Apartment Application: Disputed Rental Collection

[Anonymous]

Long story so be prepared.

I rented an apartment in Florida back in 2016 - I received a promotion from my job that included me having to relocate up to Indianapolis. I struck a deal with the landlord to pay the two months termination fee in 3 payments (moving fees and such were high) so I drafted the checks and mailed them to the complex certified mail. I never heard a word from them so I assumed that they were paid and I received the certified receipts back.

Anyways.. fast forward to August 2018 and I received a notice in the mail from a collection agency saying my balance on this apartment was still unpaid and I owed $2300. I was flabbergasted! I called the complex for two weeks, never a call back, I called their corporate lines.. no call back ever except to tell me they had no record of me ever paying the bill. I disputed it immediately and said I did not validate the charge. Well.. 2 years is a long time, naturally all my proof of ever sending the checks is absolutely gone and the bank account I had back then has been closed for over a year and a half at that point. I was fighting this and fighting it hard but in the end I have absolutely no proof it was paid. So the dispute came to a conclusion in April of 2019 saying that I owed the money.

By this point I was so exhausted I wanted to pay it but I’m building a house currently with my husband and my loan consultant specifically told me do NOT pay off any collections because my credit is not amazing and I don’t want to lose my loan on my new home. Okay, no biggie. Well.. my husband and i’s current home sold within 3 days and we have 30 days to find an apartment.

Low and behold.. we apply for one and the darn collection is showing on my credit still. The leasing agent at the apartment told me she would have to ask her regional for permission to approve the loan, and to show that I at least have a payment plan, write a letter explaining the situation and provide all the pay stubs we could.

My husband and I make 11k a month together easily, and the apartment we want to rent is $1300 a month. I wrote the letter, sent it to them. My loan consultant told me I could start a payment plan but do NOT pay off the entire collection until after the house closes. I set up a payment plan and the collection agency refused to send me anything showing I set up a payment plan (of course). So I had to explain that too.

What are the chances of us getting approved? Are we going to be out of luck? It’s very hard to find apartments that lease month to month out here and our house is going to be built in December.. so I cannot just rent an apartment for 12 months and pay two housing bills.

I’d love to hear any insight and thanks for reading!

[Jannelo]

What length lease do you need?  I would offer to pay six months up front.

[Anonymous]

We need a 4 month lease. This is one of the only places that will allow it :/ we offered to pay two months upfront then two months again if needed. We’re just waiting on an answer.

[HighAchiever]

Sorry to hear of your troubles and (fingers crossed) congrats on your future home!!! Food for thought, you can always stay at an extended stay hotel or something similar. When I worked for the government, I traveled a lot and would sometimes be in a city for 2-6 months at a time. The extended stay and other properties were life saver for me. They have a kitchen area and full sized refrigerator, so you can cook and also will work with you on how often the house keepers come. Just go to the property first to make sure it is a decent area. Some are in very nice zones and some aren't. I think La Quinta does that also, in some areas... Just an idea to help... Good luck!   

[Anonymous]

Thank you! We said that would be one of our last resorts since they can be rather expensive and most don’t take dogs Were trying to save as much as possible to put down on the house so we don’t want to go insane! Funny thing is we were approved for another apartment with a 6 month lease 2 months ago when our original buyers were going to purchase until the sale of their house fell through Blegh! This is very nerve wrecking.

[HighAchiever]

What about leasing an RV?   

[Anonymous]

I thought about that too! Lmao! We’d prefer an apartment but there are options out there. Husband said we could move into a trailer park but.. the area we are in I don’t think that’s a good idea. Too many drunk people lol!

[KLEXH25]

Have you checked Craigslist? I know some posts can be sketchy, but I’ve had a lot of success finding places there. Lots of sublease options or rentals through private owners. When my credit was bad, I was able to find a place that didn’t run a credit check (private owner). Just be careful and make sure it’s not a scam and that they actually own the place. Your best bet is a two family house, where the owner lives in one of the units

[OmarR]

OP,

Even though you closed out that bank account, you can still request statements & copies of checks, even if for a small fee. Use those copies to dispute.

Did you get that agreement in writing? Do you have a walk-thru inspection sign-off?