Apartment application and collections

[mackandblues]

So I'm moving out of state in 4 months for a new job and I need to rent an apartment. I applied to a place and was declined due to "high level of collection items" and "moderate amount of late credit payments". I haven't been late in over a year but there were several before that. I ran into financial trouble about a year and a half ago and a lot of things went to collections. I currently have about $4,600 in collections currently. Most of that is with pay for delete companies. So my question is what should I do? I have my moving expenses saved up already with a little bit extra. Should I try get some paid and deleted and then try again at the same place or a new place? Thank you

[Anonymous]

I'd certainly suggest cleaning up your reports as best as you can, and if that means paying the collections, I'd do it. 

With the difficult past year that many landlords have had with COVID eviction restrictions, I'd imagine many are going to be shy about getting someone else in that may pose a payment risk and then have a hard time getting them out. As many lenders have tightened their approval criteria, I wouldn't be shocked to see this extend to items such as apartment/house leases. 

[House2021]

I'm really surprised you were denied due to collections. Is it a small complex or huge complex? What are your credit scores?