The table, which we did NOT refinish, has slight scratch marks from where the original owner had left pins and such ... those little marks make it such a treasure. I LOVE imagining her sitting there, with her converted treadle machine, pins in her mouth, as she puts on the finishing touches to her daughter's little Sunday outfits! The table is VERY rare and has been appraised for $300. Not bad, eh?

I didn't write all of this just to brag about the neat finds I've made. My point is that awesome furniture finds, especially the kind that give you a nice connection with the past, is available CHEAP EVERYWHERE. You just have to look!!

And FTR, my "cheap" furniture is MUCH loved by our friends. Just last week we had a friend over who took pics of my butcher block table -- he's going to try to make one himself!! And that was AFTER about 50 attempts to get us to sell it to him!!

If you're concerned about "cheap" furniture looking tacky and crass, just read the mags on the newsstands! Almost every interior designer's home is outfitted not with the latest goods from Ethan Allen, but nice "finds" from yard and estate sales!! Shabby chic is still CHIC!!

Re: Moving into a new apartment in a few weeks and need furniture

jaysdad2k — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 04:11:10 GMT

Don't underestimate Craigslist!

About a year and a half ago we had to furnish a two BR apt in about 3 weeks. We got an incredible dining and hutch set, leather sofa, three dressers (one is the TV stand), storage cabinet, 4 lamps, coffee table and end tables for less than the cost of a new ordinary sofa.

Original Mattress Factory makes them in the store, and they have really nice sets for about 400 bucks.

Millions of people use PayPal, and they give you a MasterCard debit card. Even with low FICO scores you could probably get a few hundred dollar CL with the Buyer Credit. Then you can pay anyone with PayPal. The interest rate is nothing to write home about, but it does report every month as a TL.

Re: Moving into a new apartment in a few weeks and need furniture

Anonymous — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 05:15:54 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
The table, which we did NOT refinish, has slight scratch marks from where the original owner had left pins and such ... those little marks make it such a treasure. I LOVE imagining her sitting there, with her converted treadle machine, pins in her mouth, as she puts on the finishing touches to her daughter's little Sunday outfits! The table is VERY rare and has been appraised for $300. Not bad, eh?

I didn't write all of this just to brag about the neat finds I've made. My point is that awesome furniture finds, especially the kind that give you a nice connection with the past, is available CHEAP EVERYWHERE. You just have to look!!

Yes, yes, yes, YESSSSS!!! Can you tell I agree 100000%???

It's sad how things suddenly become 'dirty' by association by virtue of having been owned for a bit... whereas if they were just that bit older, they'd be revered as antiques and have everyone fighting over them. Craziness. Honestly, honestly, OP, I'm not trying to suggest you buy nasty old trash that belongs at the dump... but you can furnish the whole place with stuff that has personality and character and is actually WORTH something, with a bit of searching... and ahhh, I must admit I'm just babbling in general now (lest the poor OP feels lectured - I'm sorry!) about how you can find the most amazing stuff - no matter WHAT your taste in furniture (you'd be surprised at how much high-end designer stuff gets sold off after a year or two - collectible, expensive stuff someone is letting go for cheap!)... meh, today's decent second-hand furniture is tomorrow's incredible 'I can't believe you even have that!' antique.

Definitely ranting now... more out of incredulousness at the cool things it's possible to pick up if you keep your eyes open, than anything else.

Oh, and Wonderin... that table of yours sounds amazing - I dunno, in the same way I like some of the slightly dodgy old stuff in our house (original door frames, handles, ancient coal cellar, etc etc), I love the idea of having a lovely old solid wooden table and being able to see the evidence right there of the person who used it for all those years... LOVE it!!!

Enough rambling. I will be quite! Sorry to go so very OT, OP, I promise!!!

Re: Moving into a new apartment in a few weeks and need furniture

Anonymous — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 05:17:19 GMT

@haulingthescoreup wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:

....Oh yeah. Plus the fact that if you go the 'build it yourself' route with any kind of flat-packed stuff.... putting together an entire apartment's worth of dressers and beds and nightstands and bookshelves and the like all at once reallllllly sucks.

DH and I spent an entire New Year's Day assembling a gi-normous crendenza thingy to rest the TV on. It weighs a ton (it's what we call "glue-wood": all sawdust and glue and laminate), and it's huge. At the end of the project, I looked at him and said, "Well, we'll never be able to divorce, because we would never be able to figure out what to do with this thing!"

--just another family held together by habit and an Allen wrench.

... and right there is a reason (the biggest one, I think!) why I'm very glad indeed that we can only afford to buy new furniture bit by bit by bit by bit. It's nature's way of preserving marriages, surely!!!

Re: Moving into a new apartment in a few weeks and need furniture

Anonymous — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 05:23:39 GMT

Just sneaking on again to say SORRY, OP - I for one don't mean to lecture and command you to buy old secondhand furniture, I just got a bit carried away with how great it can be if you're patient and hold out for really good things! Unintended lecture over, I promise - just got overexcited!! I hope tomorrow my brain my conjure up some different ideas with regards to furnishing a place - because I know not everyone wants to do it the same way.

Re: Moving into a new apartment in a few weeks and need furniture

SWISSOATL — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 12:29:58 GMT

rakuin79 wrote:
Was wondering what options do i have?
my scores are 607/617/627
can i get approved for a loan from my bank or a credit card for around $2000?
where should i look first? the furniture store cards have really high rates and i dont want to apply if im probably going to get turned down

ROOMS TO GO MUCH?

Re: Moving into a new apartment in a few weeks and need furniture

Anonymous — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 13:35:28 GMT

In my area we have a few stores that offer really cheap furniture. Problem is, it is also cheaply made. Like they say, you get what you pay for. This may be good for odd and end peices that won't get jumped on and abused so they don't give out too early.

Also, they have a few shops kinda like a flea market, that sell second hand items along with a few new items for pretty decent prices. I bought a king sized mattress set, that was used, but still had the plastic wrap on it for $100.(I asked the woman if it was new and she said it wasn't. I couldn't tell it had been used, probably due to the overwrap) It was a Sealy and they are not cheap. That bed lasted me a long time and I am sure I would still have it if disaster had not struck. (I would gladly trade it for the one I paid 1200 for last year. It was way more comfortable)

I'm not big on garage sales, but my ex sis-n-law would always check those and drag something interesting in to decorate the house.

Lastly, GE did my financing at a local furniture store. It does not report as a CFL on my reports (but I didn't use it either) I got 0% financing and no payments for a year or 2 I forget exactly. BUT if it is not paid by that time, then they kill you with interest all the way back to when you first made the purchase for the full amount. I would not recommend this unless you can pay it off before the promo expires.

They pulled EQ and my score at that time was around 630 and they gave a 2500 CL.