Last Updated on February 20, 2022 by
No credit check apartments are challenging but not impossible to find in NYC. The best places to find them are undesirable properties. Go where most people would never prefer to live. Another way to find such apartments is by locating unprofessional and greedy landlords. They desire to rent their spaces to anyone.
Beware of your choice since most no-credit-check apartments end up being scums.
How Do You Get A No-Credit-Check Apartment In NYC?
Looking for no credit check apartments in New York is not a walk n the park. Almost all apartments check credit scores as a requirement. Even those that advertise that they do not carry out the checks. Those low-quality properties are the best places to consider when you do not want to undergo the process. Avoid the expensive apartments in lovely locations.
If that does not work for you, use the following tips;
Look For Private Landlords With Smaller Rental Apartments
Complex properties with larger apartments have higher risks than smaller ones. It is easier to find someone who agrees to rent you an apartment without a credit check in less complex properties. The risks associated, such as damage of properties, are low. The reason is that such buildings have low-quality furniture. Their utility services costs also tend to be lower. For this reason, landlords risk a lot by renting their apartments to anyone.
Consider Apartments Allowing A Month-To-Month Rent.
Month-to-month apartments do not require lease signing. In this case, a landlord can quickly evict a tenant due to delayed payments. They have few barriers that prevent the landlord from evicting tenants. But, moving into such an apartment, you expose yourself to more risks. You have no form of legal protection due to the lack of a signed lease contract.
Consider Local Resources
After the coronavirus pandemic, NYC introduced more relief programs. These housing options tend to be non-profitable. It makes connecting yourself with no-credit-check apartments easier using the relief programs. You should expect to pay higher rental fees than other properties in the same neighborhood. The higher rent is due to more significant risks associated, especially to the landlord. In this way, you can build your credit score by staying on top of your rent.
Use Both Offline And Online Sources.
You can use newspapers for offline options to check on apartment listings. Real estate agents also provide classified information, especially on no credit check apartments. For online options, you find sites like Craigslist. You negotiate with the landlords who post available rental spaces in their properties on this site. Talking with a landlord before meeting helps you explain your situation. It may surprise you how some are humane and understand your concern.
What Are The Requirements For Renting A No-Credit-Check Apartment In NYC?
Most youths fresh from college have low credit scores. They fall behind on their student loans due to a lack of well-paying jobs. After college, they struggle to pay for their credit cards, making it challenging to work on their score. In NYC, lo credit score affects your chances of securing housing. Your score must be above 700. A higher one gives you an advantage over other renters.
However, a low credit score does not mean the end of you getting an apartment. There are other ways to get yourself a nice living space. All you have to do is make your potential landlord see beyond the numbers. You can attain this in the following ways;
Present Multiple Income Sources
Even the most inflexible landlords have hearts to look beyond a low credit score. It is up to you to ensure you convince them to do that. What better way to do this than using your current income source? In this case, you let your bank statements and their numbers do the talking. You should present other royalties. With such details on your hands, no landlord can refuse to let you rent an apartment.
Offer A Quick Move-in
One thing that depresses landlords has an empty unit for a long time. It would be best to let them rent you the apartment if you made this fear a chance. Offering to move in quickly is one way to win over any landlord. Your period should be less than a week. People say that honesty is the best policy. Ensure to accompany your quick move in with some honesty.
By creating a sense of trust with your landlord, you tend to have a better stay in their apartments. For this reason, after they allow you to move in, consider telling them about your credit score. Come clean and tell them your score is low. If the reason for it is valid, explain to them. For instance, you could say that you are a fresh graduate. That you still have not cleared your students’ loan and you have been in between jobs. Explain why it is difficult to raise your credit.
A sobber landlord can understand and let you in their unit with such information. Ensure you do not fail to pay your rent as it could break their trust. On the other hand, owning up and paying the rental fees on time could help your credit score. With this, you end up having an easier time finding your next apartment in NYC.
Get A Co-signer Or Guarantor.
Guarantors and co-signers serve the same purposes when renting an apartment with a bad credit score. The difference is that guarantors are primarily companies that you worked with. They sign a lease protecting the landlord from your failure to pay as required. If you do not pay your rental fee, they reach your guarantor, who pays on your behalf.
On the other hand, a co-signer is similar to the guarantor. They tend to have a personal relationship with you. They are parents, siblings, relatives, or friends in most cases. The co-signor or guarantor sign your lease contract. With this, the landlord has security of where they can get their payment when you fail.
Guarantors sign the lease agreement for you at a fee. Not everyone is trustworthy. For this reason, they make you pay some fee to serve as security for them. In this case, you have no option but to pay your rental fees promptly.
Show References
Providing references is a low-cost option you can use when applying for an apartment. Fresh graduates with no time to perfect their credit score should consider this an alternative when securing a living space. You can use references from your current and previous jobs. Others use reputable contacts trusted by people.
References are perfect as they not only show your financial status. With a good reference, landlords can tell whether you are responsible not. They can also predict your personality. Some people can afford an apartment with high credit scores, but their personalities do not please the landlord. In this case, property managers prefer to have a tenant with a low credit score who can relate and live well with others.
Pay A Larger Security Deposit.
Some apartments do not ask for a security deposit. In this case, if your credit score cannot stand up for you. It would help if you considered offering at least a security deposit. Ensure it is equal to or more than a month’s rent and pay it upfront. Doing so creates trust between you and the landlord. You also show commitment by doing so.
You show the landlord that you have enough to rent in their premises by offering to pay a security deposit of one month. It also shows that you are responsible despite a low credit score. Sometimes a low score does not indicate default in payments. Most property managers request an upfront deposit payment, especially from people with bad credit.
What Is The Average Credit Score For You To Rent An Apartment In NYC?
Earlier in 2019, landlords asked tenants to pay at least six months’ rent before signing a lease agreement. The payment served the last six months of your lease instead of the first ones. In this case, the charges served as security and commitment of a tenant. It also showed their ability to make payments on time after signing a lease agreement.
Later that year, NYC rental laws passed reforms the issue. The new law prohibited such practices. Landlords had to find a better way to identify tenants’ ability to pay their rent. That is when they started using credit checks. For people with higher scores, it is easier to find apartments. The table below shows analysis f credit scores in NYC;
| Credit score | Rating | Nature of the risk |
| 750-850 | Excellent | Negligible risk |
| 700-749 | Good | Ow risk |
| 650-699 | Fair | Moderate-minor risk |
| 560-649 | Bad | High-moderate risk |
| 300-559 | Very bad | Severe risk |
Conclusion
It is not easy to find a no-credit-check apartment in NYC but, It is also not impossible. You can find one with the right tools, words, and proper search. One thing you need to know is where to look. The best place to find no credit check apartments is in undesirable areas. Also, look for desperate landlords who can’t wait to rent out their units. If these fail, consider using your documents, such as bank statements. You can also use references or guarantors to help find an apartment when you have low credit scores.
