Repair Your Credit to Rent an Apartment

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Renting an apartment when you have bad credit isn't far away from impossible. You can do it, but it's going to take some work. If you know you're going to rent an apartment, you can take some steps to improve your credit before putting in apartment applications. Repairing your credit before you start apartment hunting will help you get approved for an apartment.

Start by ordering your free credit reports from annualcreditreport.com. This is the only site where you can order free credit reports without entering your credit card number or subscribing to a credit monitoring service. You'll be able to order one credit report from each credit bureau - Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.

Once you get your credit report, go through it line by line and figure out what needs to be fixed.

The government gives you the right to a credit report that's free of errors. So, if you find some entries on your credit report that aren't accurate, use the dispute instructions to have the information removed from your report. Inaccurate information might include accounts that don't belong to you or payments reported late that were actually received on time. The credit bureau is required to remove inaccurate information from your report.

Debt collections are detrimental for your credit, especially when it comes to renting an apartment. Collection accounts make landlords wonder if you're going to pay your rent on time. If you have any outstanding collection accounts, take care of them. If you can't afford to pay the full amount, make a settlement offer with the collection agency.

When a collector accepts your settlement offer, make sure you get the agreement in writing so you have proof. After you make payment with to the collector, make sure your credit report is updated to reflect payment (you will have to purchase your credit report this time). If your credit report hasn't been updated to show that you've paid, dispute it and provide the credit bureau with proof of payment.

Past due accounts also affect your ability to get approved for an apartment. Get your past due accounts current by paying the past due amounts. Again, make sure your credit report gets updated before you put in your rental application.

Start cleaning up your credit between three to six months before applying for an apartment. If your credit report isn't updated by the time you start applying for apartments, take your proof of payment with you and show it to the landlord. This will help prove that your accounts have been updated.

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Source by Elle Reese