Memphis Apartments

If you are looking to rent a Memphis apartment but have not established credit, you are likely to run into difficulties. One-reason Memphis apartment landlords conduct credit checks is to make sure you pay bills timely. Your Memphis apartment landlord wants a level of comfort that he will get his rent money from you when it is due.

Sometimes not having credit is just as bad as having poor credit. However, there are several things you can do to rent when you have no credit. Every Memphis apartment landlord has different rental application requirements. You can use this to your advantage as you Memphis apartment hunt.

Try to find a Memphis apartment landlord that does not require a credit check. Ask your friends and co-workers about their landlords. Find out if they know of any Memphis apartment landlords who only conduct criminal background checks. You do not want to live just anywhere. You do want the landlord to conduct criminal checks because you want to know that you are living in a Memphis apartment building that is relatively safe.

If you find a Memphis apartment you like and the landlord requires a credit check, you might be able to circumvent the check if you have a very high income and can demonstrate you have been on the job for a long period of time, at least one year. This helps establish you as a stable individual. You are not going from job to job.

If you are a young adult with no credit history, many Memphis apartment landlords will allow another adult with good credit to co-sign for you. This is often a parent or older sibling. Memphis apartment landlords will require the co-signer to have excellent credit. The assumption is that if the co-signer has excellent credit, he will not want the credit negatively affected by your actions, so he will pay the landlord if you default on your lease.

Your co-signer must be able to cover your rent as well as his own housing costs. So this is not a situation in which you need to find a co-signer in name only. Your co-signer is legally responsible for your rent and other costs associated with the Memphis apartment including damages. Many people are not willing to be a co-signer for this reason.

Another option you have is to ask the landlord for a trial lease period. Ask the landlord to allow you to enter into a three month lease so you can demonstrate your worthiness to him. If he is satisfied at the end of the three months, he can enter into a twelve month lease with you. Keep in mind this is still risky for the landlord. So he might require you to pay a security deposit as well as first month and last month’s rent. This leaves one month to show that you can pay your rent and pay it timely.

Your final options are to have others provide references for you. In essence, you need to ask people to vouch for you. These people need to be individuals of substance. Your mother vouching for you, unless you paid her rent, does not help you. If you did pay her rent, she should be able to provide evidence, such as receipts, that you paid on time. Her word is not going to be enough to convince a prospective landlord to take a chance on you.

If you lived at another Memphis apartment and you paid your rent on time, ask that landlord to provide a reference to your prospective landlord. This will go a long way to convince your prospective landlord that you are a good candidate for tenancy. Some landlords are just naturally suspicious. He might think that your current landlord is giving you a reference just to get rid of you. Have proof, in the form of receipts, that you paid your rent on time. Make it hard for your prospective landlord to deny your application for tenancy.

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