Apartment rent and credit history?

Maire: Apartment rent and credit history?
I’m 19 and looking into getting my first apartment. I have been applying for credit cards and even store cards and have been rejected by everyone because of ” insuffiecient credit history ” I have absolutley 0 credit. Can I be approved for a apartment with no credit? What would you suggest is the best way for me to go about getting credit?

Answers and Views:

Answer by Judy
When I landed my first job I was in your same situation.
I had to offer 3 months extra rent.
I lived rent free for an extra 3 months – so it was not that bad.
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Answer by dakotanorthe
In this market you probably can get an apartment landlords are pretty desperate for tenants. You may be asked for a double security deposit, maybe not though

As for getting credit. Try one of those catalog mail order companies. They are pretty much give a credit to anyone this just charge anywhere from 25-50 dollars to open up the account. When you get the card buy something anything and just pay it off over a few months(on time) and boom you have credit

You can also open up a Secured Credit card. This is a credit card where your credit limit is the amount you open. For example if you open up an account with 300 dollars that’s your credit limit. The card works just like any other credit card. Use this card for a while paying on time every month and this will help to establish good credit history for you.

Answer by Reena
Not every landlord requires a credit check and for the ones that do – just explain that you haven’t established any credit yet and that you don’t owe anything to anybody…. that might actually be an incentive for a landlord to give you the place. If you owe thousands to the credit card companies… how are you supposed to pay rent on time?

If all else fails… offer a higher security deposit and be prepared to show your pay stubs so that the landlord can see that you have enough income to afford the place.

Most of all – Act mature and responsible. What scares landlords more than a Zero credit history is the fact that you are young and inexperienced in housekeeping and might trash the place with wild parties and just plain stupidity.

Dress up and act like a nice, earnest, young woman that doesn’t have 10 wild friends sitting in the car waiting for the keg party to open…
When you walk the apartment with the landlord make appropriate small talk… compliment the place and make comments like “Oh this carpet is really good quality… I bet if I vacuum every day it will still look brand new in a year…” You get the drift…
If they ask about your friends or boyfriend… be vague and tell them that you don’t like to have a lot of people over and that at the most it will be just your parents visiting once a month…

You want to give them the picture that you are the perfect tenant to be – so use your imagination and put yourself into the landlord’s shoes.
What kind of tenant is he looking for? One that is quiet, clean and pays his rent on time.

Good Luck

Answer by Tara P
My daughters share an apartment, a nice one in a gated community. They are 19 and 20 and have no credit, but they got a lease just the same. Doesn’t hurt to try.

Sometimes, they will take non-traditional credit as sources, such as phone bills, etc., something you pay for monthly that does not regularly report to the credit bureaus.

Secured credit cards are good. They are basically like a big debit card, that you put the money on the card and can only use that amount. They help you to start your credit.