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I have an issue that I haven't seen addressed here before. I am planning on moving to Brooklyn in the new year. The house that I live in is owned by my mother - a true mother/daughter upstairs/downstairs situation. I have lived there for most of my life, occasionally moving into an ex-boyfriends apt or house at times (during the conversion into an apartment from bedrooms). Never had my name on his lease or mortgage though.
Here is my problem... looking to rent, I have no references or rental history. I have been paying my mother rent for 16 years (since I turned 18), but it's always been cash and can you really give your mom as a reference at age 34? My credit scores are mid-600's, but I expect them to go up soon as I'm having inaccurate information removed from my report (eg: a paid closed account that for some reason is reporting 120+ days past due!). I'm looking in the $950-$1100 range and my salary is well above the standard 40X rule. I can definitely provide financials as far as employment and salary verification, pay stubs and W2, but I'm wondering what my chances are of finding a landlord willing to take someone with NO history whatsoever. I see a lot of posts that have told people that FICO scores only count for so much; it's the rental history that counts. That sucks for me especially as I don't have an outstanding FICO to lean on either! What kind of reaction can I expect when I begin to approach realtors and landlords?
Tell them the truth. You've rented a house from your mom this whole time. Someone will be willing to take the risk on you if you have a decent credit score.
Yep, pretty much a crap-shoot. I've found that people moving from parents' house for the first time are usually very destructive and irresponsible. I'd be leery about renting to someone with this history. If you put on a great first impression, there are exceptions. Also, the bit about moving in with boyfriends from time to time... I wouldn't mention that to prospective landlords if I were you. Good luck.
Thanks for the responses and I appreciate the good luck!
Quote:
Originally Posted by ESFP
I've found that people moving from parents' house for the first time are usually very destructive and irresponsible. I'd be leery about renting to someone with this history.
This is exactly what I fear! I'm a 34 y/o woman who works for an i-bank - my partying days are long gone. The whole "lived with parent" stigma is still there, though. I've been a responsible tenant, paying rent since I graduated from high school (obviously increasing to market levels when it went from living with my mother to renting an apartment from her), utilities and (since it is after all my mom's house) paid out of pocket for improvements and repairs. Is there any suggestion on how to circumvent how "rented from parent" that looks on paper? How can I even get my foot in the door after contacting a realtor with my information?
(The moving in with the ex really was just to get my apartment finished... I had no intention of making that part of my rental history; I was just making a point that I haven't been associated with any leases previously and that I haven't bounced around.)
Everyone has a different criteria, depending on property and market conditions.
We have a simple one.
Verifiable Income of 3 times the rent
No bad credit... some people have no credit, but you have to make an effort to have bad credit.
Two references, preferably last 2 Landlords.
Deficiencies to the above can be mitigated by providing a suitable co-signer.
Honesty is really the best policy. I've rented to people that had a previous bankruptcy because they were upfront about it and their were no surprises in the credit report.
I've never rented to someone that misled or wasn't upfront with me.
People are on their best behavior when apartment hunting and a dishonest person only gets worse in my experience.
Ok, then... I'll just include a short history paragraph with my financials when asked for it. It's not like I did anything so terrible; I just provided my mother with steady monthly income for 16 years! I'll be upfront about it and hopefully that combined with a decent credit score and my salary will be satisfactory. I have heard from some people that I might have better luck with a private landlord as opposed to a realtor or corporation that has very stringent guidelines.
I would make it a positive and say you were fortunate to previously have rented from your parents and this is your first time out looking for an apartment... It's not all that unusual and an experienced property manager has seen it all before anyway.
In my opinion the fact that you have lived at home until now is no big deal and, in these difficult economic times, it is not unusual. The bigger deal is to make sure your credit history is up to date and clean. Based on what you have presented I don't see a problem with you getting a rental.
make sure the potential landlord understands you were actually renting an app't (you say upstairs/downstairs so I am picturing like a duplex... 2 sep. apt's) Your mother is your landlord reference, just explain what it was. You weren't "living at home in the bedroom you grew up in".
Ah, thank you Shelly! That is exactly what I'm hoping landlord will understand - the difference between I kept my room neat and did my chores and I paid (almost) market value to rent a seperate living space. As long as that's something I can get across clearly, I'm hoping I will be ok. Does anyone have any advice about realtors vs. private landlords (eg. advertisers on craigslist)? Thanks again!
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