The credit score you have has a big influence when you need to rent a house, apartment or business, as landlords do not usually rent to people with a bad credit history or who have been previously evicted.
Often, the bad credit report is due to misunderstandings and eviction; in those cases, you must have a way to prove it to get into your new place. However, landlords will also be willing to lease the home under certain rules and contracts.
Know your credit history
Before you start looking for rentals, evaluate your credit report. You should check it thoroughly to determine if you meet the requirements of the chosen rental or if you should continue looking for a new option.
This step will help you detect any erroneous information and begin the credit report dispute process to remove the errors. Verification is the right step to take to have little negative information that can play against you in the rental approval.
Some landlords don’t run credit checks
When you start with the rental search, you can look at each landlord’s requirements. If you have flaws in your report, you should choose the places that do not require seeing your credit history. Here you should forgo large apartment complexes owned by major companies; those usually ask for this information.
Look for rentals with individual landlords. These typically risk renting to tenants with a report with errors or previous evictions. For this, you should do a thorough search and evaluate thousands of options.
Reasons you will have a bad credit report or were maybe evicted
Eviction and bad credit can result from late payments on your obligations, missed payments, not paying student loans, maxing out your credit cards, going bankrupt, not being responsible for medical bills, and having court judgments.
Each of the above actions will lower your credit score, and if it falls below 650, many landlords will begin to avoid reaching an agreement with you. On the other hand, the reasons are not always good when you are evicted from a home, and other landlords investigate this.
Some reasons for eviction may be non-compliance with any of the lease rules, irregularities in the property, or the landlord deciding to move back into your property. Although this does not show up on your credit report, you may see unpaid rent collections from your former landlord.
Also noted on the report will be court judgments if you have faced a lawsuit for non-payment. When the case is filed, it will take 30 to 60 days to show up on your credit information.
Tips for Getting a Lease with a Low Credit Score
Despite all that has been said, you can find some places willing to rent you a home. However, to get one, you must implement a few things such as:
Do a check on your report
You should know what is in your report and the credit score available that will help you choose a suitable place and adjust to your possibilities.
If you have a good rental history, you should use it
When you have not faced eviction due to non-payment or housing problems, you can use that information to your advantage even if you have a bad credit report. It is a way of assuring the new landlord that you are responsible for your monthly rent payments.
Always be truthful
If you have lost your job or have a low credit score, try to explain it to the new landlord. The more direct and honest you are, the better your chances of getting a good place.
Offer a higher deposit than stated in the lease
To gain the new landlord’s trust, offer a higher security deposit or pay the rent upfront if he agrees. Despite the history, you can provide security to the landlord by making advance payments.