One of my brothers is getting married next month. He and his wife, however, are not looking for an apartment too strenuously, however. They seem to think that they can plunk down a security deposit anywhere there’s an opening and move in the next day. My mom has asked me to talk to them about how it’s not that simple.
I’ll do that, but first, I’m doing the next best thing: Writing a blog post about it.
Why your landlord wants your credit report
These days — especially since the credit market crisis — your credit score and what is in your credit report are very important. And that includes when you are shopping for a rental. In many cases, your landlord wants to know that you are going to make your rent payments on time and in full. It takes time and energy (and often money) to chase down late payers every month. In order to avoid this, the landlord will pull your credit. This means that you may have to pay an application fee in some cases. (It shouldn’t be more than $25 or $30, though.)
If your credit report comes back less than desirable, you may be required to make a bigger security deposit. Or you may even be denied. So, before you apply for a rental, make sure that you know what’s in your credit report, and that you have done what you can to improve your credit score.
