I am moving out of my FABULOUS apartment at the end of the month, it's a studio for $850, don't know if she can swing that on her own but my landlord is awesome. There is someone coming to see it tomorrow, I'll be surprised if they don't take it but let me know if it might work for her and I can let you know if it's still available.

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But good credit doesn't guarantee a tenant won't be a nightmare. There are so many variables.

I had checkered credit in my 20s/early 30s, but have always been an awesome tenant. I'm respectful, low-maintenance (I've never called a landlord to fix a minor anything. I just quietly do it myself.) and I leave apartments in better shape than when I moved in.

If I was a landlord, the first move I'd make on a prospective tenant, before a credit check, would be interviewing previous landlords.

I would never rent from someone with bad credit. I have heard too many nightmares. If I was a landlord your current Paycheck would have to be double the rent per month after taxes. Anyone can fall behind on bills and credit is a scheme that anyone can lose the game on. However as a landlord, responsible for mortgage payments, it is an issue that could keep a person twisting and turning at night if their tenant starts missing payments...

Like was said before, find an apartment that you can afford on paper, use the extra money as a nest egg and help your bf rebuild his credit.

If they have a good history with past landlords, a couple of certified letters from them, up front, might help.

A friend of mine with godawful credit offered to pay for a year upfront, and got a lease, which he then renewed as a regular month-to-month paying guy.

Also, an owner renting out his/her apartment might be more willing to bend the rules than a large building run by a management company.

It's a tight rental market, and they're up against better-on-paper renters. It'll be tough, but not impossible.

I will (have already) suggest that to them....

I think they need to be more upfront and have some sort of letters from current creditors to say he is paying and on time even if the report isn't updated yet but they don't know/think it will help

I also suggested she do it alone but she feels that she can't afford it alone and they won't accept that either (which I don't know if that is really true... I have heard that people want to see like 40x rent as your income in the past but don't know if that rule is really true anymore)

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The problem with that is if a person lives in the apartment, they need to be on the lease. If her income isn't enough to cover the rent, then her bf becomes an issue. IMO, it becomes risky as a landlord when rent starts eating away more than 30% of a tenant's take home pay. The tenant will have no financial wiggle room if there is some major economic event in the tenant's life.

Having only one of the couple on the lease may become an issue if you need to evict. I just finished with such a situation a couple of months ago. Wife was on the lease.. but the husband wasn't. I was advised by my attorney to not do that again.

Sounds like she needs a new boyfriend.

can she apply based on her credit alone?

when we bought our place, we got it on the strength of my wife's credit (at the time, mine was bad).... if we had included me on the mortgage, it would've been denied....

Does the BF have somebody with good credit that could act as a guarantor?

wondering if anyone has any suggestion for a friend of mine... she is looking to find a new place downtown (1+ bed around $1500 - hamilton park area preferred) but keeps getting turned down bc her boyfriend has very bad credit

he has been working to fix it over the past few years but some mistakes happened with a settlement and it got mistakenly sent to collections (he is trying to fix this but they need an apartment ASAP - April 1st if possible)

anyone know of a no credit check landlord or someone that would take just her on the lease (they have never been late in their current place and she is super organized & has great credit)