You want to rent an apartment but are drowning in student loans. Is it possible to even rent an apartment in this case?
Renting an apartment is still possible. However, it would not be easy at all.
Renting an Apartment When You Have Student Loans
Landlords care about two things. Firstly, whether you are able to pay rent or not.
The second thing they look at is whether you can keep the apartment in good condition. This is something you can easily convince them of.
However, they would likely look at your credit score to show your ability to pay rent. This determines how good you are in terms of managing finances.
You would likely have a poor credit score when you have student loan problems. This is possible if you have been defaulting on your bills or paying them late.
It is also possible to have a poor credit score if you cannot pay student loan payments or are late with them. This is why student loans play a huge role in whether you can rent an apartment or not.
Even when you apply for new credit cards, you will get denied. And when you end up looking for apartments to rent, the search might be difficult.
Renting an apartment when you are facing student loan problems can be pretty challenging. This is because landlords might not approve of your applications.
Landlords look for tenants who would provide them with the least risks.
They need someone who reliably pays their rent every month on time and as agreed. If not, then eviction is also a big issue for landlords.
Evictions are not only time-consuming and require tons of effort, but they are also costly. They would rather keep their property empty rather than have to evict someone potentially.
Hence, landlords might be hesitant to rent apartments to you for these reasons. Individuals with student loans and related problems are a liability for them.
How Student Loans Affect Your Credit Score
Your monthly student loan payment and other debt show up on your credit report. You don’t need to worry if you have been paying these on time.
The landlord will receive a copy of your credit report when you apply to rent an apartment. This report will be the most important thing they look at to see your financial stability.
They would check your credit score and your remaining credit on this report. The report essentially tells them how good of a tenant you would be.
You would be fine if you have been paying bills on time and don’t have bad credit. In such a case, your credit report would not be an issue.
This means that you are doing an excellent job at handling your finances. In fact, such actions would actually improve your credit score.
However, this could be an issue if you were late to these payments or defaulted on them. It would thus negatively affect your credit score.
Your ability to make timely payments is the most important factor in determining your credit score. Hence, when you are late to these payments, it can significantly hurt your score.
In such a case, renting an apartment could be pretty tough and challenging. You won’t get an apartment if you have student loans and debt you default on.
This shows that you are not doing an excellent job at handling your finances. Moreover, it would tell them that if you can’t pay bills, you probably can’t pay rent.
Alternatively, you don’t have to worry if you have been paying your student loans on time. This would be a good thing on your credit report.
Paying student loan debts on time would actually improve your credit score. This is why renting an apartment would not be challenging.
In some cases, renters might not even pull your credit report. This is especially true when you are dealing with a professional property manager.
Independent real-estate property agents are also much more flexible. This is because they can rent to whomever they want.
Hence, if you convince them, then you won’t have any issues. If you can show them that you can pay your rent, you might be able to rent the apartment.
Also read: How to Check my Own Rental History
Avoid Evictions As Much As Possible
Student loan debt problems can often lead to evictions. Even if you rent an apartment, if you can’t pay rent on time, this could be a problem.
When you default on your rent, you might get evicted. The landlord has all of the right to evict you when you can’t pay rent.
This could be a significant issue because an eviction becomes part of your permanent record. As a result, no other landlord would be willing to lease you an apartment.
They will not consider any individual who has an eviction on their record. It would then make it quite challenging to find a place to stay.
For this reason, it is imperative that you avoid an eviction no matter what. You can fall behind on any other bill or payment, but never your rent.
You can still recover from late bill payments, but recovery from evictions is challenging. Moreover, an eviction record exists in your background check for up to seven years.
How to Rent an Apartment with Student Loan Debt Problems
All is not lost if you have student loan debt problems or even an eviction on record. There are still some things you can do to secure an apartment.
If you want to rent an apartment, but your debt is getting in the way, here’s what to do:
Pay Off All of Your Debt
There is no other way around it. You will need to pay off all of your debt to secure an apartment.
If you have student loans that you have not paid, you should first pay them up. Get rid of all of your debt.
This will improve your credit score and remove all debts from your credit report. As a result, you would be able to secure an apartment for rent.
Similarly, you could talk to your previous property manager if you have an eviction on record. For example, you can request them to remove the eviction record.
However, for this, you will likely need to pay them all the debt you owe. This includes all the court fees, past rent, late fees, and other deductions.
In this case, your eviction won’t come up when other landlords do a background check on you. This would be a significant relief because eviction is a major red flag for them.
Get a Recommendation
If removing an eviction or paying off your debt is impossible, get a recommendation. Have a reliable landlord write a recommendation on your behalf.
You can then show this recommendation to potential landlords where you want to rent the apartment. For example, you could have your previous landlord write a recommendation for you.
This is especially a good idea if you have an excellent relationship with them. Similarly, if you kept the previous apartment in good condition and left it that way.
In such cases, the landlord might be willing to write a recommendation for you. This would prove to be valuable since this can be used to show others your reliability.
Find a Co-Signer
Similarly, you could also have a family member or friend be a co-signer on your rental agreement. This is someone who is financially capable and reliable.
They would sign off on the agreement stating that they would pay the rent if you cannot. This gives landlords some peace of mind.
With a co-signer by your side, the landlord will likely lease you the apartment. However, finding someone to be your co-signer and vouching for you can be challenging.
Final Words
When you have student loans, they will likely not affect you when you are renting an apartment. This is specifically true if you are never late on their payments.
However, if you’ve faced continual late payments or if you’ve defaulted on them, this could be a problem. In such a case, they would be reflected on your credit report.
Landlords look closely at your credit report to determine your reliability. It helps them determine whether you would be able to pay your rent on time or not.
If you don’t pay off your student loans, you likely cannot pay your rent. Hence, they might not lease you an apartment.
On the other hand, if you pay student loans on time, you have nothing to worry about. This would actually work in your favor since making timely payments improves your credit score.
If you are facing problems with student loans, you should solve them at your earliest. It is recommended to pay off all of your debt before finding an apartment.
This is because if you make late or no rent payments, you might end up with an eviction. This would stay on your permanent record for a couple of years.
An eviction is a major red flag for renters. Hence, not many landlords would lease you the apartment if you have an eviction on record.
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