Hi there bokiluis-ga,
I'm going to accept this question, because I've been in similar
situations and have some ideas that I believe would work. Some of
them are going on the assumption that you have some number of
understanding friends/relatives with better credit ratings than you
do. None of these ideas were researched from the Web, but are
products of my own thought process.
I will just outline the ideas I came up with. Let me know if they
make sense to you, and particularly if you plan to try one or more of
them. If none of them 'click' with you, then go ahead and request
your question be re-posted and/or get a refund.
Nothing I'm going to say here is illegal, to my knowledge, although a
couple of these ideas may be mildly unethical (i.e. involve deception
of some sort, but with no intent to defraud or injure anyone --
assuming YOU have no such intent). I don't know how comfortable you
are with that, so again please let me know.
Here are the ideas I came up with (and I'll likely be adding more
through the comment system after answering the question).
(1) Do you know anyone (a close relative perhaps) who could interview
the manager with you, co-sign the rental agreement and offer to pay
the rent if you cannot? Some managers will be swung by this, with the
proper paperwork filed.
(2) Find someone with good credit who's looking for a roommate, and
rent in his/her name (i.e. just get a roommate).
(3) Find someone who will become your roommate temporarily, rent the
apartment with you in *their* name, then move out in three to six
months (leaving you still living there). I highly doubt you would be
ejected once you'd been there awhile and had shown that you are
dependable when it comes to paying the rent on time. The only problem
with this one is that you'd either need a two-bedroom or be willing to
sleep on the couch for a couple months.
(4) Find an understanding manager and interview with him/her,
explaining your situation to them in detail (preferably after you've
expressed strong interest in moving in and have toured one of the
apartments). Wear nice/formal clothes during the interview, and do
everything possible to pull off an air of responsibility. No matter
how competitive the market, human beings vary in their sensitivities
and there may well be someone out there who can relate to your plight
and would be willing to give you a shot (particularly if your credit
problems came about through circumstances largely beyond your
control). This one depends on both your social skills and finding the
right manager. It's a similar principle to someone who has been fired
from their last job or just doesn't have the proper credentials. Sell
yourself! Make them believe that your credit problems are absolutely
and totally in the past and will not recur, and show them that you're
working on improving your score (see below).
(5) Work on your credit score! Correct errors first -- go to
http://www.annualcreditreport.com and get your free reports (or if
you've done this already, get them from one of the pay services).
Examine them thoroughly for errors, and make sure the credit agencies
correct any errors discovered. If necessary, keep the pressure on
until they prove to your satisfaction that anything erroneous is gone
from your report.
There are many other ways to improve your credit score as well,
including secured credit cards and such. This will take some time,
and I'm not sure how soon you need to find the apartment. I suggest
you post another question (paying well enough so someone will work
themselves to the bone to help you) specifically asking how you can
quickly improve your credit score.
I hope this answer is helpful to you. If you have any questions,
please don't hesitate to ask. And if I come up with more ideas, I
will let you know.
Regards,
core-ga |
